Maui vacation 2010 (Yes, there will be a Maui vacation 2011)

As a bright pink T-shirt in the airport gift shop expressed so eloquently, I left my heart in Maui.

Our hotel was the southernmost in a string of resorts along Ka'anapli beach. There was a lovely oceanside path that led past said resorts; dotted with restaurants, pools, and grassy knolls with palm trees and hammocks. Swinging in a hammock next to the ocean was very high up on my list of things to do while in Hawaii, and I'm pleased to report that I got lots of hammock time :)

Our hotel had a fabulous pool. While it became annoyingly crowded around the pool, the water never felt overly so. This pool was connected by a grotto (complete with waterfalls at both entrances and a bar inside) to the keiki (kiddie) pool, which looked pretty cool and had a waterslide that I never tried out.

Thursday was our first full day, and it's a blur of beach and pool and doesn't stand out much in my mind. We walked along the path that night after dinner, but Kara and I (due to full bladders) didn't make it all the way to Whaler's Village, a shopping center about 10 minutes walk north of us. Here we are on our way back to the hotel. Yes, that is my room key poking out, and this is a perfect example of why all dresses need pockets.

Friday we walked to Black Rock, probably a 15-20 minute walk up the beach. The snorkeling here was fabulous; Jon and Kara had checked it out the day before and saw two sea turtles and lots of cool fish. Doesn't look like much above the water:

Lots of local teenagers climbed up and jumped off the rock. It looked like fun. While snorkeling, I saw a spotted ray and lots of awesome fish. Then on the way back in to shore, we saw a sea turtle. There was another snorkeler nearby who was feeding it clumps of algae and petting its shell. Once we saw that guy not getting a finger snapped off by the turtle, we felt comfortable swimming up and petting its shell, too. Here we are, high on communing with ocean wildlife:

Hammock time.

Saturday was one of my favorite days of vacation. We were picked up from our hotel at 7:15 am and driven to a marina down the coast. With us in the van was a boisterous group of 50-something women from the midwest, and a quiet couple from San Fransisco. Here we are checking in with Captain Mike, handing over waivers promising not to sue anybody if anything untoward happened during the trip.

And here I am onboard the Alii Nui (pronounced A-lee-ee New-ee for those unfamiliar with Hawaiian pronunciation...I know I am).

I love, love, love being on boats. I love kicking off my shoes, love the wind on my face, love the water all around...I wanted to ask if they were hiring new crew members. Wind in the sails.

Kara and I. My experience in this picture is my definition of bliss.

Testing out the snorkel gear.

We sailed for about an hour out to Molikini (per wikipedia: Molokini is a crescent-shaped, partially submerged volcanic crater which forms a small islet located in Alalakeiki Channel between the islands of Maui and Kahoʻolawe, part of Maui County in Hawaiʻi.) We rented an underwater digital camera and took a hundred pictures of random fish. And some of ourselves:

We had lunch onboard, and then I played in the ocean for awhile. The water was so clear it felt like I was in a gigantic swimming pool. I jumped off the side of the boat a few times :) and made friends with a woman from Rhode Island who also enjoyed frolicking in the ocean. The sail back was equally enjoyable...but I was sad to get off the boat.

On Sunday, Jon and Kara rented a car and went to explore the other side of the island. I chose to stay and have a beach day. First thing in the morning, I walked to Whaler's Village and rented a Stand Up Paddle surfboard (a bit wider and thicker than a traditional longboard, and with a paddle). I paddled out into the ocean, feeling good, and what followed probably would have made me an internet sensation if anyone had filmed it.

First of all was figuring out how to go from laying on my stomach on the board to standing up. I got up on my knees with no problem, and paddled around like that for awhile to get used to balancing. Then I hovered on my hands and knees for what felt like an eternity, trying to balance enough to stand up. I finally figured out it was easier if I popped up from a heel squat...and then I was standing up! For three seconds before falling into the ocean... I laughed a lot and kept trying. I got really good at standing up, but only ever ended up actually standing up paddling for 30 seconds at the most. I tried flexing my core and keeping my eyes on the horizon (tips from the woman who rented me the board), but it didn't help much. Anyway, I will keep working out and try again next time. It was fun and I'm glad I tried it.

After my SUP experience, I went snorkeling again at Black Rock. I didn't see any sea turtles, but did see my friend the spotted ray again. Lunch that day was Yogurtland, which I need to express my love for. If you've never been, it's a self-serve frozen yogurt bar where you pick whatever quantity and variety of flavors and toppings you want, then put it on a scale and pay a flat 47 cents an ounce. Brilliant.

Monday was our last full day of vacation, and my other favorite day :) Started with room service breakfast with Jon and Kara.

Then we headed into Lahaina town to rent boogie boards. We got a great deal at $2.50 a board for the day. My snorkeling trip friend from Rhode Island recommended a great surfing spot up north called Flemming Beach. It did not disappoint.

