My Miracles of the Moment

Aloha Summary!

2010-09-05T20:18:00.000-05:00

Thursday, September 2, 2010 – WEDNESDAY’S ARRIVAL!

Aloha from Kaua’i!! It’s now about 4:00 a.m. and I keep thinking of things to write in my blog so decided to get up and do some updating. Plus my head hurts. Dehydration headaches really dig deep. I think Vee has some Aleve or something…I’m gonna check that out. Hold please. (insert 80’s soft rock muzak here…”baaa baaa baaa baaa baa baa, I know this much is True….” Okay, I’m back and couldn’t find anything that would help. I wonder if that’s because I just looked at the bags without unzipping them. I hope Spandau Ballet was an enjoyable listen. 

Chicago drivers are mad hatters! I’m so thankful Matthew was behind the wheel because the only way I would’ve been able to drive through that visual torture would be by leaving for the airport at 4:00 a.m. for a 10:00 a.m. flight! Well done, Matthew, well done! Watching Velvet say goodbye to Jaydon and Matt not only tugged at my heart strings, it pulled so hard that I’m pretty sure I have to replace them now. Everyone was exhausted, including little Jaydon, because he woke up almost every 1.5 hours during the night because he’s sick. Matthew took him to the pediatrician after leaving the airport and also got himself checked out since he’s been sick, too. Matt was given antibiotics and Jaydon just has a minor cold. His ears, throat, chest and lungs are all clear, so that’s good. Velvet’s boys are on the mend!

I have forgotten the pull to look at twins and ask the question, “Are you two twins?” or the shorter version, “Twins?” We checked our luggage curbside and the gentleman assisting us did just that. “Wow. Twins?” Yes, yes we are. “What flight are you on?” United 0001. “Hmmm, let’s see, if I was on that flight I ‘d be going to Hawaii,” he said smiling. That’s exactly right! So we chatted a little bit about the vacation, gave him a nice tip and Vee said, “It’s good to be nice to the people who determine your luggage’s destination.”  Well said, Vee. Well said.

We go through security and Vee goes through just fine and I hear an authoritative voice, “Ma’am? This way.” I look and said, “me?” “yes, this way,” with the “waving to yourself” gesture. Okay, so I get to go through a different line…of which I am the only person. I go to walk through what seems to be an x-ray machine and am told to “please stop”, but it’s the universal gesture to stop. Like what crossing guards use or police officers directing traffic. So I stop in the middle of this “thing” and the employee running the machine started talking. He seems like nice guy. I try to keep it light, knowing he could potentially keep me from continuing on with my vaca. I was smiling and said, “Am I doing this right?” (I was just standing there. I wanted to make sure I was ‘standing’ in the right direction, whatever that was, just in case. ) He smiled and said, “Yes – put your hands over your head, look straight ahead and don’t move.” I laughed and said, “Got it”. So I chewed my gum and smiled at the camera. He looked at me and I said, “Sorry, I thought you said, “Say cheese”.  He laughed and said, “Ooh, you moved! I saw you chewing gum as well!” I was thankful he was such a nice guy. Security check leg one, success. So onto the next station - the “pat down”. I am standing facing Velvet and our luggage and looked at her like, “What’s this all about? Why didn’t you get this, too?” She returned the same quizzical look as if to say, “I dunno.” The woman was very kind and asked, “Is there anything I need to know about?” as she began the process. “Umm, I have a bad back,” I said, jokingly. She laughed and continuing on, saying, “Anything I need to know about up here?” (upper torso) So I responded with something that made her laugh that I can’t write here and as I was leaving she said, “Thanks for making my day a little brighter.” My pleasure. “Thanks for not detaining me.”  I looked at Velvet and said, “Why did I just get the security pat down and you didn’t? Every trip I seem to take I am “chosen”. Do I look like suspicious or something??” She laughed and said, “Well you know what those machines are, right?” I shook my head slowly…”nnnoo”, thinking, Oh great. What are they?? Apparently they’re machines that take a picture as if you had nothing on. I am horrified. “What?” Well that’s just lovely. My attempts at modesty have just flown out the window. Excellent. At least I was through without being asked to “come with me” by someone else. I know I have nothing to be concerned with, however, that kind of authority makes me a wee bit nervous.

Velvet here…I must interject for one moment. As we’re going through security, I’m thinking how great this is – no problems, we’re on vacation, Matt and Jaydon are on their way to the doctor, and oh look, here come my bags. So, I grab my bags and put my flip flops back on, and see that Dawn’s bags are on their way as well. But there’s a problem. No Dawn! I look around and think, “Where could she POSSIBLY have gone?! It’s the security line!” So, I grab all of her bags and get them ready to roll when I hear her laughing behind me. I turn around and she’s got her arms in the “cross” position being scanned by a TSA member. What the--?! Hmmm, okay. She did look a bit suspicious to me this morning! So, she eventually makes her way over to me, and tells me the story of her “pat down” experience as we grab our bags and make our way through O’Hare. Oh, and as a sidenote, I had to tell her about the new security scanner. I’d just read about it online because passengers were all up in arms that there are potentially thousands of nude-like pictures of them across the nation’s airports!

So with security mere seconds behind us, we decided to partake of some food to break our fast. The employees inside the airport weren’t as jovial, I must say. We stopped at a bagel shop and not a single employee was smiling. Blank stares. As far as the eye could see. “Next!” Someone places their order and stands to the side, cramping someone else out because everyone wants to make sure nobody else touches their “bag of yummies”. “Mine – that’s mine!” One customer asked the cashier about the contents of one of the bags and the woman actually said to her, without smiling or a hint of niceness, “I have no idea” and gave her a look as if to say, “pay attention, lady.” .

(Side note – I hear the waves crashing on the shore…wait..no…false alarm. It’s the jetting sprinklers for the incredibly manicured landscape.)

When we got on the plane, all we did was laugh. Disney was kind enough to begin the 8 hour flight with a horrific 2.5 hour movie called, “Ocean”, which I thought was going to be awesome. I was wrong, wrong, wrong. It felt like torture! I will say that the 5 extra inches of leg room for economy plus is worth the money if you are going on a long flight. At more than one point during the flight, I was so tired and so bored that I was trying to figure out how to use my travel pillow to the fullest advantage. However, I ended up just zoning out and pushing it against my face….only to be startled by Vee when I pulled it away saying, “peek-a-boo”.  [Vee here – here’s what happened from my perspective. I’m getting all adjusted in my seat, anticipating a great little movie about the ocean, and I see some commotion out of the corner of my eye. I look over, and Dawn has her travel pillow smashed up against her face. Just sitting there. I’m perplexed. I lean forward, thinking at some point, she’s going to “open” the sides of this pillow and see me staring at her. Nope. She slowly moves the pillow away from her face, and I look at her – dead pan – and say, “Peek-a-boo.” Not even an exclamation! She actually gets startled as if she didn’t know who was sitting next to her! It was awesome! I’m like, what are you doing?!? She goes, “I’m just checking this thing out!”]

The saving grace of the flight was watching Shrek 4 – can’t remember the full title but it was a life saver. Until they showed 2 hours of horrendous sitcoms that made you think “we’re gonna land soon!”, only to realize that you have to endure one more showing of “Parks and Recreations”. Who watches that?!?? As Vee says, “You’ve never seen it before for a reason. It’s dumb.”

Just when you think you are going to jump out of your skin from claustrophobia, we are landing! As we are getting ready to deplane, one of the flight attendants said, “You girls must’ve had a late night last night because you were out like a light!” No…just tired, thank ye. Then the infamous, “Twins?” question popped up, but was added with, “Ohh, and one’s prettier”…what the-?? Did she just say what I think she said?? As I am passing her she said, “Make sure you cherish your sister and love her always.” I looked at and said, “I do…” Then I squinted my eyes like I do, shook my head in disbelief and said to Vee, “what was THAT?!?!”

We had a 2 hour layover in Honolulu for our island hopper flight and Vee was captivated by the pigeon in the airport. She followed it around, even leaving our luggage “unattended”, but within 20 feet of me. Do I give her a hard time or just let her enjoy the bird? Bird enjoyment it was! [Vee here – in my defense, I’ve never seen a random bird hop around an airport before! I considered it “local wildlife” and had to capture it on camera!] I was captivated by the massage chair, which wasn’t that great. It was $1 for 3 minutes but I can’t say it was well spent. As people gathered for the flight, one guy standing against the emergency exit accidentally opened it with his backpack and you would’ve thought the world was coming to an end. [Vee again - The alarm was quite loud and pretty startling at first. But then it became like a false fire alarm in college. Just stay in your room. It’ll shut off eventually.] Okay, maybe just those of us sitting in the area where it was the loudest received the brunt of it. It wasn’t that big of a deal to either Vee or I, however, the negative reactions of others was interesting to watch. And hear.

When we arrived in Lihue, it took FOREVER to get the rental car. However, I will add that we were blessed twice already and we hadn’t even arrived at the resort yet. It took about 40 minutes standing in a very short line for the rental, which resulted in an upgrade, free of charge, because “I made the guy smile.” Our resort room was upgraded from a poolside view to an ocean view, no extra cost. Even though it’s not a “full ocean view”, it’s still an ocean view, nonetheless. There was a young couple standing next to me in the rental line who was staying for 4 days at the same resort who had no idea about anything on the island. It was a short stay before going to Asia for his work. So after reading the book, “Kaua’i Revealed”, I gave my own little synopsis of the island, what to see, and then gave them some magazines I’d picked up in the airport regarding the island. I think I missed my calling as an island tour guide. [Vee again - As Dawn was inside taking care of the car rental, I waited outside with our bags. Trying to find a nice place to sit and be comfortable for the 2 hours we were there was a little bit difficult. The first place I sat, the curb, was the only option available since there were like 15-20 people waiting in the same area I was. The burst of hot exhaust from the shuttle bus quickly destroyed any thoughts of just chillin’ while I waited for Dawn. I will have to hand it to God – He certainly made all types of people to make this planet go ‘round! It was a funny, and yet somehow scary, experience!]

We finally get the rental car and head out to the “full-sized” section of the parking lot. We select a nice car, can’t even remember what it was, and there’s no key to be found. I know the employee told me that the key would be inside the car so I ask the approaching employee about it. He wasn’t as friendly. “You have to get the key from inside.” “Okay…even though we were told the keys would be in the car?” “Who told you that?” “The gentleman inside – I don’t know his name.” Pause. Stare. Pause. “Do you have a contract?” What is this guy’s problem?? “Yes, we have a full-sized car – “ “This section is ‘specialty cars’. You need to get the keys from inside for these.” “Specialty cars? Oh – there wasn’t a sign showing-“ “All of these other ones out here are full-sized.” Again, I’m interrupted by this guy who is talking to me as though I’m the incompetent fool for not “knowing” these were specialt y cars CLEARLY parked in the full-sized parking lot. I’m wondering if I’m uber tired and this guy is actually nice but because I am lacking sleep, my filter is off a bit. After selecting a car from the “correct” section, we hop in the car and travel on our merry way! Yay! It is now 2 hours later than what we expected to be driving so it’s dark – or close to it. As I am driving in my exhausted and increasingly irritable state, being ever present to keep it in check so I don’t take it out on Vee and cause any unnecessary misunderstandings, I am reminded that the islands lack one thing I am used to while driving at night. Street lights. With Vee navigating, I am acutely aware of 2 things: Exhaustion levels are high and reactions to said exhaustion are the same. Definitely twins. It’s one of those things we used to say, “You do this…” and the other says, “No I don’t! You do!” “No I don’t! You do!” Ahhh, reality would say, “we both do”. 

The details are a bit foggy now, after recovering with some sleep, however, I vaguely recall the following: “you can’t turn yet!” and “TURN ON YOUR LIGHTS!” Maybe Vee can fill in the fuzzies.

[Hi there. It’s me…Vee. Fill in the fuzzies…of course! So, as Dawn described, it was dark. And with both of us directionally challenged, we actually made a wrong turn getting OUT of the airport! Yah. I know. So, we’re tired. Exhausted, even. Dawn starts talking directions – like north and south – and I get nervous. We get on the main road that takes us directly to the resort, and somehow miss the resort! Or maybe we didn’t even pass it. I’m not sure. The near-death experiences may have altered my memory. So, if you’ve never driven on Kaua’I – or any of the islands – they frequently have 3-lane roads. The beginning of the confusion! Once we figured out that we did, in fact, go the wrong direction to the resort, we end up at a stoplight to turn around. Easy enough, right? No. The far right lane has a fast lane while the inside lane – the turn lane – is separated by reflective dividers. The fast lane has a green arrow. The turn lane has a red light. Let me say that again. The turn lane has a RED LIGHT. But that makes no difference to Dawn the Adventurer! She continues forward and begins to run the red light, and scares me to death! All I see are headlights and possibly a chicken. I’m not sure. So, yah, I may have raised my voice and screamed, “YOU CAN’T TURN YET!” Just as Dawn said I did. The rest is a bit of a blur but we finally made it safely to the resort. As we turn to drive down this amazingly beautiful lane to the resort, I notice a car behind us flashing their brights at us. And that’s when I noticed that we didn’t have our headlights on!! AAAAAHHHH!! It’s a miracle anyone saw us in the dark! So, Dawn turns the lights on and we realized that because the dash lights were so bright, then the car lights must be that bright, too! WRONG!

Needless-to-say, it was already an adventure at that point! A nice couple gave us their really nice lawn chairs to use because they didn’t need them anymore. So that was a bonus. And then Dawn scored us an oceanview room. So, by the time we got to our room, we were thanking God for His supernatural protection! Seriously. We needed it! And that was just the beginning of things to come for us!]

We made it to the resort and once we checked in, we headed to the beach the next day. We weren’t there for long before the sounds of the crashing waves….zzzzzzzzz.

Thursday, September 2, 2010 – Dawn nearly drowned….or did she?!

Today was meant to be uneventful. The mission, should we choose to accept, which we did: Find a Target/K-Mart/Wal-Mart for swim gear, water and any protein for our hikes and adventures. After that, SWIM TIME! After breaking the bank at Wal-Mart, ravenous hunger pounced unexpectedly and the only thing on our minds was, “FIND A SUBWAY!” Instead of turning left out of Wal-Mart, which would’ve taken us directly to our destination, we traveled right, or north and thought we would find something in Kapa’a. There was one there, however, we missed it. About 30 minutes north, we get to Princeville. At the top of the island. I thought, “Oh man – there has to be something here…there’s an airport here!” With the hunger beast slowly devouring us, we decided to return south. That’s when we saw the Subway in Kapa’a. With sustenance consumed, the next stop was the beach! We found an awesome one (name is escaping me) just a few miles north of the resort, found a perfect spot and commenced to the water! As we entered the water, the waves force on our feet, ankles and shins reminded us to be cautious. Well, reminded me, anyway. I couldn’t get past the vertigo feeling of moving out to sea with each retreat of the wave. After stumbling a couple of times, Vee said, “don’t look down at the water – you’ll get dizzy.” At about that point, I stumbled a bit and bent down to catch my balance. As I touched the sand, the split nanosecond after my fingers touched was when I saw the wave from the corner of my eye. “Oh no…” Splash! Down I went! As I tried to get my bearings, another wave hit and I could feel I took Vee down with me. Not sure how she got up so fast but I couldn’t get up fast enough. Everything was spinning and I was getting really dizzy. I felt as though I were being pulled out to sea and while I am laying flat on the sand, I reach my arm out to take Vee’s hand to keep me from drifting out farther. She grabbed my hand but obviously wasn’t strong enough to pull me from a laying position to a standing one in 3.2 seconds before the next wave hit. After that niceity of having water shoved through my sinus canal, I stood up, got hit by another wave and said, “I think I’m done.”

[Vee here. Yah, that first beach was a doozie. It was only after Dawn’s near-drowing experience that the beach patrol told us of the drop-off just off the shoreline. Thanks, Dude. Now take your 4-wheeling behind outta here because you’ve done us no favors! But I digress. Back to saving Dawn’s life. The waves were pretty tough, and the retreating water was just as strong as the incoming waves. Sucked us right back into the water! So, Dawn is watching the waves come in, and retreat, and the movement of the sand that goes along with all of it. It is quite dizzying. One second I see her on my left, a wave hits, and the next second I see her on my right…reaching her hand up for help! AAAHHH! I can’t let her get dragged out to sea! So, I got to her as quickly as I could, and started to pull her back from the force of the retreating water, only to stop and realize – hey, she’s actually just laying in the sand! I was a bit freaked out as I grabbed her sunglasses, which miraculously remained close to us during the episode, and helped her to her feet. She started laughing and I’m thinking, “This is NOT funny!” Since Dawn almost drowned when we were 5 years old, I had prayed for wisdom and strength to know what to do in the event anything happened in the water. I prayed first and foremost, of course, that NOTHING happen in the water, but IF it did, then help me know what to do to help her! So, as this whole thing went down, I moved as quickly and deliberately as I could to get to her. So, an answer to prayer, most definitely. After processing everything, I hear her laughing! It took me a few minutes to regain perspective while listening to her laugh, but when I did, it was all good. We replayed the whole thing and laughed even harder when we realized she was just lying in the sand. Not moving. Ah-ha-ha-ha…LOL…hehehe…yah. STILL NOT FUNNY!]

We returned to the resort, ate our first meal of the day at 3 p.m. in silence and was out for the next 3 hours. A short walk along the beach proved to be all the energy we could muster and I don’t recall anything but sleep.

Friday, September 3, 2010 – Relaxation and Reflection

The adventure begins with a 5:15 a.m. rising to see the sunset. Somewhat disoriented, we trekked to the beach where apparently, we weren’t the only ones with the idea. If you’ve seen the movie, “City of Angels”, there is a scene where the angels go to the beach to listen to the sunrise and sunset. We decided to take a little walk on the beach before heading back to the room to get ready for the day and walked 2 miles. It’s so difficult not to pause and look in the ocean in wonder. What a majestic creation. After yesterday’s “near drowning” experience, the pull and magnitude of its workings makes me even more curious. Not curious enough to go back in with a high surf, mind you. Maybe something from the safety of an ocean tour of the island.  After getting ready for the day and hitting Subway, yet again, we decided to do a “low key” day and walk the 3.5 mile beach. It was beautiful – definitely not something you see in Chicagoburbia or the Midwest. Island bliss at its finest. Talking to someone with the exact same DNA as you is awesome because you get to hear a different perspective of yourself or your own thoughts. Coming from someone who is “the same, yet different”. After the 9 miles of walking for the day, I hit the pool Jacuzzi for 1.5 hours, hoping to have the jets give me a much needed foot massage. When Vee joined me, she said, “I had no idea you like jacuzzi’s so much.” “Neither did I.”  But I do now.

[Vee here. I agree – the 9 mile walk on the beach was amazing. The roar of the waves coming to shore, and the stunning horizon of ocean makes you take inventory of a lot of things. One thing it’s done for me is to help me let go of the stresses and strains the past 8+ months have brought. A lot of joy as well, but I’ve done a horrible job taking care of myself while learning to care for a new baby. I am deeply grateful to my family for stepping in and doing for me what I could not see enough to do for myself. I told Dawn that it’s amazing that God’s thoughts of us are more than the grains of sand that we see. I found this quite amazing considering my thoughts have been consumed in large measure by Matt and Jaydon. And God’s thoughts of me are so much more? Not something to understand. Only embrace. Help me find my smile again, Lord. And thank you for thinking so much about me.]

Saturday, September 4, 2010 – Daydreams vs. Reality

Today was a great day for the energy reserves to be topped off and ready for a new adventure! The 9 mile walk yesterday wasn’t planned, however, when you go to bed around 7:30-8:00 p.m. from exhaustion and wake for the beauty of the sunrise, 9 hours of uninterrupted and restorative sleep rocks to your core. I had a great day planned! After reviewing and reading up on the “gems” in my trusted “Kaua’I Revealed” book while doing laundry (Vee worked out), I picked 4 activities that I thought would be amazing. First, was the Wailua Falls. A short drive from the resort, when you go the correct way and not have to turn around, would begin the adventure! The road was very narrow and the landscape was high reeds, so we drove at “pawpaw” speed. Slow and steady to enjoy the surroundings. Well, ours was to avoid going off the road or across the center line. The drive was only 4 miles and we parked to see a “scenic lookout” before continuing onto the falls. When we looked over the ledge, I realized, “these are the falls”. I was disappointed, however, watching Vee’s face when she said, “Okay – now how do we get to the falls?” was priceless.  “Ummm, this is the falls.” “THIS is the falls?” Pause. Pause. “Well that was an anticlimactic moment.” We were wanting to leave a JP rock at the falls, however, we couldn’t get anywhere close. We will find the perfect spot, Tammy! The next leg of our journey was north to the Lighthouse. Wailehua something lighthouse. I don’t have my book in front of me so it’s all a memory game, really. We were excited to think, “this will be awesome! How cool will it be go to up into an actual lighthouse?!?” The first unexpected moment came with the $5/per person charge to get in. Not a biggie of course, just unexpected. It is after all, a bird sanctuary as well. When we reached the lighthouse, disappointment #2 set in. It was closed for renovations. Really? We walked around the area, not really “bird people” and stayed as long as we could, still amazed by the vastness of God’s beautiful creation, then decided to venture on. On the way out, I said, “Hmmm, I better take an eco break,” and thinking Vee would say, “Okay –let’s go back up”, was a little shocked when, in her very tired state, said, “gimme the key.”  With eco breaks taken and lunch in our tummies, (Subway, of course!), we headed out, with another bout of excitement, to the “Secret Beach” and “Secret Lava Pools”! The swimming shall commence in awesome surroundings! Upon navigating through the twists and turns to the entrance, Vee said with some disappointment, “Apparently the secret beach isn’t a secret anymore.” Cars were lined both sides of the road for about ¼ mile. Oh well – this will still be awesome! The long, steep, dirt and tree-rooted path down didn’t prohibit us from moving as quickly as possible to reach our destination. Upon stepping off the last step into the sand, our energy ramped up as we journeyed left to find the lava pools. 10 minutes into the walk across the now scorching sand, the anticipation is the only thing that kept us moving. We reached the very large and long lava rock field, which had to be navigated with some caution to avoid ankle twisting, we noticed 2 couples behind us heading in the same direction. “We’re on The Amazing Race to get to the pools first!” As we reached the end of the lava field, we saw 2 large pools and one MASSIVE and incredibly deep pool that nobody in their right mind would enter since it was open to the sea. There was a woman in one of the pools and as we looked into them, thought, “This can’t be it.” As we pondered the surroundings, the other 2 couples continued on and climbed up the side of the steep lava rock, sometimes teetering on a possible fall back down onto the rocks or into the lava pool just below. Vee looked at me and said, “I’m not doing this. I don’t like this at all.” I replied with, “Yah – I’m not really interested in it, either”, yet the pull of coming this far to see them kept growing. “I think I might climb it just to see….” Vee looked at me with serious reservations. “I don’t like that AT ALL…pause..pause…when did I become such a wimp??” “When you became a mommy – things are different now.” As I slowly made my way to the side of the rock, the woman in the pool said, “be careful – there are things that stick to you on the sides!” She showed us where she was bleeding from one “prickle” and how others had embedded into her skin. Well, that solidified any thoughts of going into the pools. However, I still wanted to see the bigger pools. So I ventured to the side of the rock, and started climbing. “Good thing I have my reef walkers on! They stick!” I just wanted to see the pools. If it was super cool, I had to get Vee up to see them as well. As I trekked across the 100 meters to the pools, I saw the waterfall and looked down at the pools only to see…..deep pools of ickyness. Sigh. Really? Nobody was venturing into them and heaven knows I wouldn’t be the first! What a letdown. On my way back to the mini-cliff, I was praying, “Please God – let there be an easier way down”. I repeated that over and over because I was frightened of thinking of having to climb down the side. “How will I do this? How will I do this?” I looked over and saw Vee and behind her was a woman walking towards the big, scary, deep pool. Vee said, “I can’t get over this way, I’m going to go around.” Or that’s what I thought she said, anyway. So I went the same way, thinking there was an easier way down. And voila! There was! As another couple was coming up, I was going down and thanking Jesus over and over!!! I turn towards where I knew Vee was and she was looking up the side of the cliff thingy where I climbed up. “Velvet!” “Yah?” I wait for her to turn towards me. “Velvet!” “Yah!?” I see her moving her head from side to side, looking for me. “I’m over here!” She turns around and I see relief and maybe a hint of agitation on her face as she realizes I am safe. Upon agreeing this wasn’t something to continue, we made the long trek back to the “Secret Beach” for some swimming. I’m not sure the “swim” could’ve gone any worse. After almost being knocked down 3 times by waves, we decided we’d had “enough of our gem adventure” and decided to leave. Once again, a trek across the scorching sand (not so bad in reef walkers, however, Vee wasn’t impressed with them like I was), we made it to the bottom of the trail to the top. When you have enough energy to conquer the world on the way down, realizing your reserves are fully depleted for the vertical hike up is a bit of a glooming thought. With a look at each other as if to say, “You ready?” “Yup.” “Let’s do this!” We started up the hellacious trail. All I can say is that for Vee to do a workout this morning on the elliptical and then doing this intense fat burning hike, she has to be wiped out! My prayer was, “Please God – let the hike up be as short as the return 3.5 mile walk on the beach yesterday.” No such luck. By the time we reached the top, I was in a foul enough mood to shoot daggers from my eyes if someone irritated me. (Anyone other than Vee, of course). It was probably the most disappointing experience and to make it worse, even though it was beautiful and amazing, the heat and energy depletion and realization of INTENSE THIRST made me just want to get in the pool and cool off. Literally and figuratively. When we returned to the resort, I did exactly that. Jumped in the pool and stayed there and in the Jacuzzi for as long as I needed to rebalance. After some much needed downtime, I sat on the beach and watched a couple get married on the resort grounds, not far from where I was sitting. It was a beautiful wedding to watch. I’m not really sure how to process what I was thinking, however, I am an avid lover of hope.

[Vee here. Oh yes, this day started with great excitement and expectation! We packed up all of our necessities – sunblock, swimwear, extra clothes, lawn chairs, everything – and headed on our way! All I could think of was sitting next to the waterfalls relaxing and enjoying the beauty. I was very excited! The winding road only increased the anticipation of coming upon these beautiful falls that took my breath away. Or so I daydreamed. I didn’t even see the falls when we drove up. I just couldn’t understand why the road ended and why all of these people are parked and hanging out here. Plus, there was a couple walking directly in front of us like the owned the place, and I wanted to say something that made sure they knew they didn’t, in fact, own the place! Nah. It wasn’t that intense. But it was a bit annoying. You know what I’m talking about? You’re driving somewhere and these pedestrians act like they own the road – walking all slowly and laughing and holding hands like they’re in love or something.  Anyway, we get over to the lookout, and see the waterfalls. They are very beautiful. I still wanted to get back in the car and get to the REAL water falls, so I said to Dawn, “Okay – let’s go to the waterfalls now.” She informed me that we were already there. I felt like the guy whose friends tricked him into thinking he won the lottery. What a letdown! Nothing at ALL like the book described!

But no matter! There is still much fun to be had today! Off to the lighthouse!! We’ll get to walk up inside of it and see the Pacific Ocean as far as the eye can see! I’ve never been in a lighthouse before! Forget about the disappointment of the water falls. There is still an adventure to be had!

We get to the lighthouse, pay our $5 admittance fee, and the gate guard said, “Okay ladies, you are good to go!” I stood still and looked at him. “I gave you a twenty.” So, he made some joke about me handing it to him all wadded up like a $5 bill. Yah. Right. Two and zero looks a lot like five. On the way up the hill to the lighthouse, we noticed signs that said, “Birds only past this sign.” I’m glad they had the sign there. The birds would be confused about where to go if it wasn’t. So imagine taking one step after another – up a hill – anticipating to see a stunning and huge lighthouse that you get to walk up in and look out over the ocean. Now, the reality check. The lighthouse was a stub and there was no way we could go in because, as Dawn stated, it was being renovated to it’s original state! But for the bird lovers, there were lots of kaw-kaws and hootie-hoos to go around! Ugh. Yes, disappointment #2. Oh, and let me just say, we were there for like 30 minutes, so Dawn had PUH-LENTY of time to take her eco-break! When she told me she was going to hike back up that hill, I was a bit raw. The whole, “Gimme the key.” Was absolutely right! I apologized immediately when she got in the car. Apparently, I was still very tired. Things come out blunt when I’m tired. 

Dawn forgave me and we were on our way to the REAL glory of the day…the Secret Beach and the Lava Pools!! WooooHooo!! We grabbed our bags, loaded up our anticipation, and off we went! Even though the “Secret Beach” really wasn’t a ‘secret’, we ventured down the trail with giggles and lots of “be careful” and “watch your step” shout outs to each other. Dawn’s book explained exactly how to get to the Lava Pools – which we wanted to swim in first – so we took a left, trekked over some very deep, hot sand, and made it to some lava rocks that took us the rest of the way. When we got there, we saw one pool of murky, yuckie water – like a big pool of standing water. The second pool called out to anyone who wanted to venture out to deep sea. Crazy-mad waves were crashing against the inside and although the water was a stunning blue, looked like it wanted to eat you alive! When the woman who was actually IN one of the pools got out, she showed us all of the sea urchins that were stuck in her leg! At least we think they were sea urchins! Tiny ones! That suck your blood! Yah – no WAY am I getting in THERE!

The cliff that Dawn ended up climbing was a bit of a drop off into a pool of water below it, so getting UP may have been easy but I was scared to death about her getting down! She climbed up and went on her mini-adventure while I analyzed the safest way for me to get to the other side of all of these pools to get where that cliff was. It’s hard to explain, but let’s just say my fear of heights and falling were rising to the surface pretty quickly! I made it over to the mini-cliff, stood on my tiptoes, and called out to Dawn. “Dawn?!” No answer. “Daaaaw-haawwn!?” I survey the scene to make a plan for how I’m going to help her down, and I hear a faint, “Velvet?!” I stand on my tip-toes again and answer her. I couldn’t see her but I could hear her. “Velvet?!” “Yah!?!?” Still can’t see her. Dangit! This is scaring me and I have no idea how to help her down, God! Then, I hear Dawn call, “I’m over here!” from behind me! I turn and look and nearly start crying. How did I become such a wimp?!?! Seriously!! Relieved she’s okay and not letting on how upsetting it was for me, we made our way back across the lava rocks to just sit on the secret beach and relax. Maybe even jump in for a swim. We spread out towels out, put our bag securely on top of them, and with our reef walkers on, headed into the ocean!

RAAAAWWRRR!!! CRASH!!! AAAHHH!! Yah – these waves are gonna suck us right out to sea! How come we can’t find a beach that is calm and peaceful where we can swim and frolick?!

By this time my reef walkers are FILLED with wet sand. Not kidding. I bet a good ½ cup or more of wet, heavy sand at the top of my toes. So, I decided to take those dang things off! Oh great, the sand’s so heavy it’s ripping the inside of the reef walker out. Dawn’s laughing and I start laughing as we begin walking and I realize…MOTHER LOVIN THIS SAND IS HOT!! No amount of self-talk can make that burn on the bottom of your feet feel better, let me tell you!!

We make our way up the sloping trail that we so joyfully skipped down, and nearly warned everyone we passed. Nah. Why spoil it for them? They’ll figure it out. Besides, I’m out of breath.

Hot faced, sweating, exhausted, and with our daydreams crushed, we were still able to laugh at the events of the day as we headed back to the resort for some REAL relaxing!

Definitely an adventure we will never forget!