There were some massive, awesome waves, and I spent hours playing in them. A bunch of great rides, a couple of tumbles in a washing machine, and lots of fun.

After Flemming beach, we tried to go snorkeling at Honolua Bay. We heard it was an awesome snorkeling spot with some of the most diverse ocean wildlife in the world. However, the same great surf that we spent the morning playing in was creating massive waves in the Bay. They seemed to go on forever, and the surfers we saw were having long awesome rides inside the tube. It was fun to watch, but the locals who owned the beachfront property wouldn't let us into the bay to go snorkeling.

I don't really remember where we ate on which night, but most of the food was delicious. I had lots of great fish, including ahi, mahi mahi, and ono. We ate at Umalu, a restaurant at our resort many times, also we hit up Aloha Mixed Plate and Kimo's in Lahaina. I also had the most delicious shave ice ever.

My trip was pretty much awesome, and I can't wait to go back. Mahalo for reading.

Maui Teaser: Part 1

I'm posting from the Hyatt Regency Resort in Kaanapali on the island of Maui. Could not feel any more relaxed than I do right now (okay, maybe if I was sipping a mai tai while getting a massage...both of which I plan to do this week).

Little bit of jet lag meant that I woke up at 4:40 am, ready to start my day. So I drank some coffee, worked out, and went for a little run, all before the sun came up. Here's the view from the oceanside hammock I rested in after running.

View from my balcony this morning. Very Lost.

But then the sun popped out.

And the day was gorgeous.

Jon and Kara, poolside.

Heading into the ocean to do some snorkeling.

That's all you get for now. I'm enjoying myself tremendously, and wishing that I owned a tropical island that everyone I love could gather on :)

Xavilution takes Seattle: A Chronicle in Pictures

Jeff, Amie, and Xavi came to visit last week! I met them on Wednesday night at baggage claim; two weary travelers and one manic toddler, who was literally running around in circles. Poor little guy, 4 1/2 hours on a plane is long for me, so I can imagine it was eternity for him. He did smile when he saw me, and consented to being hugged and kissed :)

Thursday morning started out clear and sunny. Here's Xavi playing in my apartment while I made scrambled eggs:

We decided to do downtown Seattle things on Thursday. We bought CityPasses (www.cityPASS.com), which are a pretty great deal if you want to do tourist-y type things in a city. Having them helped give our week some structure, and saved us lots of money. We hit up Pike's Place Market first, and got there early enough that it was the emptiest I've ever seen it.

Little charmer. He enjoyed the free fruit samples.

Here we are outside our favorite Pirosky place. Unfortunately, they don't make gluten-free piroskys...so I couldn't enjoy a delicious meaty, cheesy pastry.

After the Market, we walked to the Aquarium. I'd never been there, but Jeff & Amie had. It was a pretty neat place. They definitely focus on education and conservation and stuff (typical Seattle), so there are no dolphin shows or anything. But they do have a 'petting zoo' where you can touch starfish and sea cucumbers.

After the aquarium, we went out for lunch at my favorite Seattle rodizio dining experience (okay, the only one I've been to): Ipanema Grill. Jeff, Amie, and I enjoyed the delicious meat smorgasbord, and Xavi inhaled his plate of feijoada.

On Friday we drove up to the #1 place on Earth and did some shopping at an outlet mall. Xavi loved the play areas that were scattered about and climbing into those coin-operated rides, however he did not like when coins were actually deposited into the rides and they started moving. After shopping, we headed to a farm. I'd gotten a groupon (www.groupon.com) a few weeks ago for a family pass to this farm with a pumpkin patch and a giant corn maze in the shape of Washington. It seemed like an appropriate autumn outdoor activity. And it ended up being awesome!

Xavi was sleeping when we got there, but he woke up on the hayride to the start of the corn maze. He had this look on his face that seemed to say, 'I don't know where I am or how I got here, but I see a huge tractor and it's AWESOME.'

Here we are in Olympia, the state capitol of corn maze Washington.

Xavi loved this playground. He went down the slide a million times. It was fun to watch him have so much fun.

After dragging him away from the playground, we checked out the animals. In addition to this pen full of bunnies (which we later entered), there were pigs and 6 day-old piglets, goats, sheep, chickens, alpacas, and kittens.

This kid was in heaven with all the tractors.

Saturday was cold and grey. We spent the day walking around the zoo and getting rained on. It was fun anyway, and gave Jeff & Amie a taste of 'real' Seattle weather (as it is always nice when they come visit). We saw tons of animals, but I think Xavi's favorites were the fake horses on the carousel :) Apparently at his zoo, he can ride the carousel as many times as he wants, so he wasn't very happy about only going once at my zoo.