Kauai, Hawaii

2010-08-28T04:39:00.001-05:00

http://www.kauaibeachresorthawaii.com/

Another adventure begins! I am so excited to be going to the beautiful island of Kauai with my absolute, most favorite person in the world...Vee. 2008 feels like long ago, so I am ready to get away, disconnect from the human race and reconnect with God without the hustle and bustle of allowing my daily life to intervene. I think that's one of the reasons why I love going to islands on my vacations. There are some things that are untouched by cement jungles, traffic jams, loud bass music thumping next to you at a traffic light and massive crowds. I migrate to things that calms my soul. Logically speaking, I can't think of anyone who would raise their hand and say, "Not me! I love the chaos! I thrive on the drama! As long as I can be surrounded by dysfunction, I'm happy!" Reality would prove differently for some though and there's Grace in that. There's always Grace in people's woundedness. One of the things my getaways are about is to be in the moment and trust the miracle of it. I struggle with that, even now. If you look at my Facebook status, I have a countdown on how many sleeps and working days I have left. My mind wanders ahead. I know everyone does this. Plan ahead. Be proactive. Think outside the box. Hurry up and wait. Get up. Go to work. Come home. Go to bed. Rinse and repeat. Isn't that what we program ourselves to do? How often do you hear or think, "Isn't there more than this monotony of life?" We find ourselves "wishing" our moments, minutes, hours, days and years away. My Pawpaw said to me once, "be careful not to wish your life away, granddaughter." That was when I was 15. A miracle moment. When you realize you're in "real" love. Miracle Moment. When you realize the unconditional love of God. Miracle Moment. Your break throughs. Ditto. That's why I love traveling. They are my Miracle Moments that remind me how to "live life" instead of wish it away.

So bring on the swimming, Vee! This could be another M2! I love the water. I love the ocean and exploring it's beauty. From the safety of the boat. :) I'm not a great swimmer, however, I will venture into the world of swimming with Vee. She apparently LOVES it. I find that funny. Being an identical twin, there is a 95% chance that we love or dislike the same things. That's what I think, anyway. Maybe she'll add a % or two. Or maybe a decimal point. So naturally, I was of the mindset that she wasn't keen on swimming, either. To see her eyes light up when she says, "I LOVE SWIMMING!" was a definite moment of pause for me. Hmmm. Who knew we could be "the same", yet so different? I love our individuality! Surprised by it, but love it still the same. One of my ultimate favorite moments in my life was when we were 5 and swimming at an indoor pool and she had this 'really cool thing to show me'. She learned how to jump in from the side so to give her as much space and calm water as possible, I began yelling at the other kids in the pool: "Stop splashing so my sister can jump in!" I believe this was repeated about 10 times. :) I can say that if she has something cool to show me in Kauai, I promise I won't yell at any adults, or children, to stop splashing.

Shopping, Piha Beach, Wenderholm Park and Kiwi Phrases

2008-11-01T01:42:00.021-05:00

I cannot forget the incredible start to my day, provided by my Lovely Twin Sister. I was struggling a bit about some things that were causing me some great anxiety and she gave me two visuals where God steps in and reminds us of Who He Is. These are from movies and if you believe in the subliminal or underlying messages from these movies, then you'll understand the impact. The first was from TLOTR - I think the first movie. I could be wrong...anyway, it's when Gandolf and the crew are in the cave, racing across the bridge and are being chased by the dreadful and incredibly scary dragon. The bridge is crumbling all around and Gandolf is holding firm in the face of the dragon and at the precise and perfect moment, he slams the cane (or whatever he calls it) down onto the bridge and screams, "YYYYOOOUUUU SSHHALLL NOOTTT PAASSS!" The other one is in The Matrix, when Neo realizes he is "The One" and he's surrounded by the duplicate "Mr. Anderson's" who are all shooting at him and he holds out his hand and very quietly says, "No", and the bullets drop to the ground. For me, those two instances represent the God who knows the enemy will always be after us and Our God who speaks so softly, and everything listens to Him. Everything. Those may not represent anything to anyone reading this and may think I've gone after a stretch with the two scenarios, however, it's my blog, my thoughts and I stand with the Power of Knowing who my Strong Tower, Promise Keeper and Savior is.
After the gentle reminder from the Holy Spirit that nothing is beyond Him, I ventured out today to the gigantic outlet mall in Onehunga (Oh-knee-hung-uh) and spent 3 hours shopping. I was completely overwhelmed when I went inside. I had no clue where to start or which shop to go into first! The bargains, bargains, bargains made me want to spend, spend, spend! So I did the most natural thing imaginable. I went into the nearest café, had a hot chockie, regrouped and sorted out my shopping list of “wants” vs. “needs” in my head. Plus I had ½ of a protein bar. It’s amazing how the desire to spend is a direct correlation to how full your tummy is. Well, mine anyway. So I bought a fleece jumper (sweatshirt) and I’m not sure if I like it. I can’t take it back though so I guess I’m stuck with it. I guess it’ll be great for wearing around the house in the middle of winter. I purchased quite a bit and still have some shopping to do on Queen Street. I’ll most likely do that tomorrow. Today was very windy and cloudy so I spent about 1.5 hours at Browns Bay. I love it when the tide is out because you can walk from beach to beach. You just have to remember to gauge your time on the return trip or else you could get caught with the tide coming in and may have to climb…or swim your way back. I didn’t take any pictures of Browns Bay though. It looks a lot like Waiake Beach, except longer. So now laundry is on the list of things to do. Gotta make sure I’m all packed and ready to go on Tuesday. It was a fairly low key and “domestic” kind of day, which is always good to have from time to time.
Yesterday I drove about 1.25 hours to Piha Beach on the West Coast. I’ve always heard that it’s awesome and the place to be for surfers because the waves can get huge. They weren’t kidding. The ride is through the Waitakere Ranges, which looks similar to the Huana Ranges, however, this trip did not involve car sickness since I was solo. The roads were so winding though! I think it takes a fair bit of time to drive because of the roads, not because of the number of kilometers to the beach. There were a couple of times during the trip that made me nervous because of the cliffs. You’d come around a bend and the dropoff would be to your left or unexpectedly, you’d see the ocean off in the distance but the cliff kind of made your heart skip a beat because it was an unexpected sight. Piha is tucked away in the ranges, far away from civilization…or at least it felt like it. What a great place to live. The beach as your front yard, the ranges with trails to hike until your heart’s content and the added bonus of the peacefulness of the waves crashing against the black sand. I’m not sure where people go to the grocery store, though but I could’ve missed a town down another road. Who knows. It was just beautiful, though. There is a large ‘hill’, for lack of a better word, that splits the beach in two, called the Lion Rock. It has a trail of steps – steep steps - that you can venture up, however, you cannot go to the very top because of the instability of the ground and falling rocks. That’s okay by me. So I decided to give it a go. The first thing I noticed when I was at the bottom of the Rock was the rope that is low to the rock itself to keep your center of balance low. Hmmm…that actually made me reconsider whether or not I wanted to climb up. It’s not the climb up that made me nervous, it’s the thought of how do I get down on the return trip? (the calm picture is of Wenderholm Park)Even with tennis shoes, I have the innate ability to slip and fall. Quadruple that with Fitflops. However, I did make it as far up as visitors are allowed to go, and the view was absolutely breathtaking. (By the way, they show reruns of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and for those who love Nascar…it’s shown over here on local channels. Amazing.) Taking pictures from the top of the rock was a bit scary because even though there isn’t a risk of “falling off”, per se, as you turn around, the height and depth of where the ground is in relation to where you are standing can make your equilibrium a bit shaky. Not much to worry about falling – just enough to make you say, “Oh – whoa” and feel your heart beat a little faster. Can you see the steepness of the steps? (They actually have a television show called “Piha Rescue” because of the nature of the water and how dangerous it is. Luckily for me, I don’t swim. smile) I attempted to capture the strength of the sea…can you see it? I was too afraid to get close to the water, believe it or not. The waves would come crashing into the beach so fast and the water would run out just as quickly, making you lose your balance when you looked down to watch to make sure you didn’t fall. I was so afraid of the water that I didn’t even want to venture to the far side of the beach – on either end – like I do on all the other beaches. All I can say is…Powerful. (The picture of me with the Auckland/Devonport/Waiheke Island Backdrop is from the Sky Tower)
The drive back to Auckland seemed to go by much faster than the drive there. Maybe because I was going downhill the entire time instead of up in sea level. I decided to go to Wenderholm Park, about 20 minutes North of Auckland, as I remembered it being a beautiful park when I lived here. Although the beach and park were beautiful, I was captivated by the birds…tons and tons of birds! I did not go on any of the nature trails as it was late in the afternoon and I was quite tired already, so I walked the beach and spent about 30 minutes attempting to be quiet, sneak up on these very colorful birds, only to scare them off before I could even focus my camera. I didn’t stay long…too tired – but a really good tired. Every night when I come home, I end up taking a 2.5 – 3 hour nap because I am so tired. All the walkabouts and tiki tours have kept this 38 year-old knackered (nak-uh’d). smile.
So now what I would like to share with you are some of the language I’ve heard during my travels here. I forgot most of these, however, it comes back quickly in conversation, listening to the news, shopping, etc.
KIWI-ISMS
Anklebiter: toddler, kids
Banger: sausage
Box of birds: cheerful, happy, very good
Candyfloss: cotton candy (yah – no kidding!! Floss??)
Cellotape: scotch tape
Chilly bin: cooler
Cotton buds: Q-tips
Courgette: zucchini
Crisps: potato chips
Dummy: pacifier
Dairy: convenience store (these are everywhere and they have “Dairy” on the sign)
Fizzy: soda pop
Flannel: wash cloth
Flash: sensational or "that’s flash" meaning it looks really good – also “flash harry”
Give Way: yield (traffic)
Gizza: abbreviation for "give us a..."
Home for the Bewildered: Nursing Home
Ice block: popsicle
Jandal: flip-flops
Judder bar: speed bump
Kornies: Kellogg’s cornflakes
Lay-by: Layaway
Lemonade: 7Up (I still do not understand this one!)
Nappy: diaper
Panel beater: auto body shop
Pink Batts: Insulation
Pinky bar: a chocolate-covered marshmallow confection
Pram: baby carriage, stroller
Puffed: Tired or out of breath
Push bike: bicycle
Quencher: ice cream bar
Quite nice: very good, exceptional (pronounced "quoite noice")
Rack off: go away (angry)
Rockmelon: cantaloupe
Rooted: to feel tired
Rubber: eraser
She’ll be right/Right as rain: things will be fine
(Mud) Slips: Mud slides
Sparrow fart: very early in the morning - the crack of dawn
Sticking plaster: band-aid
Stubbies: Short shorts
Sunnies: sunglasses
Take-aways: New Zealand term for "take-outs" or food "to go".
Tiny Tearaways: Children who lack discipline
Tracksuit: sweats
Togs: swimsuit
torch: flashlight
trolley: shopping cart
Ute: Sports Utility Vehicle
Whiteware: White appliances
Wopwops: Rural areas – ranges or country

Last but not least, any food that someone thinks tastes good is described as "beautiful", "gorgeous", "lovely". Thaht's Goh-gus!"

That last picture of me is watching the birds at Wenderholm...possibly looking a bit reflective or just puzzled on how to get close enough to take a picture?

So there you have my Friday and Saturday in New Zealand. I am not sure I want to live over here though. Awesome place to have a 1-2 month vacation, however, I would miss everyone too much. And Rafe. :)

Falling, Sky Tower and Huana Falls

2008-10-30T11:11:00.024-05:00

G'day from Torbay! I realize it's been 3 days since my last post but I have been a busy girl. Tuesday was a very unpleasant day. I allowed a work issue to absolutely consume my day, so I spent it going through email to "prove" things that I sent many moons ago to a vendor. Long story short - I was so upset over the entire situation I ended up breaking down in tears. Nice trigger. I love it when I can allow a vendor to set me into a spin where I feel like I'm a child and getting in trouble for something I didn't do. During the latter part of the day - around 2 p.m., I said, "enough is enough" and logged off, knowing my prayers in finding the information were being answered. There are a couple of additional emails I need to locate, and will resume that once I get Stateside. I walked outside my apartment and was getting ready to get into my car to go to Longs Bay when I saw Martin, one of the owners. So we had a bit of a chat which ended in both of us venting frustration of dishonest, unethical or chaos driven people in the world. He was quite funny and said, "the worst thing about the world, sometimes, is the people." Too right, my friend, too right. I told him my standard response that Melissa and Casie know all too well..."I'm not saving lives." If the world ended tomorrow and Jesus returned, none of this would even matter. I know He is Greater than anything I can conjure up in my mind and I knew I had to let it go. So off I went to Long Bay for a long walk. I love it when the tide is out because I can walk for miles and miles across the rocks and explore. I was still allowing myself to be consumed with thoughts of incredible frustration and kept praying, "Help me let this go...You have it all sorted out. Whatever I need to provide or do, You will show me." 20 minutes into the walk, I was still stewing. I stopped, held out my arms, closed my eyes and said, "Okay. This is it. I don't want this. These people are not bigger than You." I stood there, took 4 very deep breaths, making sure to actually smell the sea air and was able to let it go. I opened my eyes and began my exploration. The water makes some incredible formations over the decades with the rocks. The force of the tide and the nature of the "unseen sea creatures" that work their way across the rocks are amazing. As I walked and explored, I noticed on the cliff above the trees that looked as though they were going to fall off the cliff and I wondered how long it's taken for that to happen....and more importantly, what would happen if/when they fell? I think I walked 45 minutes down the rocks and turned around because I wasn't sure how quickly the tide would come back in. However, in case I was caught, I did see 2 entrances into the trail above the beach - alongside the cliffs (the other side of cliffs were paddocks and the park, so I wouldn't have fallen off the cliff or anything as the trail is far enough away from the edge). As I was walking close to the rocks/cliffside, I kept thinking, 'hmm. I should move away from under the cliff because I don't want any big rocks or boulders to fall on me'. As I was walking away on the flat rock, my left foot slipped from underneath me and down I went. I didn't see any green algae, mold or anything and just thought, "ow. my back. Hmm. Well I guess that teaches me to wear "fitflops" walking on the rocks. They shouldn't call them fitflops. They're slipflops." I wasn't harmed - well, I think both my wrists and off course my backside, were bruised. I was thankful I didn't hurt myself even more. After all, 38 year-old bones can be a bit brittle and can snap. :) I did laugh about it and actually looked around to see if anyone saw me. Thankfully, only the birds that I kept trying to get "the perfect picture" of were the only living creatures nearby. Which made me think as I was tempted to pick up seashells but had to refrain....with all of the small shells, clams especially, how are clams created? If the shell grows with the organism, does that mean the shell is a breathing/growing thing? I guess I can look it up online...but that was just something I was thinking about as I was sitting on my backside. :) On my way back, I passed a gentleman who asked about the trail entrances and we started talking, since he had an American accent. He is a film maker, now living in Eugene, OR and lived and worked in NZ for 7 years. He was on a stopover to New Caldonia (awesome island a couple hours away) because his film was being given an award, which was a great recognition for him. As we chatted, I noticed a number of similar parallels as this was his first return visit since he left in 07. Very, very nice person, however, after talking for at least an hour, I decided to return to the apartment as it was getting a bit chilly and my right wrist was throbbing a bit. He asked if I wanted to have dinner with him and his "adopted family" which he bonded with during his time here, however, I graciously passed on the invite. "But I thought we were getting on so well". I thought, yes, we did have a nice conversation, however, I don't really know you and I need to take care of myself, which means going back for a nap. I told him that it was lovely to meet him and that if we meet up on the beach again we can another chat. I was exhausted. I just wanted to come back and sleep. I believe I feel asleep at 7:00, woke up at 9 and then went back to sleep until 6 a.m. A bit knackered, I'd say.

Waking refreshed on Wednesday, I decided to go back to Queens Street, decide which shops I wanted to purchase items, which I had to set boundaries with a couple of shop keepers because they were pushing me to make purchases. "No thank you. I'm not interested in purchasing yet." Their tactic? "I can only give you this price today". Well then. I guess that tells me I'm not buying from your shop, doesn't it? :) The minute you pressure me into making a decision on the spot, you lose me. :) The one thing I'm bothered about is that I am not able

to locate the awesome fleece "jumpers" (sweatshirt thingies) that I love so much. I am not giving up though - I shall prevail! There is a huge outlet mall in Onehunga (Oh-knee-hung-uh) that I want to go to either today or tomorrow, so that should be a great place for purchases as well. So after Queen Street, I headed to the one place I thought was going to be my "fright breakthrough" for the trip. The Sky Tower. I needed to check out the bungee jump before embarking on the expedition, aye? :) Sky Tower is massive. There is an entire floor for the casino, which I avoided because if I want to throw my money away, I'd just throw it out into the water on the ferry or as I cross the Harbour Bridge. :) Just my take on gambling. I spend more at Walgreen's and get better deals than a "luck of the draw" in a casino. I'm just sayin' it's not my "cuppa". So I bought my ticket to go to the main observation deck and then the ticket for the one above it and off I went into the elevator. As you go up in the 'vator, you don't realize it's a glass elevator, until you hit spots in the ride where there are windows and then you freak out just a bit. I had to step back because it shocked me. I forgot about that lovely attribute. So as I stepped off into the main observation deck, walked over to the windows and the walkway, my apprehension about doing the jump kicked in. Fast and furious, actually. It wasn't looking out at the horizon that scared me, it was when I stepped down onto the walkway that has windows in the floor, so you're looking straight down at the street. Now mind you, there is a sign posted that says the thickness of the windows is just as thick as the concrete of the floor, however, that doesn't mean anything to your brain when fight or flight takes in. Or actually, just fright. :) That's when vertigo set in, I started to sway, my hands and feet started to sweat and my heart felt like it was pounding out of my chest. Then there's that lovely immovable paralysis feeling that consumes you, makes your entire being increasingly alert to your surroundings and your brain tells you things in superspeed, while your body reacts in super slo-mo. Brain: Get back. Reach your hand out and take the railing. Step away. Not good. Quickly. Step away. Body Reaction: leave hands at side. Sway. Move hand quicker. Must move hand. Why can't I move my hand?? Lean back into the railing. Try that. Close your eyes. Wait. Bad idea. Spinning. Open your eyes. Divert your eyes to something else. Those two women. Or that man. Good. Now grab the railing and snap out of the trance! Once I was back up on the solid platform, I knew there was no way - NO WAY - I was going to venture out and jump. Or, for that matter, walk along the metal walkway outside the windows. I realized it's all great in theory, however, I can pass on that this time around. :) Besides, I can spend the $200 NZD on three other things...a whale/dolphin trip, a tour of Waiheke Island or gifts for me. :) I may be a thrill seeker and adventurer however, I am not an adrenaline junkie. Of course, I had to take self portraits with the great view, however, it was pretty glarey (sp? Word?) and overcast, so I bought the photos they take of you with the green screen. I forgot to "take a picture of the pictures" so I'll do that today and you can see me with the Auckland Skyline in the background. What would a trip to the top in the little cafe be without settling in with a nice cuppa hot chokie? Dee-lish!!! Yum-0! After reconciling with myself, fairly quickly, that I'm not a chicken for not doing the jump or the walk, I departed Sky Tower and headed back to the ferry to return to Devonport. It's funny - at the ferry building, there are alot of brochures about the tours to Waiheke Island and being as exhausted as I was, I didn't realize the price of the tours was actually staring me in the face at the top of the brochure. So I walked over to the ferry windows and asked the cute little ferry girl what the cost is, and as I was saying it, I found it. I looked at her, smiled, laughed and said, "Oh - so sorry! There it is right there! I guess if I actually stopped and looked, I would've seen it. Never mind - please, carry on and disregard my visit!" :) She laughed ...dunno if she was laughing with me or at me, however, she had a very kind and gentle nature about her. Actually, that scenario reminded me of when I was at one of the shops and I was trying to sort out American vs. Kiwi clothes sizes and I saw a woman with a bunch of items in her hand, sifting through a rack. As I opened my mouth and the words, "Excuse me - I was wondering if you worked here..." came out of my mouth, the fact that she didn't have a nametag, the attire as the rest of the girls in the shop and had sunglasses on her head, made me realize the error of my question. She turned around, I laughed and said, "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I'm so embarrassed! I don't - I don't even know what to say!" She laughed and said, "No, no! It's all right! It's because I have so many pieces of clothing in my hand, isn't it?" Yes! She was so kind...she most likely went home and told her friends about the crazy American she met. :) That would be me.

Thursday, I met up with my friend, Eric, who lives in Papakura, and we went to the Hauna Ranges to walk to the Hauna Falls. You know, I rented a GPS wit my car, just in case I was going to places I hadn't visited, and "Clark Road" in Auckland did not take me to Papakura (about 40 minutes South of the city centre). When it led me off the motorway (interstate) and led me to the Viaduct, I knew I had to go on the directions Eric gave me. I thought I could use both, just for backup. Didn't happen that way. Needless to say, I did arrive safe and sound, despite forgetting to look to my right before pulling out into the way of two cars who, only by the Grace and Protection of the AllMighty, missed hitting me. I know...I was doing so well. I wasn't even going to mention it because I didn't want anyone to worry, however, it was so close I thanked Him the rest of the day for covering me like He has. It's quite easy to forget the rulse of the road when you don't have traffic to follow sometimes. Must stay alert at all times behind the wheel! So I met Eric at his house, he gave me the grand tour and showed me all of the DIY'g he's been doing over the last year (completely redoing his home himself) and then we were off. The countryside is absolutely fantastic and beautiful. To live 20 minutes from the Hauna Ranges one way and 2o minutes to the beach the other would be ideal. He said that he forgets that the Ranges are there and the trails are awesome to walk and actually felt a bit guilty because I was telling him of the things there are NOT in Kansas. He made a vow to take the kids (he has 3 of them) up there more often. It's a great way to disengage of the pressures and stressors of every day life and regroup and unwind. Immediately when you enter the park, there is this huge picture frame of the Falls where you can stand and take pictures. So we did. I, of course, am posing as if I'm a great adventurer. In capris. :) And off we went! Let me tell you - what a trek that was! For a 42 year-old, he is in EXCELLENT shape! He kept running up the trail ahead of me, doing the Rocky dance and song. I said, "you realize not all Americans love Rocky, right?" :) I really enjoyed spending time with him. He is an awesome guy and a great conversationalist. We talked about everything and anything, stopped and listened to the birds and every once in awhile, he'd say something funny or profound and comment with, "I'm Eric. That's what I do." ;) He is an awesome Father - so engaged in his children's lives (he's been divorced for 8 years) and is a "no holds barr-get-to-the-guts-of-it" kiwi bloke. Which he said gets him in trouble from time to time because he doesn't sensor some of the things that he says. We all have that capability to speak without thinking first. So this "trail"...unbelievable! We passed by areas where the trail was covered from mud/tree slides and ended up going up and down 500 steps. That was difficult! Not only was it difficult because the steps were straight up, but I had to keep up with Eric, who is apparently Mr. Fitness New Zealand. Sheesh. The actual trek up and back was about 2.5 hours. My feet were never so excited to be in my flipflops like they were after that walk. I actually feel asleep on the car ride home...that was in between trying to keep my tummy from churning because of the nausea from the winding roads and sitting on the wrong side of the car. As a passenger in NZ, always make sure you have dramamine handy. Oy. I realize my photos are side ways, and although I apologize, I truly can't be bothered to reload them the right way. I've been at this for about 3 hours and am too fearful I'm going to delete more pictures than I already have. So there you have it. Laziness at it's finest. :) Today is another relaxing beach day. Maybe shopping. Thank you for all your prayers, love and friendship. I truly feel blessed to have you in my life, sharing so much with me.

Devonport and Auckland

2008-10-27T11:40:00.022-05:00

I jumped out of bed so quickly this morning because I thought I was late for something and couldn’t think of what it was. As I stood there, mind racing, I looked at the clock and it was 6:45 a.m. “Oh no,” I said aloud. I missed the sunrise! I wanted to go down to the beach and watch the sunrise with all the beautiful colors because it was going to be an awesome day temperature wise. However, I did take more pictures because I cannot capture the beauty enough. It’s just amazing. As I walked to the beach, I noticed my surroundings a bit more to try to give my lovely friends and family an idea of where I am staying. The houses are very close together, unless you are in the country and own your own land. When I arrived at the beach, the tide was in, so I couldn’t walk on the rocks. I don’t know if people who live here realize how incredibly fortunate they are that they have these fantastic surroundings and can go to any beach, at any time, and find something new. Maybe someone who doesn’t have the farmland of Kansas says the same thing…however, I can’t imagine the dirt or flat land being as mesmerizing as the ocean. I decided to go to Devonport and then take the ferry over to Auckland to check out the Viaduct and Queen Street.

Here I am, before journeying out for the day. I was thankful I left when I did because there was very little traffic and I knew there was a road that took me straight through Takapuna to Devonport and traffic would’ve just made my travels a little more difficult. Not much, mind you. Just a little. It’s amazing how when you go off on one road, you remember very quickly the shortcuts you used to take to get back to the main road or to miss traffic tie ups. As I drove down into Devonport, I thought..hmm, which road did I take when I lived here…and there it was. Calliope. And off I went to check out my old stomping grounds. This is the small beach that Sammie and I would walk to when we didn’t have enough time to go to North Head or Cheltenham Beach. She loved this one but LOVED the others because there is more room to race around. And dig. This is a picture of a lookout point two houses up from my old flat. I couldn’t go up my drive to take pictures so this was the best I could do to show you my backyard. There is a huge cliff (Stanley Point is where I lived) that I was always concerned Sammie would fall off or something…but she never did. I tried to capture it here – not sure if I did it justice. And voila…way in the back, the brown house with the flat roof, was my flat. Do you see how one driveway is shared by 3 houses? Crazy! I did love living here. After my trip down memory lane, I was so excited about where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do, I almost felt like a child in a candy store! (Which they have Willy Wonka BULK “lollie” shops here!) Here I am driving in "downtown Devonport, on the wrong side of the road. And car. One thing I love about Devonport/Stanley Point is that the look and feel of it is historic. Most of the houses/buildings were built in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s, although I did see a building with 1846 engraved on it. I ventured to North Head first. This “hill”, if you will, was significant in WWII and still has an extensive collection of military tunnels, which are open to explore. There are still guns positioned all around the hill that guarded the port. I will spend more time there, however, EMMA, should you choose to accept, your assignment for New Zealand for school is to do a report on North Head and give me a full report. Here’s a little more to get you started: North Head became the site of the first pilot station in 1840, to guide ships into the harbour. It was also used for defense purposes when it was feared that the Russians were ‘on the way’. It was a growing fear from the 1870’s onwards, that New Zealand would be attacked and during 1885 when the fear grew, three large gun batteries were built to defend the Rangitoto Channel and harbour. I will provide the pictures. (smile). The history truly is amazing though. These are the two beaches Sammie and I would come to and I would take my tennis racket and some tennis balls, hit them out into the water and she would swim out and get them! I had to use a tennis racket because I was not able to throw a tennis ball. Well, any ball for that matter. Some things never change as I am still unable to throw “properly”. Cheltenham is the long one, which I will be exploring, and the North Head one was our own little cove. They’ve built a walkway across much of it, which was good. On my way down to the small beach, I didn’t realize the stairs were so deep, and dark. As I took my first step, I tried to rest my right hand on the side of the hill and instead of gaining balance, I shoved a splinter into my right pinky. Under my fingernail. That was a lovely bonus. As I was going back up to depart, I actually found the trail we used instead of the steep one. I didn’t think I’d gone up and down stairs. (smile). I parked in the ferry parking lot and walked up and down the main street of Devonport, which is always filled with people. The ferry is working nonstop bringing travelers and locals to and from Devonport to Auckland. Cafes everywhere! So I stopped and had a small hot chockie and some fruit. I was starving! Walking and climbing take a lot of energy and I cannot seem to locate any protein bars anywhere. The closest thing I can find are Museili (sp) bars in the grocery store, which from experience, are not tasty to the palate. Icky. I love the marshmallows they serve with it. The “large” hot chockie/coffee option is about 2x the size of the small cup. And so, you HAVE to sit and drink it there. No carry out/takeaway for the cafes! After my refueling, I headed to the ferry, which has shops inside as you head to the gate area. I stopped in one shop to begin getting some ideas for gifts and of course, struck up a conversation with the shop owner, Bev. I believe that wherever people are around on my journey, having a chat and getting to know them is a very natural thing. Of course, it helps to hear the American accent and the first thing they ask is, “Oh, are you on Holiday?” And then we’re off. She is a very kind woman. We talked about NZ and American politics, lightly, and then she was telling me about the MLM venture she is part of with a company founded by Donald Trump. Even though I wasn’t interested in that, getting to know her was a pleasure. The ferry ride takes about 10 minutes and it all looked the same. I even got a picture of the America’s Cup yacht that takes people out into the harbour for a “tiki tour”. Obviously, it’s windy on the water. (smile). After deboarding the ferry, I headed to the Viaduct to check out what was going on and was disappointed to find that the main area where all the activities are setup is now a parking lot. Maybe they will change that when summer is in full swing. It was good to see the big yacht by the Maritime Museum was still there though. I turned and headed up Queen Street to check out the shops to sort out where I was going to purchase gifts. The funny thing is that I walked all the way up one side and down the other and the shops I will do my shopping in were the ones I entered first. Everything seemed to look the same and when I got to the top of where the iMAX theatre is, I started smiling. Why? Because I knew there would be one Wheaton resident who will be happy to know that when he and Velvet come over with me, he will not be without his favorite hot beverage. In the place where Planet Hollywood used to be, now resides Starbucks Coffee. (smile). I realized on this little excursion up Queen Street that t-shirts are very difficult to locate. Not as readily accessible as they are in Hawaii. I’ll have to do some asking of the locals or go into more shops…hmm, maybe Sky City (Tower) has more options. I’ll be checking that out soon! Oy. I am having some major issues uploading more photos so I will do "photo posts" later. Just give you photos without all the commentary because I have so many photos and so little space! And here I am, at the end of the day, after feeling like I walked miles and miles. I am looking tired and wind blown, however, absolutely content and pleased with the day.

The rows of shells Picture

2008-10-26T02:13:00.004-05:00

I forgot to add this to my previous blog...and am too tired to edit the original post for fear of deleting something I worked so hard at writing or uploading. :) These are flat piles but it's awesome when they are piled high! (this is at Long Bay).

Long Bay and Omaha Beach

2008-10-26T01:21:00.017-05:00

I slept very well last night. It’s most excellent to be able to sleep for 8-9 hours straight when you are away from your home/comfort zone. I think that means you’re able to relax and let go of any stressors that can keep people awake at night. Plus I feel totally Protected and at Peace. All good things. When I woke up, it was raining a little bit and then stopped, so I decided to go to Long Bay to watch the sunrise. It’s about 10 minutes away but I had to check out the way to get there on Google Earth because all the roads here look the same. The funny thing about the city and the suburbs, is that the houses are scrunched together and people SHARE their driveways. I haven’t seen any houses deeper than 2, however, I can’t necessarily drive down someone’s driveway because that’s just chaos waiting to happen for me. The “yards” aren’t any wider than the ability to toss a ball underhand to someone. No overhand throwing or you run the risk of breaking someone’s windows. Car, house or a passer-by. Long Bay is beautiful. I listened to my ipod and prayed and the sunrise on the water was breathtaking. This park is awesome. Even though there are houses going into the park, once you get to the beach, it’s like you’re in the country. Dogs are allowed on every beach and can be off leash. I forgot about that. Rafe would love it…the dogs LOVE racing for sticks and tennis balls in the water and have no qualms about running up to me and jumping up (attempting to), running in a circle with toy in mouth or letting me “attempt” to throw it back out into the sea. The thing I haven’t sorted out in my mind on how this happens is when the tide comes in and out, it leaves big rows/piles of seashells, all spaced perfectly apart. I can’t figure out how that happens but was excited to see it at Long Bay. People walking the beaches are super friendly as well. Everyone I passed by acknowledged and greeted me very kindly. The beauty here is amazing and I know there are places in the States where it’s just as beautiful, however, the air is so clear and it smells wonderful. After my morning commune with my Saviour and enjoying Long Bay, it started to rain again (it always “just misses” me) and I came back and wondered if it would rain all day. If it did, what should I do? Should I go to the shops or just hang out and relax? After sitting and staring off into no place in particular and checkin’ in with God, I decided to drive up North to Warkworth and Matakana to see if things changed much since 2003. Plus, I wanted to do a double-check with my Spirit to see if I needed to resolve anything. And wonderfully enough, my Spirit was very content and calm. It’s wonderful to be able to retouch painful points in your life to check in with God to see how far He’s brought you. I believe that’s part of the growing we do on our journey in life. Well, pre-BT I’m not sure I understood that. Post-BT I am able to see things much more clearly, even during the painful moments. The drive North is breath-taking. I wanted to stop a number of times and take pictures of the countryside because I know I’m always taking pictures of the beaches and not so much anything else. I didn’t stop though because of traffic, however, I have time before I leave to take some. The smaller communities are wonderful – slow moving and cafes everywhere to stop and take things in. I wanted to go to Omaha Beach and take it all in because that was my favorite beach. I would sit outside and listen to the waves hitting the shore and Sammie loved going there to run and dig, dig, dig! When I arrived, I couldn’t believe how much housing development has transpired. The sizes of the houses are phenomenal, too! I started walking towards the right side of the beach (no, I have no idea if it’s N, E, S or W….it’s right, left and straight ahead) and realized that it’s much bigger than what I remember. It took quite awhile to get to the rocks where I would always find the best “sea life” to take pictures of. There’s a little beach past the rocks (not accessible during high tide) called “Pink Beach”, which is in a little cove and very quaint. Here is where I stopped to write a message to myself and to advise my lovely friends and family at home what my priorities are on this trip. Nice touch, aye? There are seashells everywhere and it took everything I had in me to not stop and start collecting them to bring back home! I love, love, love the beach. It’s my favourite place to think about when I need to regroup or de-stress. Even though I would take Rafe to the dogpark in OP, I would still think about the beach. It’s so calming. So serene. However, Omaha Beach was not calming with the winds today! Oh my gosh! I felt like I was going to blow off the rocks! It like it just pushes you until you feel like you need to start running or else you’ll trip over your own feet! Hence the reason I look so wind-blown in my picture! I was so absorbed with finding sealife in the rocks that I didn’t realize the storm clouds heading my way and by the time I got to the sand to begin the LONG journey back to the car, the wind picked up, it was raining sideways and the sand was blowing so hard that it stung my legs. I believe my conversation with God was, “Okay, I get it. Even in your beauty there are storms but seriously, can you stop with the sand? It hurts!” (smile) By the time I got the center of the beach, it was sunny again and I got a fairly clear picture of Great Barrier (not to be confused with The Great Barrier Reef in Australia). (Oh this is funny…the same company that makes Axe for men in America, makes the same commercials for “Lynx” in NZ. The “Chocolate Boy” commercial is on). Sorry. I side-tracked for a second. I was exhausted by the time I got back to the car. I walked through the water the entire way out (I didn’t even make it to the left side of the beach!) so my feet were cold, I was wind blown and exploring for 2 hours took some energy out of me. So I headed to the grocery store to get some protein and noticed while in the checkout that Kiwi’s have an obsession with Mentos. Mentos mints. Mentos gum. Mentos filled something-or-other. It’s a sad state of affairs, really. Then I noticed something that made even me want to gag. A “chok-lit bar filled with licorice”. Gross! Who eats that stuff? It’s about as bad as the “kiwi burger” at McDonalds…lovely photo, isn’t it? It is made with hamburger (or something similar to beef, I guess), red onions, fried egg, pineapple, cheese, lettuce, relish and ‘beetroot’. Gag. What we call a “Chicken sandwich” from a fast food place, they call a “Chicken McBurger”. Huh? A wha-? Is there beef with the chicken to call it a ‘McBurger’? Nope. Then it’s a chicken sandwich. No, it’s not, Dawnie. It’s a “Chicken McBurger.” Oy. Talk about confusion!! No, I didn't buy one...I was fortunate enough to find one online so I wouldn't have to gag. Maybe that looks good to some people back home..? So that was my day today. I came back and napped, even though it was sunny outside and I wanted to walk down to the beach to watch the sunset, I realized I needed rest. As always, thank you for your prayers, your thoughts, comments and joining me on the journey. Much Love.

Je Suis Arrive!

2008-10-24T23:15:00.006-05:00

G’day from New Zealand! I arrived on…hmmm…I know I know the answer to this. Wow – was it just yesterday? It feels like it was awhile ago but maybe that’s because I’ve taken a couple of naps and may be groggy so attempting to go backwards in time in my thought process is a bit too much right now. J The flight from LA to Fiji was actually very comfortable. I was able to sleep for 3-4 hours, which I’ve never done, and even did some work for 2.5 hours. Now I know how long I can go without my battery pack. The two individuals in my row were on their way to Fiji for a funeral – the man’s brother and the woman’s Dad. My heart went out to them and so I did the one thing I know I can do anytime. I prayed for them. They were both very nice and kind, which was a bonus on the long flight. There were 3 movies they played and I can honestly say that whomever picked those for an international flight needs to be moved to a different department. They were horrible. When we landed in Fiji, the airport reminded me of the one in Hilo, HI…small, walkways outside and in need of some repair. The plane was a double decker and when we deplaned, there was one person working the “transit” section (reviewing passports and boarding passes). The security setup seemed to annoy everyone around me because there was only one scanner and wasn’t as efficient as larger airports. I still thought it was great. I mean seriously….we’re in FIJI! Once we passed through, we weren’t able to outside so this is the only picture I could get in the airport. I’m not sure what the mountain in the background is called, but it was beautiful. The flight to Auckland from Fiji was awesome for a couple of reasons: 1. my seat was in row 6..! That meant I got off plane faster than those in row 52! 2. The breakfast they served was much nicer than the “meals” served on the flight from LA. There was fruit, yogurt, orange juice and an egg/sausage combo that didn’t look as bad as on the 10 hour flight. I was so put off by the look of the first meal during the trip that I didn’t eat anything that was served. Velvet – did you get my text message saying I was “egg sausaged”?? Get it? Say it really fast….trackin with me now? J 3. The flight attendants were so kind and the woman sitting next to me was a doctor, taking a patient to have surgery in Auckland. Her patient was a little boy about the age of 8-9. I didn’t ask what kind of surgery he was having, so I prayed for him, his Father and the doctor’s who would be performing the surgery.

And then we landed! My entire being, although exhausted (get the “egg sausaged” reference now? J), my entire being was filled with Peace. Customs was a breeze and the Auckland airport is actually one of the prettiest ones I’ve ever seen. It took me awhile to get to the car rental facility and of course I was praying. GPS in hand, I started my journey from the airport North to Torbay, which is about an hour drive in total. Well, when there isn’t stop and go traffic because of the Labour Day Weekend. There were only a couple of roundabouts – one in particular made me sweat because of how fast traffic was going, but other than that, it almost felt natural again. Things seemed to come back to me fairly quickly…except for the fact that the slow lane on the other side of the road isn’t the right lane on a 4-way highway. J By the time I arrived at the Sea Vista Apartments (www.seavistaapartments.co.nz), it was about 5-5:30. Melanie and Martin are lovely people. Their spirits reflect such a giving and welcoming feeling. They are the owners who live on the premises and have 4 beautiful children. They are wonderful people. So Melanie told me how to get to the grocery store and I was off. And I got lost and couldn’t find it. So I went to the one in Albany, which I recalled from being here before. When I stepped into New World, I was overwhelmed by the fact that I was STARVING and the hunger didn’t hit me until then. Exhaustion plays a big part in repressing hunger. The second thing that overwhelmed me was trying to take in everything and everyone, which made my head move back and forth fast enough that I know I looked like I was shaking my head “no” to someone. Who that someone was, I don’t know. I felt like my head was keeping time with my eyes! So I got some essentials (milk, yogurt, chicken, eggs, tea, carrots and hummus) and boy did I forget how expensive the food is here! I may have to restrict my dietary intake so I don’t spend all my funds on food! I didn't realize I was so dehydrated! It took almost 2 litres of water before I felt refreshed! I had to use the GPS to find my way home and once here, I took a hot, hot shower, ate and was out like a light. The first thing I need to research online is the conversion of “kilojoules” to calories because all of their labels have “Energy = xx kj”. I forgot about that. Who does that? LOL. I slept for 6 hours straight and then realized I had to get some items to Casie, so I was up from 3-4 a.m., finishing the work, unpacked (actually hung my clothes up in the closet, which, by the way, had exactly the number of hangers I needed) and then hit the hay again. It’s wonderful to be woken up by the sounds of birds chirping. I went to the beach this morning that is 400 m from the complex and was awestruck by the scenery. The little beach is called Waiake Beach and the island becomes a peninsula at low tide so you can walk out to it. Which of course, I did. J The area is beautiful. If I ever live here again, I definitely will not live in Auckland. Way too congested. So the North Shore would be my first choice. At least for now, until I am sure to find other communities that are just as gorgeous and wonderful. Did you notice in the picture of me it looks like my right eye is smaller than my left?!?! I accidentally uninstalled the software that allows me to make panoramic pictures, so I will do my best with what I have to show you the beauty. While I was here, I found a wallet and pack of ciggies, which I took to Martin and Melanie to inquire what I should do with them. They belonged to a 21 year old male, and unfortunately, his driver’s license didn’t have his address so the only thing we could do is to take it to the Police Station. Which they are kind enough to do. So that will make one fella who had 5 too many beers (empties were lying beside his things) happy. One thing I noticed today is that without cable or satellite, NZ gets the same 2 channels 5 times, about 6 “fuzzies” where you can hear the show but can’t see anything and the remaining 5 channels are, in no particular order: horse show, car show, Maori show (which I can’t understand) and BBC News. Oh wait, there is a channel that shows reruns of Magnum P.I, which made me laugh. J So I went to The Warehouse (kind of like Walmart) and bought some movies. Animation, of course, which I will leave with Melanie and Martin for their children. I love the picture of the heart. While I was walking on the rocks to go to the other side of the tiny island, I looked down as I was passing over a rock and found it. Ohh look...you can see my toes. :) (On a side note: Velvet and Bret, when you go to Hawaii, go to Walmart over there and purchase "reef walkers" if you are interested in walking over the rocks on any of the beaches. Don't want your feet to get cut!) I decided to rest, nap and get my reserves topped up before I decide to venture out into the great unknown of exploring. While I was on the beach, there were about 5 different people walking with their dogs and this black lab came running up to me and wanted me to throw the stick out into the water. So I did. I thought how awesome Rafe would love this! I miss my li'l guy. I will call my friends this evening or tomorrow to see what their schedules are like during the week for a 'catch up'. It truly is what I have been praying for and I am so thankful Jesus has been walking with me.

KC to LAX

2008-10-22T18:56:00.003-05:00

I awoke at 3 a.m., knowing my alarm was going to go off in an hour and thought about getting up but the pull of only having 3 hours of sleep was strong. As I was contemplating what to do, I could feel myself getting anxious because I knew I hadn't downloaded my list of songs I had been tracking for the past month and didn't want to leave without the soothing nature of John Waller, Chris Sligh, Barlow Girl, Bebo Norman and others. So I asked God, "I was told this is your hour, too...what do You want to tell me?" And what I felt internally was, "Breathe". I realized I had been asking so many to pray for the issues and concerns regarding the database and knowing prayers regarding my trip were nonstop, I realized I wasn't putting forth enough effort to remain Under His Covering. So I got up and spent the next hour downloading my songs. I felt such peace. The first song on my list was a song by Brooke Barrettsmith..."Quiet My Heart" and in it she talks about relishing the moment and breathing in what God has given. That was my first epiphany. My second came while I was getting ready when I visualized what it must be like for Jesus to follow me around...jumping here, jumping there...stressing over one thing and then another....and then the thought came to me, "I stand still." Another "a-ha" moment. You're right, Jesus. You do stand still. I am the one running around, breathing shallow and wondering what great things this trip will bring. I opened up my Bible to Zachariah and in Max Lucado's version, he has stories or thought provoking scenarios that prepare you for what you are about to read. His ending sentence was, "Take in the hope of knowing that God controls the future, your future, and that the King is comin. Then get a good night's sleep." It reverberated so much of what I have been worrying about the past couple of weeks with work and some parts of my trip. Psalms 4:8 says, "I go to bed and sleep in peace, because, Lord, only you keep me safe." That brings alot of peace to me, especially being so far away from friends, family and Rafe. I don't always sleep through the night and whether it's because I'm troubled about something or afraid, knowing that HE watches over me ALWAYS comforts me. I believe in His Heavenly Hosts and how they protect us. I depend on that.
So I am now in LAX and have been here for 4 hours. The first leg to Minneapolis was a breeze - a bit chilly, but quick, despite a 20 minute delay. When I got off the plane in Minneapolis, I had to powerwalk to get to my next gate and arrived in time to get in on the tail end of boarding. The journey to LAX felt long. There was a gentleman next to me who told me it was only his second time flying (he's 51) and we chatted most of the way. (I did do some work until my battery was just shy of being drained). Very nice guy. He said he was glad that he sat by me because talking made the trip go by faster. He thought I was courageous for going to NZ by myself because he said he could never do it. I replied with, "It's only geography though. In reality, if you're comfortable doing things on your own then it's just being in a different place. With a different culture. Experiencing new things." Mind you, I had a lot of anxiety last year with going to Hawaii by myself so it's nice to see the change a year has made internally.
My luggage made it through to LAX with me, which is good. I'll have to buy a new suitcase though because one of the wheels broke. Chalk up one gift for Dawnie straight away. :) LAX is full of a variety of people so it's great for people watching. There was an older group of men and women sitting next to me and I had my headphones on, believing I was singing softly and I looked up and one gentleman was just watching me. So I took off my headphones and said, "Oh my gosh - I'm sorry! Was I singing too loudly?" And he spouted something off in French and I looked at him, shaking my head, looked at the others at his table, and said, "I'm...I'm sorry...I don't...I don-huh?" He laughed, spouted off another long list of words that sounded like they would spray saliva if you sat too close and then he said in his best American accent, "What?! You don't speak French?" I smiled and said, "Four years of high school French doesn't cut it with your level." The woman sitting next to him laughed and he just kind of looked at me like I was a bother. :) :) I laughed. Whud-evah.
So I have 6 hours before my flight leaves so I better get back to work. I just wanted to write and give an update on how the first leg of my adventure is going. I will write more when I can. Much Love. (P.S. I must be tired...I just reread this and I can't tell if I have copious amounts of run-on sentences or I'm so tired that I'm all over the place.) :)

The Night Before

2008-10-21T18:40:00.011-05:00

Well, it's the night before I leave and I have been working nonstop since 4 a.m. to get things done for work. I can't tell if I'm really excited or a bit nervous by what seems to be an increase in what appears to be shallow breathing. I am prayerful for things to run smoothly with the database while I am gone...more for Casie than anything. I will have wireless connectivity so that will be a good thing. I can do my blog at my "flat" and check in every couple of days with the programmers. I know...working takes me away from my experience with Jesus, so I promise I will keep it short. There's no way I'm going to go 1/2 way around the world to work all day. :) I shant allow it! :) Being the asserter that I am, there are some things I just have to put my foot down with and this would be one of them. I packed last night and can honestly say that I packed "smart". No over-packing like Hawaii where I apparently thought I would be changing my clothes every 3 hours. Sheesh. So there is a lot of room to bring back all the gifts, clothes and souvenirs I plan to purchase. Besides, who has the extra money they charge now to check a second bag?

The picture above is a GoogleEarth image of where my flat is in Torbay/Browns Bay, NZ. Kind of like Overland Park and Olathe, everything runs together. It's about 30 minutes North of Auckland and the part that is concerning me at the moment, is the driving. I mean, if I can drive a stick shift on the other side of the car, driving on the other side of the road, going through roundabouts in Auckland and Spaghetti Junction, it should be like clockwork. Easy. Piece of cake. Right? Right? :) I will have to place a Post-It on the dashboard saying, "Left is right, Right is wrong." I shall begin my morning with that mantra, while breathing in and breathing out...praying that I don't panic while driving at night when I see the headlights coming at me, making me veer to the right, causing a huge ruckus. (Sorry, Casie! Have I frightened you??) Makes my hands sweat just thinking about it. However, I shall prevail! I will just have to remind myself what "wee Hansen" always taught me in driver's ed, "Get the Big Picture. See that? See that there? Are you getting the Big Picture?" :) As much as I wished I had the other Driver's Ed teacher, Mr. Hansen's voice has remained in my brain all these years while driving. :) What was his name...sheesh...what was his name? LOL...anyone? I feel very peaceful about going by myself. The difficult part was leaving Rafe with Velvet and Bret. My gosh, who would've thought a dog could produce that many tears?? He's spoiled and I believe Auntie Velvet and Uncle Bret will be putting in some training time to get him "unspoiled". I have to include a picture of him. Isn't he just the sweetest thing? For a dog who likes to be independent, do things his way and go off and explore on his own, he sure is a Mamma's boy. I know many of you are wondering if I will return and the answer to that is, of course I won't. Would you?? LOL. Juuussstt kidding! So I am off to finish up some last minute cleaning, packing and some work items. For those of who who read this, thank you for joining me on this leg of my journey. I am prayerful that the God Experiences I have will be as incredible as they were in Hawaii and that I don't miss what He wants me to see and hear.

Much Love.

New Zealand Bound

2008-10-14T19:42:00.005-05:00

'Ello Mates! This part of my blog begins my adventure abroad, to where else? None other than "Aeotora"! The Land of the Long White Cloud. Otherwise known as New Zealand. Or "Newsyland". :) I have one week left and am feeling excited, a little overwhelmed to get my list of things done before I depart (work, of course!) and a little anxious. Only a little. Nothing like last year when I went to Hawaii. Now that was a treat! I can't even remember why I was so anxious for that trip. Wait. That's not true. I do remember. I also recall after surviving through "a dark and frightening storm that knocked out all the power" my first night there, that any anxiety was washed straight away. Straight away. It didn't pass go and definitely didn't collect $200. Thank you Jesus, for being the "Light in my darkness". :)

I will be completely unplugged while I am there. Can you imagine that. Me? Totally unplugged? Unthinkable. I will take my laptop and if I need to, will go to Internet Cafes (pronounced calf in kiwiland) to do my blogging. Can't keep my audience waiting, now, can I? I know the things I will want to do and will take as many pictures as I can. Videos, too! Scottiebos, won't you be so proud of me?? :) I'm going to carry a little tape recorder around as well because I learned too quickly in Hawaii, that I do NOT remember all of my epiphinal moments like I thought I would. :) Silly, silly me.
I will be staying in Brown's Bay, which is about 30 minutes from the middle of Auckland. So it would be like being in Overland Park in comparison to downtown KC. It will be awesome. I plan to do exactly what Jesus wants me to do, see, hear and experience...and if that means bungee jumping from the Auckland Sky Tower, then so be it. :) So here's what I will most likely look like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym32W5-Pw7I and this is what I THINK I will look like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHCuRmedYi0&NR=1

Hmmm. Who am I kidding? After watching both of those, it's not actually a "jump" per se, but more of a "step off the platform". Who jumps off a platform and stays vertical the entire way down?? Me. That's the only way to do a true "bungee jump". With as much safety harnesses available, all connected to me. :)
So please enjoy the blog and my adventures and I will be sure to think of you as I trek my way across bits of the North Island that I have yet to see or to experience bits I do know through different eyes. Oy. No commenting on my preparation in getting in the "Kiwi dialect". And above all else, when you've had enough and want some time to yourself, the phrase to say is..."I Can't Be Bothered." Hee hee (ICB2).

2008-10-08T21:02:00.001-05:00

This begins my Hawaii vacation in 2007. Enjoy the reading.

MAGESTIC

2007-12-14T21:06:00.000-06:00

I went to the Hot Pools and was absolutely mesmerized by this rock. I think I have about 15 pictures of this rock alone.

So if anyone is wondering: Not a single regret on this trip.

To get the full magnitude of this photo, click on it so it will open in a new window.. I took 7 pictures and merged them together. I will be doing this with a couple of other sceneries as well.

One More Day

2007-12-14T17:44:00.001-06:00

One more day and I'm headed home! As much fun and adventure this vacation has provided, I am truly ready to make my way back to Kansas. Oh yah, if I had a dollar for everytime someone said, "You're not in Kansas anymore", I'd have 1/4 of my vacation money back in my bank account. It was funny - when I went up to Hawi, the Northern part of the Island, I went into a gift shop and was having a chit chat with the owner who, after looking at my license, said, "Kansas has a really good football team this year!" I looked at him kinda strange because I was thinking about the Chiefs and said, "Kansas City? Really?" He said, "Yes! They're going to the Orange Bowl!" Ahhhh. You must be referring to KU. See? All you KU fans - news of your team even hits into the Northern part of the Big Island.

So I'm just adding some pictures that I don't believe I've uploaded yet since I haven't taken any pictures today. I have over 500 pictures to sort through and am really excited about what I can "create" with them to frame. With all of the information in my blog, I won't go into great detail about each of the photos. The first one is of one of the mountains, which you can actually see from both sides of the island, with the big crater in the foreground. It's magnificent to see the extreme differences. Obviously I had to put a picture of a flower...however, I can't recall if I uploaded this one already but it was taken at the Akaka Falls. The third one is of the hot pools, which I did not dip one foot into. The water is actually kinda yellowish and from what I read, you smell like sulfur when you get out, so those were additional indicators that I seriously didn't want to enter the water. However, the fact that the "eels can become aggressive" was the final point. The next photo is at Akaka Falls and I thought it was beautiful. This is the one I was standing in front of in one of my other posts about the Hamauka Coast. Today I ran some last minute errands and have been busy packing and getting my things ready for tomorrow. My flight doesn't leave until 9 p.m. but I want to go back to the Farmer's Market tomorrow morning and want to beat the rush, so I'll get up and get there by 7 a.m.

I have really had a wonderful time here. There were a couple of days where I felt inadequate (physically)...like I was a 'chunky monkey'..however, I took a couple of deep breaths and just said, "I am enough in God's eyes and that's good enough for me." I am not really keen that I struggle with my worth being reflective of what a stupid scale says. Hmmm. Maybe today is one of those "off" moments. To some that may sound petty or insignificant....to me, it's a struggle.

So I've discovered that if you just ramble on about anything and everything, the text automatically wraps around the photos. :) Nice that I just figured that one out. When I would be driving (1500 miles in all, thank you!), I would think of all kinds of great things I wanted to write about in my blog. However, by the time I would get home, I'd have lost the thought and was concentrating on uploading photos, so this is my "lost thought" post. If there are any photos that you really love, please feel free to save it to your hard drive or email me and I'll send you the image. I can't believe how much money I spent on gasoline! It was anywhere from $3.38-$3.58 per gallon! I thought it was too much before I left OP. However, the experiences and the pictures are worth every penny. I think next time I come over, I will stay on the Kona side. I think if I would've been on that side of the Island this time, I would've most likely kept to myself and not ventured out as much. But I'm not sure. The things I've seen while being on the East side has been phenomenal and I wouldn't trade that for the world. I wanted a real "Hawaiian" experience - not a touristy one, and that is exactly what I got. One thing that unnerved me is the number of dogs I saw just running around. I don't know if they don't have leash laws here, but in the "country" where I am, they are everywhere. At one point today when I was talking to Emily about Rafe, I saw a small dog running across the busy highway and then run up the road the wrong way! So I turned around to see if I could find the little fella and call his owner (he had tags on) but I think someone else already picked him up because when I got to where I last saw him, he was gone. There were 4 dogs that came up to my door last night and this afternoon....when I opened my mouth to whistle or call them, they all ran off. Then I heard a couple of women walking down the road "shooing" them away. No wonder they didn't trust me. Made me a little sad that dogs aren't given more attention. Okay, no I don't know for certain that they aren't being given enough attention. Just not the amount of attention I give Rafe. :) (Who is very spoiled. This I take full responsibility for! Sorry Emily!)

I think that when we do the one thing that elicits the most fear (False Evidence Appearing Real) within us, we'll actually see that there isn't merit to giving the "experience" so much control (for lack of better word) on what we do or don't do in our lives. I say that because my intense "fear of the unknown" and "being completely by myself - even minus Rafe", really wasn't what I had perceived in my own mind that it would be. I felt God's protection everywhere and in moments when I felt uneasy or a bit frightened, He reminded me of His Promises. So I breathed in and breathed out, listened to my heartbeat and experienced my days with Him.

And of course, what would a post be for me without a picture of the water? I thought about going to the World Botanical Gardens just North of Hilo but I wanted to see the flowers in their own setting, so I didn't go. However, I have heard that they are beautiful. Maybe if someone else comes over, they'll have time to go and let me know how they are. Unless I write more tonight, this will be my last post until I'm on the Mainland. I just want to say thank you to those of you who have done nothing but given me support and encouragement from conception to action on this vacation. Your words of encouragement have touched my heart.

My Beach

2007-12-13T22:35:00.001-06:00

Today was another low key day except I spent it at the beach. I think I took about 50 pictures but most of them were of the water, which I uploaded from Tuesday's visit. I went back to the Waikoloa Hilton beach....it's my fav. :) And of course, what would my trip be if not to add flowers?

These were taken on the drive up so technically, they aren't part of the beach. However, they were taken shortly after it stopped raining so I thought they turned out lovely.

The beach has rows of palm trees that dictate the path (for the beach just in front of the hotel) and I thought the wind blowing them looked cool, so I took a picture.

Of course, there's a golf course here....the houses and condos that surround it are absolutely beautiful.

I spent about 2 hours "sunbathing"....flipping over from one side to the next because I thought my skin was going to fry! How people can do this often is truly beyond me! I really enjoyed myself though - it was great to spend time singing to my Nano and forgetting that people can actually hear me when they walk by. :) I saw a few people turn back after walking by but thought nothing of it. I was enjoying singing to Aaron Shust. Maybe someone recognized the song and sang it for the rest of the day. :)

There are boats that drop anchor in the bay so I thought I'd attempt at capturing the emerald colors of the water.

This, of course, is the actual Hilton hotel. Someone needs to pay for my next vacation here. Any takers? :)

I couldn't believe how many rainbows I saw today! The colors were magnificent! I could see all of them - ROYGBIV. I wonder if the people who live here realize the magnitude of the beauty that surrounds them.

I love the way the sun shimmers and reflecs off the water in this photo and the deep blue colors of the sky and the sea. God knew what He was doing when He was creating!

I'm thinking that this picture and the one above it are my favorites from today (aside from the orange flower). I absolutely love the colors in them. This is in a harbor just north of the Hilton. I forget the name. It's Hawaiian so it most likely has an "a, i, l, m, o and n" in the name. :)

I am ready to come home, if anyone can believe it. After being here for almost 10 days, I actually wonder why I was so anxious about coming by myself. It's been awesome - so much fun and not once did I feel llike I wanted to avoid people or isolate myself. :) One of the best things is that because it's not the high traffic tourist season, the roads, beaches and parks have been fairly sparse with people so I didn't feel like I was being over crowded, etiher. Someone explained to me that the Hilo side is the "real working people" side and the Kona side is more for the tourists so if you're looking to come to the Big Island, my suggestion is to stay in Wimea, which is at the Northern part of the Island but is 1/2 way between Hilo and Kona. You won't be rained on every day like you would be in Hilo (this time of year) and you'll be able to enjoy the sun by driving less than 30 minutes. Literally. Well, "2 more sleeps" and then I'm on a plane back to Kansas! And back to Rafe!!

Low-Key Day

2007-12-12T20:46:00.000-06:00

I didn't go exploring today. I was absolutely exhausted this morning. I wrote in my blog this morning but when I went to change the font, the entire thing was deleted. I was not a happy camper when I started so when that happened, I just shut down my laptop and went to Hilo to the massive Farmer's Market. The jist of it was my unpleasant surprise to my pillows being covered with mold because of the lack of heat in the house (there is one heater but it doesn't work....and it's not cold so there wasn't a need to attempt to turn it on.) AND because of the wet, rainy time of the year. The windows are always kept open so what I thought was humidity on the bed and pillows, actually turned out to be heavier than humidity. I got into the habit of putting my blanket in the dryer to warm it up (again, thinking it was just a little humid) and realized that the pillow cases could use a good warming up, too. So I removed them and voila, mold. So, in case you're wondering, yes, I was breathing that in for the past 6 nights. I kept waking up in the middle of the night to make sure I remained on my blankets and not face down on the mattress because I didn't even want to remove the sheets to see if there was mold growing there.

Peggy, the woman who lives in the cottage, had invited me to go the Southern most point of the Island, which is also the Southernmost Point of the United States, but I respectfully declined. I didn't want to drive anymore and I just wanted to go to the Market and then come back and figure out how to take a nap. :) Which I did. The couch will be my bed for the next couple of nights with lots of blankets. It's very subtle so it's not like I went to bed and immediately got drenched or anything. Afterall, I didn't pick up on it completely for 6 days. :) When I was explaining my night to Peggy, she smiled and said, "Yes - everyone has a mold problem and in case you're wondering, you were breathing it in." I thanked her for the invite and told her that I know myself and would not be very communicative and as tired as I was, would be asleep within 15 minutes of getting in the car. She was so kind. She said that she had a ton of things she needed to get done (Wednesday is her day off) and that it wasn't an issue at all. I was very thankful for her response. She told me about a great chocolatier in Hilo that she would like to take me to so we'll most likely do that on Friday or Saturday. She truly is a lovely woman.

So as I drove to Hilo in fowl mood I was in, I prayed. I felt much better by the time I got to the Market. :)

The Market was HUGE! I am definitely going to go back on Saturday. My flight doesn't leave until 9 pm on Saturday so I'm covered timewise. When I went through Wimea the other day (about an hour north of Hilo), I stopped in one of the jewelry shops (it was a VERY EXSQUISITE shop!) and ended up having a very long conversation with the owner and co-owner. They are having their First Annual Holiday Party on Saturday and invited me to come. However, as much as I think it would be a great time, it goes from 4-8 pm and that's a long drive for not being able to enjoy the whole event. I would rather not press my luck (no whammies!) with getting everything packed, organized and any last minute things I need to do before heading to the airport. I'm going to go to the beach tomorrow (I should be well rested after the 2.5 hour nap I just took!) so I will pop in and say hello and MAYBE see what additional deal they can give me on jewelry. :)

I walked around Hilo a bit today as well. The downtown is very quaint. It was raining pretty hard all day so I didn't take any pictures today. I've only been posting less than 1/4 of the pictures that I take in a day so maybe I'll put together a powerpoint presentation and send it out. :) (I think I just heard some groans....okay, maybe I'll just put one together for myself and use it as my screen saver. :)

So that was my day today. Nothing exciting. Very quiet and uneventful. Those are nice to have, too.

If you are reading my daily blog, thank you for taking time out of your busy days to read my updates, view my pictures and share in my journey with me.

Alenuihaha Channel

2007-12-12T00:32:00.000-06:00

(This is actually Tuesday but since I keep forgetting to change my time on my laptop, it still shows Central time.)For those of you who may be wondering...no, I have not "mastered" how to actually wrap my text around my pictures without accidentally deleting them and then having to reattach them...blogging is time consuming! :)

Today I decided to go up to the Alenuihaha Channel (say that 5 times really fast!) so I left the house by 8 a.m. and was on my way. On the trip to Hilo (about 20 minutes), I noticed a really pretty rainbow. So I followed it straight to the Hilo Bay. It was beautiful. An incredible way to begin the day with one of God's Promises.

As I was driving out of Hilo, I stopped by the side of the road and took a picture of the full rainbow. It was an awesome sight - the rainbow actually ended in the water (the Rainbow's End! I found it!) but I couldn't stop to take a picture of it. I wasn't able to pull over to take a picture of the DOUBLE rainbow, either, however, I did tell God "most excellent!" "Thanks for sharing that with me!" Okay, so I didn't actually yell it to Him but I was ecstatic that I was able to see it.

I didn't stop on the way up to the Alenuihaha Channel to take pictures because I've already posted the pictures from that adventure. The drive is about 1.2-2 hours but it didn't seem long at all. I sang along with KLove (Contemporary Christian radio station) until the signal faded and then jammed out to Blue, which is a UK "boy band". I know....but they have an awesome beat - and it's not techno! :) I feel like I've got carpul tunnel in my right knee because, after driving over 1,000 miles (I hit that mark today!), without being able to use the cruise control, I think I'm straining it. I got out of the car last night and thought, "Sheesh! Arthritis already?!?!" Some of you may not believe I've driven that far, but it's the Truth. The receipt for the car rental read "Write down your beginning miles" so I did....in the power outage.

My first stop up Highway 11 North (towards the top of the Island) was at a historical site - Lapakahi Point.

Apparently it's a village that is over 600 years old (yes, I realize you can read) so I stopped to take a look.

Unfortunately, I didn't bring my tennies along with me on this trip so my flipflops were not truly conducive to making the 1.5 mile trek around the village. So where did I head? Down to the beach, of course!

On the way there, I came across a black bee (at least that's what it looked like) on a flower so I stopped and quietly and gently zoomed in and took a picture.

Then I quickly ran down the mud clod and rock path, trying to avoid spraining my ankle. I realize they are a part of the "circle of life" but after watching Velvet get stung by a big 'ol Yellow Jacket at the Iowa State Fair when we were about 9 years old, I want to avoid them at all costs. Well, unless I have a camera that has 4x zoom!

Here I am, sitting on a very old piece of wood that I'm sure had it's use 600 years ago. I feel badly for saying that but since I didn't take the full tour, I don't know what it was used for. It was actually very cool. I attempted to ask the family from Russia? (educated guess on that one) to take my picture but they just smiled and me and carried on their merry way.

This is the picture of the shore that the villagers frequented. Yes, I know this to be true. :)

As I was looking around and at the shoreline, I wondered what it would've been like to live 600 years ago in a village. No running water. No electricity...that right there would freak me out!....no technology - well, like what we have now anyway. No books or magazines or iPods and your day is determined by the rising and setting of the sun. Hard labor work. None of this checking email from your phone drama. (In case you are wondering, NO, I have not logged into work! Yah, me!) I just think it's all amazing....
I continued on my drive North and came across another park - Mahukona Beach Park and as I was driving down to the shore, I looked out and as God as my witness, saw a massive whale tale come out of the water and then splash back down! I was so giddy! I hurried to the shore, raced past a woman who was waiting for her husband and said, "There's a whale out there!" So we both ran to the water's edge and her husband went back to the car to get his binoculars. I said, "Aahhh! Binoculars! Now why didn't I think of that?!" However, as hard as I tried, I couldn't get a picture of him. I stayed there for about 20 minutes and then wondered if I could follow the whale up the coastline. (what am I? A dolphin??) I did not have luck with seeing the whale and came upon another park - Kamehameha Park and was impressed with the swell of the waves. So I took some pictures.

And of course, a self portrait. I attempted to get the waves and not so much rock but I think it turned out pretty okay anyway. :) Do you see the progression of my hair throughout the day? It does start out down but by the end of the day....barrette city!

This is the end of Highway 290 on the North part of the Island. I will say, that I have a favorite part of the Big Island, and it is most definitely the Northern part. It is absolutely amazing. I met a couple from Canada here and as I was looking out into the water, I said, "Hey! I think that's a whale out there!" Again, (leave it to the menfolk!) out came a pair of binoculars.

Breath-taking....

Look! It's me....on a very windy cliff!!

Here is my 80th attempt at catching a picture of the whale. However, I think he knew how popular he was and was playing games because everytime I turned my head to look at something else, the Canadian couple yelled - "There he is!" So my pictures were only of the splash the tail made. It's the white area in the middle of the picture. Just in case you were wondering. :)

Casie - this is for you!

This is the Hibiscus Tree flower....if you're wondering why I'm taking so many pictures of flowers (of which I have absolutely NO idea how to take care of! Not just these. Any flower. Any plant. With the exception of the one where you can forget to water it for weeks and then water it and it instantly comes back to life.) Anyway, I want to make a collage of my favorite pictures and have them enlarged and printed so I can frame them in my home. Just ask Carol - I need color on my walls!

I absolutely loved what happened next! When I was driving up to the Point, I saw 2 horses in a pasture and asked God to help me remember to stop so I could take a picture of them. I know, we do have horses in Kansas but I rarely get to see them upclose - and in their own environment. Plus the fact that I am incredibly intimidated by them. So as I was driving back down in elevation (up, up, up I go...and down, down, down I go!), I saw the horses and pondered in a nanosecond whether or not to stop. Since I asked God to help remind me, I slowly pulled over, walked across the road and took the picture of the two of them. The brown horse looked at me and began walking over to me and came right up to the fence, stuck his head over and kinda nudged his head like he wanted me to pet him. So I did...hesitantly at first and then I started talking to him. A-MA-ZING! This may not seem like a big thing to some but to me, I was thrilled! I said, "Oh my gosh! God! Did you see that!?! Did You see what he just did!?" I just couldn't believe it....and the fact that he didn't bite me or sense my fright because I was quite nervous about petting him.

Isn't he just amazing???

Here he's posing for a profile picture. :) He did it on the other side as well and then looked back at me one more time....and then turned around and walked back to his buddy. I realize I was in Cowboy and Ranch country and the horses are most likely used for that purpose, but I still loved the moment!

Horses have now joined the ranks with dogs in my heart.

A beautiful flower to add to decorating my home. :)

A picture of the water - via a Ranch. I didn't know ranchers could afford such luxurious landscape! I could see myself livin' on a ranch. One of these though - not like SouthFork. :)

This was a "spur-of-the-moment" turn and it turned out to be the Waikoloa Hilton Resort and Beach. Thankfully, all the beaches in Hawaii are public so this is where I landed to watch the sunset. I cannot believe the "poshness" of this place! It has it's own shopping area called "King Shops" and more immaculately groomed gardens, golf course and grounds than what I am accustomed to. The shops? Louis Vitton. Rolex. Tiffany & Co. So what did I do? I went into each of the shops and bought myself a gift. :)

I am now a firm believer that I could actually be a beach-goer on this beach. I went and located a spot that had my name written all over it, spread out my beach towel and sunbathed...while listening to my ipod and praising and thanking God.

How awesome is this? There were turtles sunbathing about 50 feet from me....so I had to take their pictures. I watched them swim in the water and frolick about....I could've stayed and watched for hours.

I named this guy "lone shell McGraw" because he was the first to come out of the water. He's a risk taker....I like that about him. We've bonded.

This is just before the sun was getting ready to set.....

I am speechless with this beach!

This is the view of the Hilton area. Next time I come here, this is where I'm going to stay! Of course, according to some, I would need to rob a bank to stay here. :) I'm thinkin' I'll come back on Thursday and see if I meet the "gingerbread man in the speedo" who will want to pampler, pamper, pamper me! LOL (Not talkin' 'bout the diapers here! :)

I really love this picture....

Here I am, wide-eyed and thrilled to see the sunset, heading out of the park. I had to stop and take a picture by the flowers.
This is the view from the parking lot looking towards the middle of the island.

The one thing I did encounter that made me feel a bit lonely was seeing a bride and groom get their pictures taken on the beach. I didn't wallow or anything - kind of felt the sadness until it naturally went away and said a prayer for the couple's marriage. I will definitely be going back to this beach. Even though Kauma Kea and Hapuna had "white sand", I really love this beach more. It's not as crowded, it's quiet and I even have my own "spot". :) There are alot of pictures that I didn't upload because I was getting really tired tonight and blogging takes alot of energy when you've been exploring for 12 hours!

Beaches Galore!

2007-12-11T01:11:00.000-06:00

I went to the West side of the Island yesterday (Monday, Dec 10) to check out the beaches....and I was kind of tiring of the rain, to be honest. Not fed up with it but wanted to feel the sun.

The drive was very emotional for me. I was listening to a CD that Velvet made for Kip's celebration of Life and I think I cried during half the CD. I was thinking about Kip but not in a "100 steps forward - 1,000 steps back" kind of way. I was overwhelmed by God's Grace and Mercy and I wept. At one point I realized I was trying to "stop crying" and realized the words of "Miracle of the Moment"...."and if it brings you tears, then let them soften your heart..." so I let the tears flow. At one point I wasn't even sure why I was crying and then prayed that God would hear my Spirit and my heart and interpret whatever it was I was attempting to communicate. I came around a bend and was overwhelmed by the sight. It made me cry. God is TRULY Magestic. As I sang along with the songs (Third Day, Jeremy Kamp, Mercy Me, Rebecca St. James, etc) I just cried because of God's Promises. It truly was overwhelming.

The beach drive wasn't as long as I thought it would be. Afterall, I've already logged 804 miles on my rental car so maybe I was on auto-pilot or something. :) There were two main beaches I went to - Mauna Kea and Hapuna Beach. Let me just say that the West side of the Island is so very different than the East side. Where there is plush trees, foliage and of course, the infamous rain, the West side is very dry and desolate. I think the only things (that I've seen thus far) people go to the West side for are the beaches.
When you drive into the main 'gates', it is prestine, to say the least. I felt a little out of my budget and then decided God's country isn't only for the rich! :) The hotels may be.....but not His Beauty!!
These were two little fellas who greet you at Mauna Kea so I had to stop and have a bit of a chit-chat with them. I looked at them and said, "Dawn Rocks!" and they replied - "Dawn Rocks!"....OR....maybe I just heard that in my head because you know, I DO ROCK! LOL
I was impressed with the beaches and after awhile, realized that I'm seriously NOT a 'beach goer'. There were alot of people on the beaches and as I attempted to sit and watch the ocean, converse with God and take in the scenery, I realized I couldn't just "sit" and do nothing. So I walked up and down the beaches, attempting to engage people in conversation. Of course, I bypassed the women who were in thongs as they gave me strange looks because of my coconut bikini! (LOL...just kidding!)
I did find the scenery to be absolutely beautiful and amazing and it only made me want to be out on the water instead of being on land. However, knowing myself, the minute I would get on a boat to go out on the water, I'd want to be back on land. I seem to minimize my sea sickness trait.

This is Kevin and Tom - two "chaps" here on a 10 day holiday as well. They're getting ready to go snorkeling and asked if I wanted to join them and I replied, "As much as I would love to THINK I wouldn't freak out snorkeling, I would hate to put the two of you through my first encounter and ruin your experience with the sealife." Very nice couple and incredibly nice to invite me along.

I spent 4 hours at the beaches and will be returning today. However, just in the short time I was there (it felt short since I was walking everywhere), I got the dreaded heatrash on my arms. Having allergic reactions to the sun isn't a good thing! :) Well, I don't know if it's actually allergic reactions but it sounded dramatic enough! LOL

On the way home, I was talking to Velvet on the phone and saw a little puppy on the side of the highway and my heart broke. He looked so scared .... and I couldn't turn around to go get him so he wouldn't get run over because it was a one-way highway. I cried. (See? I said it was an emotional day!) I prayed God would protect the little fella and give him a good home. I think I've completely missed my calling. If I had a million dollars, I'd buy a huge piece of land and build a mini doggie shelter. Or I'd just keep them all!!

Last night when I got home, I went back outside to get my beachbag (an incredible and thoughtful gift, thank you, Carol!!) and as I opened the sliding glass door, there was a little froggie on the frame. Of course, he scared me. Of course he jumped....and as he jumped, I jumped and slammed the sliding glass door right on the little fella. He's hopping around the Beaches and Rain Forests in Heaven now. Peace be with him.
So I'm going to sign off and get ready for another trip to the beach. My goal today is to get some pics of the sunset...minus the people swimming in my line of sight! :) Who do people think they are, enjoying themselves and the water and relaxing to get away from the rush of their lives? Sheesh. :)

As a side note, I CANNOT believe how expensive gas is here! I gasp everytime I fill up the car....so if you're expecting a Hawaiian gift, please shift those expectations unless you're happy with grains of sand from my sandals. :)

I thought this was beautiful!

Volcano National Park...and frogs

2007-12-09T22:54:00.000-06:00

Aloha from the Big Island! When I awoke this morning and was going through my morning routine, I went outside to get my tennies from the car and there was a small, green frog on the screen door. I kinda did the, "oh-my-gosh-what-is-that-creature-and-how-in-the-world-do-I-make-sure-it-doesn't-touch-me?!" dance. I think every female knows this dance. :) It was the same one I did in the car yesterday on the way home from Hilo when one jumped onto the driver's side window. I screamed, "Oh-my-gosh-getitoff!" :) The suction on their feet are amazing!

And so began my journey for today. :)

I went to the Volcano National Park and spent 6 hours there. It was amazing, to say the least! The first thing I noticed when I left the Visitor's Center and began the drive was the wretched stench of sulphur! PEE-YEW!! There are a TON of pictures so I tried to choose the ones that I thought would be representative of the park itself. This is, of course, the biggest crater in the park. It may not look like it, but it is massive! I couldn't believe I was actually walking on an active volcano! Kinda freaked me out at times, but I quickly got over it.

To give you a better idea of the size, I decided to do a self portrait (wearing the SAME sweatshirt as I have in apparently all of my other pictures of myself on this trip!) standing in front of the crater. I felt fairly small in comparison to this massive thing and was very grateful that God chooses to Love me as much as He does when He makes such awesome beauty for me (us) to enjoy.

I hadn't gotten wet from the rain yet but it was drizzling out and rather cold. I was prepared though - I brought everything the little tour book of the Big Island told me to bring to the park - "warmies", rain gear, flashlight, LOTS OF WATER and extra batteries - all for the "hike" at the end of the "Chain of Craters" Road. I look smashing, don't I?!?! :)

This is still the same crater - Kilauea Crater (or maybe it's the "crater-within-a-crater", I can't remember...) and as I was standing next to a woman and her daughter from a "Polynesian Adventure Tour Guide", the daughter said, "I wonder what the food is for?" The Mother replied, "I don't know. Maybe it's for a memorial or something." I looked at them and smiled and said, "Actually, it's a gift/sacrifice for the Goddess Pene, who, legend has it, had a love who she lost (who she made into a flower that you aren't allowed to pick or she will make it rain hard for days - and the rain is symbolic of her tears) and people give her gifts to keep her happy so the weather stays nice. Basically." They just looked at me and said, "Oh wow - I didn't know that." The woman next to me said, "You really know your stuff!" I then had to come clean. I laughed and said, "Well, truth be known, I just read about it before getting out of the car in my "Hawaii - Big Island Revealed book, so I may have gotten some of the information wrong." They laughed and said that was the funniest thing they'd heard all day.

Another view of the crater.....this thing was absolutely massive and I kept taking pictures because I wanted to make sure I got a good one.

There was one view that the book said was a "must see!" so I drove down this VERY NARROW road (one lane) on twisting roads that actually made me want to stop the car and hurl. I felt like I just got off a rollercoaster...at one point I told myself not to close my eyes or else my head would spin and then I'd run off the road into a lava rock. :) While driving down this road, something ran in front of the car and scurried into the bush and naturally I yelled, "WHATWUZTHAT?!?" It looked like a wild pig or something so I then wondered why anyone would willingly camp in this park with those shenanigans running amuck.

This picture is one of my favorites. This is at the end of Chain of Craters Road and you have to walk across the lava rock to get to the edge. I was looking in awe at the ocean and turned to my right, and there it was. God tipping his Toe in the Ocean. :) I leaned out just a little bit to get this shot and even though there was a wall ledge, my hands still started sweating. I was amazed that the lava could produce such beauty in this park. Out of hot, molten lava, begets life.

The waves could be heard crashing against the cliffside....it was absolutely stunning to watch and hear. This park seriously gives new meaning to "Our God is an Awesome God".

Need I even say anything about this photo? I was watching the waves roll in and then realized that there were palm trees in the midst of the lava rock.

This is another "slowly step cloer to the edge of the cliff but don't get too close" moment. There is a sign that says, "Danger! High winds can cause unstable gusts - Use Caution!" This cliff is the same height as the one in the picture above...and no, I didn't get close to the edge. My heart was palpitating when I took this picture and I was actually about 10 feet back. I held my arm out as far as I could and prayed the picture was awesome.

And it was.

This is actually a little out of place in as this is the lava rock that covered the highway that is now closed. You could walk out on it and at night, when there is lava flow activity, you can watch the hot lava flow through the rock and out into the ocean. That was what all my gear was for. I was prepared! However, there wasn't any activity that was "accessible" to the public, so I didn't stay into the night.

Remember the palm trees from before? Here they are up close. Since the lava flow wrecked havoc on the road, the park closed off the road a 1/2 mile from the "lava block" (as opposed to "road block"). Clever, huh? :) This is on the walk to the lava block and I just stood in awe at how this could even be possible. I was starting to feel the heat taking it's toll on me (I think I went through 3 different versions of Spring and Summer on this adventure!) so I carried on down the road.

And here we have the lava block. Can you see the person standing on top of the rock? It was massive!

So I climed onto it and had to take the picture of the road sign that got stuck in the flow. I'm surprised it didn't fall after the lava hit the post.

Ahhh yes, another self portrait standing on the lava block! I realized that I was a NFL walking sponsor today since my t-shirt also has NFL on it.

Hmmm. And I don't even know the rules of the game. :)

This was another Incredible day. God showed up Everywhere....and despite the fact that I drank 100 oz of water while I was there and still had a headache; thought that I'd never get out of the "sulphur zone" and wondered if I was actually going to melt on the walk to the 'lava block', it was AWESOME!

Natural Hot Pools

2007-12-08T22:46:00.000-06:00

Today I went to the Natural Hot Pools and although it was raining, it was an awesome sight! I met a woman, Patsy Wilson and son John, who amazingly enough, lived in Keokuk, IA! (V - next to Grinnell). She was awesome and asked if I was planning on relocating to the Big Island. I told her I was here until the 15th so we'll see. :) She was so incredibly nice - she convinced me that if I was choosing between the Botanical Gardens and the Volcano National Park, do the Volcano tour. I can stop on the side of the road in my travels this coming week for pictures of flowers if I don't make it to the Botanical Gardens. I attempted to go to the big Farmers Market in Hilo this morning but I couldn't find a parking spot, so I figured I could go again on Wednesday. She told me where the best beach on the Island is so I'm going to be going there first and then possibly drive down the Kona (West) Side. The beach is only about 1.5 hours away - so I can go anytime and don't have to go all the way to Kona, which is what I was concerned about. I didn't want to have to drive 2.5 hours without knowing which beach was the best! :)

This area is where the wall separates the sea (and it is rough!) from the hot springs. It's amazing. No, I didn't get in....the smell of sulfur PLUS the warning that "eels can be aggressive" kept me out of it. It was awesome to just sit and watch the sea . . . God and I had some great conversations today. When I wasn't expecting it, "Miracle of the Moment" played on the radio. He has incredible timing. :)

This is the choppy sea where a group of surfers were doing their thing. The images of them are too large so I have to resize those before uploading. It was amazing....I'd look out about 200 meters and just see little heads in the water that were specs in comparison to the waves. I cannot fathom being in the water like that . . . if I can't touch the bottom, no thank you! :)

I met a nice man from the friendly state of Georgia when I was standing out on this wharf-thingy. I don't even know what it's called. He's been here a week for work and said so far, he wasn't impressed. He wanted the sandy beaches and I told him that those are on the West side of the Island. He asked me where I'd been and how long I've been here and I told him I've already driven up the East side of the Island and told him the great places I stopped. He complained about the weather (he's going to be here for 6 months) but I said, "Yah, it does rain alot but you cannot get beauty like this in Kansas!" I don't care that it rains everyday - I get to wear shorts and t-shirts and see things that I am always telling God, "Great job!!"

There's a creepy crawly lizard thingy in the house....they can attach themselves to anything! I don't even know how to catch him so I'm going to leave him alone and pray he finds his way back outside. Peggy (the doctor who lives in the cottage behind the house) said they're harmless and good because they eat bugs. Yah, well, this is one woman who would rather they be OUTSIDE rather than INSIDE! :)

Hamakua Coast

2007-12-07T19:50:00.000-06:00

My Day:
It's about 5:15 a.m. and I feel very rested. It rained hard throughout the night and I think I woke up twice. Each time I felt my body completely relax and was so thrilled to be able to turn over, feel the tiredness in my feet and body and say, "Sweet Sleep", Thank You, God. And then fall back asleep.
God is absolutely wonderful. I feel very relaxed here. Of course, it's not how I pictured everything in my imagination before coming over but I am so open to just "being" in the beauty and wonder of God's Awesomeness on this Island. It doesn't even bother me that it's rained every day since I arrived. (Here I am just before leaving for the day!)

I am going to drive North up the Hamakua Coast to Waimea. There are some awesome scenic routes that need to be discovered, and who better to do it, than I? :) My list of activities I wrote before I left has changed so now I am an Explorer, participating, instead of a...well, i don't know what I was considering myself to be before. :)
With God showing me the way, I don't want to miss what HE wants to show me. My prayer today is to rest in Him and breathe in the moments.

This is Hilo Bay - about 20 minutes North of Pahoa. I thought this was absolutely beautiful, so I had to stop and take in the moment.

As I was driving after this stop, I was thinking about my destination, of which I truly didn't know, and then I paused and said outloud - "Hang on...THIS is my destination. This trip. This drive. This moment." Kind of a revelation because I was watching all the other drivers and trying to watch the ocean on my right (no worries - the speed limit is about 45 mph the entire way up the Coast! Add construction work and you've got yourself quite the drive.)

My next stop was Akaka Falls, about 10 minutes north of Hilo. Unfortunately, they only had one path open to the 3 different falls so it was about a 5 minute walk total. Here I am in front of the path. :)

You gotta love self portraits!!

Okay, so I know this picture is sideways but I had to lean over the railing (there was a big grassy shelf so no opportunity to fall!) to get this picture.

Again, a self portrain in front of one of the smaller falls. The picture I took of this is bigger than 1MB so I have to downsize it before posting.

Do I even need a caption for this one?

Or this one? This one is my favorite. I just love yellow! :)

My next stop was Laupahoehoe Point, which went through a horrible Tsunami and was basically destroyed. These are the pictures of what is remaining.

The point and land is where the village used to be. You can see the jagged rocks that used to be shore.

The following pictures are from the Point itself. I tried to catch the waves as they hit the rocks....without getting wet! Didn't work!

Amazing...

And this is where I had to put my hair up in a barrette and put on my baseball cap!

After the water blast, I drove about another 20 miles to Wimea. All of the towns, including Hilo, which is one of the bigger of the 2 "cities" on the Big Island, are quaint "townships". They don't have the massive building - there are a ton of "old school" and historic buildings that are transformed into businesses. After Wimea, I was going to go to the tip of the Island, up to the Alenuihaha Channel. However, shortly after leaving Wimea, I not only hit winding roads where I couldn't turn around, but this is the fog that rolled in VERY QUICKLY. The roads were going up the mountain so I had to go very slow. At one point I was so nervous I could feel my feet sweating knowing that there were ravines on both sides of me, at times. Maybe when it's a nicer day, I'll attempt that again!

So I returned home (left at 8:00 a.m.) at about 3:30 exhausted. I was so tired. Once I hit the "fogwall", I felt really depleted of energy.

So here is a picture of my rental car in front of the rental house. It's a Caliber and very fun to drive!

This is a picture of the living/dining area of the house.

This is to the left when you first walk in the door. The kitchen is behind the "passthru". (I know there looks like a face in the bookcase but it's actually the reflection of the ceiling window. :)

A view of the kitchen and into the bathroom and bedrooms. Of course, I don't have a picture of my room because my bed isn't made. Let's face it, my bedroom hasn't been the tidiest of places in my lifetime! :) :)

And that concludes my day. I am really tired right now. There is a big Farmer's Market tomorrow in Hilo and depending how I feel, I'll go to that and since it's supposed to be nice, I'll hit the Volcano State Park, which is very close to here so I won't have to drive far.

First Hawaiian Tour

2007-12-06T17:51:00.000-06:00

First and foremost, the power is back on! While they were fixing the power, I decided to take a tour around the area of Pahoa. The pictures you see are around Mackenzie State Recreation Area. It was raining but I know you'll see what beautiful surroundings I am in at the moment. I'm feeling really awesome - still a bit tired from listening to the frogs sing all night, but other than that - God and I are enjoying some quality time together. I woke up this morning singing "Our God Is An Awesome God" and am hoping He translates the "not-so-beautiful-tone-eminating from me" into something beautiful for His ear. :)

The owners, Dev and Andrea, stopped by this afternoon so it was really great to meet them. They were giving me some pointers about Kona and Waimea, so I may take a drive up North tomorrow. I think they were concerned how I had reacted to the power outtage and I said, "Hey - no worries! It's all part of the Great Adventure!" :)

There are some awesome farmer's markets around as well so I'm seriously looking forward to hitting those (one of the biggest ones is in Hilo, just about 20 minutes away).

It's totally unbelievable - I am not afraid to go anywhere or do anything. No isolating here!! :) I will write more later but wanted to upload some pictures before I hit the shower and the grocery store.

My Li'l Adventure!

2007-12-06T13:39:00.000-06:00

Okay - I am wiped out! I did make it into Hilo last night about 8:30-9:00 pm Hawaii time, which was 1-2 a.m. Kansas time. The flight over was so very long. Oh my gosh - I think I would've gone postal if it weren't for my noise cancellation headphones! My laptop and cellphone batteries both ran out, which wasn't good because a big tree fell on a powerline, so I couldn't recharge them when I got to the cottage.

Driving in the rain with streets that all look the same was a journey, let me tell you! So, because there wasn't any power, that meant the cottage/house (which is totally cool!) was pitch black dark! I mean, there weren't any street lights, generators....nuthin. There is a woman who lives in the 1 bedroom cottage behind the house (where I'm staying) who pulled into the drive just as I was praying to God to help me find the key (yes...I forgot to write it down) and she gave me a tiny little flashlight for the night. So I went to Walmart and bought her 2 packs of big flashlights. :) She's such a lovely little woman.

Please pray that they get the electricity back on today - during daylight - because the water tanks are attached to the electricity...so now power = no showers. :)

I'm going to write more later when I've got some plan of actions on my daily activities and journeys....but I will say....it's an amazing island. There are frogs that sing to each other at night. All night. No reprieve. Then the birds start in at 5:30 a.m. but hey, at least I knew what time it was. :)

More soon!

And then there was one....

2007-12-04T10:23:00.000-06:00

Today I am really excited about my trip and cannot wait to get on the plane. I've been struggling the past couple of weeks with my own perspective and kind of dwelling in the "fear of the unknown". It's ironic how when you shift your thinking, your entire demeanor can change for the positive. Not that I've been negative, mind you....just one of those things where when you decide to shift out of your comfort zone in a major way, despite how much you want to push through it, it's still a bit scary. Maybe other people don't feel that way.

I keep thinking about being on the beaches, closing my eyes and just feeling His Presence. I don't feel that every day, mainly from my own doing. Taking the time to invite Him into my day and my daily activities, embarrassingly enough, isn't something I do first thing in the morning. It's usually sometime during my day when I realize I'm not breathing and IM'g BA, who reminds me of that.

I can't wait to get on the plane to take pictures to post on here! I'm really looking forward to using my awesome new digital camera (incredible gift from Casie) to take pictures so I can bring them back and frame them. Funnily enough, the visions I have of what I will come back with and be able to hang in my home are so awesome.....and yet, I am not the world's best photographer. :) I can conjure enough creative stuff up in my noggin but putting it to reality is such a totally different story!! I laugh at myself. I have these grandure thoughts of Hisbiscus flowers and the rain forests with a backdrop of the ocean......maybe I can pay Casie to help me put something together. That would be better than me trying it and ruining my photos. Sigh. :)

I was watching Family Guy last night (surprise, surprise) and one of the episodes was of Peter going back in time, dancing to that Harold Faltermeyer song(is that his name, I wonda...Axel F is the name of the song, I think ) and all he sang was, "de-de-de-dedede-and-then-another-dede-de-de-de. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2L-3ocw1QI)

Okay - time to finish packing! The next time I will post will be on my journey Westward!

5 Days To The Plane Door!

2007-11-30T17:48:00.000-06:00

What a crazy week this has been. I realized once I hit the "single digits" until I leave, my anxiety level increased. Imagine that. I kept thinking, "9 days to the plane door!" "7 days to the plane door!" "This time next week, I'll be on a plane. This time next week, I'll be in Hawaii. AAAHHHH!!"

However, right now, I'm feeling really good about doing this solo. I'm really excited about it, actually. When I was on campus earlier this week, I was telling a couple of co-workers about it and they looked at me like I was crazy when I said I was going by myself. They asked, "WHY!?!" And I said, "Why not? It's a time to relax and regroup and it's something I want to do." Then they said, "Yah, but why are you doing it by YOURSELF? Aren't you scared?" I kind of smiled and said, "Of what? Being by myself?" Then I said, "This is my journey - I enjoy my own company and whether it's in OP or in Hawaii, it's the same company. Just different geography with different experiences."

I know that pre-BT I wouldn't have dreamt of doing something like this....however, breaking out of my comfort zone means change. And since I am not keen on staying stagnant, change is welcome.

Oy.

I know I say that now. I'll do a calmness check when I'm about ready to board the plane.

This is just one more leg of my journey that I will be absolutely cognizant of the "moments" to embed the film on my brain. (Thanks, Casie!)

So, this weekend is full of preparation....buying books, cleaning and packing. I think the hardest thing I've pondered is what I'm going to wear for the flight....freezing in KC.....80's in Hawaii. I don't think I'll wear my KU jacket. :)

It's A Go!

2007-11-21T15:35:00.000-06:00

I paid for my cottage yesterday.....under a bit of an anxious moment, which BA so kindly walked me through. This is an exciting, yet risky, thing for me to do. If she had the time off, I'd definitely want her to come with me.

However, I know this is to be done solo.

Just like I did with BT, I am praying that whatever God wants me to learn about Him or myself or see about Him or myself, that I am open - and prepared - to do just that.

Let's all hope it's NOT like BT where all I did was cry. (Let us bow our heads). :)

BTW, I just want to say, that I'm not going to filter anything on this blog. This is a journey I want to embrace and write about....so if any of you who are reading it have questions, please feel free to ask.

Part of me doesn't understand why I'm feeling the way I am at the moment. This is a good thing for me. This is something I've been wanting, even day dreaming about, for a very, very, very long time. I can't even tell you how long.

So, in the wise and wonderful words of BA, I am consistently Stopping. Breathing. And Praying.

I'm sure, just like people have told me, that once I step off the plane, I will forget about any concerns or worry I may have at the moment.....and that I won't want to leave.

So here's what I have engrained in my mind, in the beautiful voice of Steven Curtis Chapman:

Miracle of the Moment - SCC

It's time for letting go All of our "if onlies"
Cause we don't have a time machine
And even if we did
Would we really want to use it
Would we really want to go change everything

Cause we are who and where and what we are
for now
And this is the only moment
we can do anything about

So breathe it in and breathe it out
And listen to your heartbeat
There's a wonder in the here and now
It's right there in front of you
And I don't want you to miss
the miracle of the moment

There's only One who knows
What's really out there waiting
And all the moments yet to be
And all we need to know
Is He's out there waiting
To Him the future's history

And He has given us a treasure
called right now
And this is the only moment
we can do anything about

So breathe it in and breathe it out
And listen to your heartbeat
There's a wonder in the here and now
It's right there in front of you
And I don't want you to miss
the miracle of the moment

And if it brings you tears
Then taste them as they fall
Let them soften your heart
And if it brings you laughter
Then throw your head back
And let it go Let it go, yeah
You gotta let it go
And listen to your heartbeat

And breathe it in and breathe it out
And listen to your heartbeat
There's a wonder in the here and now
It's right there in front of you
And I don't want you to miss
the miracle of the moment

And breathe it in and breathe it out
And listen to your heartbeat
There's a wonder in the here and now (here and now)
It's right there in front of you
And I don't want you to miss
the miracle Of the moment

Tickets are bought and in hand!

2007-11-12T20:08:00.000-06:00

It's official. Tickets have been bought and arrived today, thanks to the lovely services of FedEx. The trip of my 37th year is set so there is no going back! Hmmm....how many people want to guess how excited, anxious and a tad bit overwhelmed I am at the moment? I seriously cannot believe that I am doing this.

I am.

And it's well deserved.

Ask me in 2 weeks how I'm feeling. And hope I don't pass out from nerves. :)

Here is the cottage I will be staying at: http://www.pathless.com/nanawale/ I am in the Hale 'Io Cottage....for 10 glorious, relaxing, regrouping and recharging days.

On a side, yet incredibly important note:

For those of you who don't know, Velvet's boyfriend, Bret, is in the ICU in Wheaton, IL, sick with food poisoning. Please add him to your prayers. He's had an incredibly rough day so a quick and speedy recovery would be a Blessing. Also, please add Strength and Peace to the list for Velvet. She has not left his side and, although she may not ask directly for it, she needs your warm and loving words to hit God's ears as well.

I love you all and BA and Bret - my prayers for you are never-ceasing. I love you.