After we got back to my place and dried up/thawed out, we decided to bum around for the rest of the evening. I ordered us food online from an Italian place nearby where you can get most things on the menu gluten-free (for an extra fee, of course). I had a delicious sub that was worth every extra cent. Fun with dominoes:

Sunday it was cold and grey and raining again, so we decided to go to the Science Center. Hooray for indoor activities! Jeff, Amie, & Xavi looking Lilliputian on a giant kitchen chair.

Included with our CityPass were free tickets to an IMAX movie. We were skeptical about Xavi wanting to sit through a movie, but picked the one about planes/flying and hoped for the best. The little goober shocked us all when he not only consented to wearing the 3D goggles, but also sat through 40 minutes of a documentary about flying. He was mesmerized, and it was fun to watch.

After Xavi's nap, the weather was dry enough that we decided to go to a park near my place. This park was so great! I told Jeff & Amie that I'm going to go back and be the weird lady hanging around the playground even though she doesn't have any kids. So, here's what Xavi wanted to do at the park:

And here's what the 'grown-ups' wanted to do at the park:

The other, legitimate grown-ups were looking at us like we were crazy :)

Pre-bedtime silliness in Auntie Rachel's room:

Monday was our last day, so rain or shine, we were going back downtown to use up the tickets in our CityPass. We started with a monorail ride to the Space Needle. Xavi loved it, and for the rest of the day asked, "choo-choo?" By the last day (as usual), he had decided that Auntie Rachel was pretty great, and he let me hold him, even snuggling with me when he got tired. Melts me into goo just thinking about it.

On top of the world.

It was definitely chilly up there, but clear enough to see (just not the mountains).

The day cleared up as it went on, and by the time we were ready for our harbor cruise, it was positively lovely out.

It's nice to have out-of-towners come visit and remind you that your city is pretty great.

We went back to Pike's Market after our cruise, for one last run-through. Amie wanted to check out this chowder place that she'd read about online.

Xavi entertained himself chasing pigeons and doing this. If you're thinking, 'hmm, that could be dangerous,' you are probably either a mother or a nurse or both. Shortly after this picture was taken, there was a minor incident.

We cleaned the scrape very well to avoid any kind of hobo and/or pigeon infection. A few hours later, good as new, playing with his cars on my deck.

My friends Amy and Nelson came over for dinner that night. While I was cooking, Jeff, Amie, and Xavi walked to Gasworks Park just down the street from me (it has what I consider to be one of the best views of Seattle).

So concluded the visit. It was really wonderful to have them come, and I'm so thankful to have an extra bedroom/bathroom for guests. All pictures were taken on Jeff's awesome camera, and I tried not to use all the good ones so CXI (xavilution.blogspot.com) can do a blog pictorial, too :)

Cha, cha, cha

New things:

-I love to go running outside now. My version of running does include stopping to walk for a bit when necessary, but I see improvement in myself and that’s exciting. The distance of my runs has slowly been increasing, but I think if I want to go longer than the 4 miles I currently do, I’ll need to buy some hydration equipment. It seems like you get better endorphins running outside than you do on the treadmill. Sometimes I feel like I could fly after running…gotta love those brain chemicals. Last week while on a run, I saw a couple out for a bike ride together. Seemed normal enough. After they passed, I noticed that the man had a mesh rectangle attached to his back (it looked like one of those collapsible laundry hampers). Inside the mesh rectangle, sitting on a wooden bar, was a parakeet. The bird seemed quite content to be out for a bike ride. Weird.

-I've been going to church pretty regularly for a few months, and more than that I feel part of a church body (which hasn't been the case for a looooong time). It's actually a church plant from Carbondale, Illinois. There are lots of midwesterners, and I've met lots of great people.

-I am living gluten free! I'm not sure how exactly I decided to go gluten-free...I know it involved my mom who is pretty convinced she's gluten intolerant. So I did a little research, bought a couple of books, and decided to give it a try for 6 months. The book I've been reading is called The Gluten Connection, by Shari Lieberman (a clinical nutritionist), and it's pretty fascinating. I'm actually thinking that no one should be eating wheat. (FYI, wheat today contains 50x the amount of gluten compared with wheat 100 years ago). There is a whole host of disease processes associated with gluten intolerance, and made better by cutting out gluten. There's a significant genetic component, and she recommends getting tested if you have a first-degree relative with Celiac disease (I'm looking at you, cousin Lara).

I don't think I need to be tested, although I would love for my mom to share her story in the comments section (SPOILER ALERT: it involves freezing your poo). I've been adhering to a gluten free diet for 2 1/2 weeks. Wednesday night I had major insomnia. Thursday morning, I woke up with a terrible stomachache, accompanied by unpleasant things I'd rather not mention here. I tried to figure out what I'd eaten...and realized that the delicious BBQ chicken quesadillas my roommate made for dinner on wednesday contained BBQ sauce with gluten. I know it's not a conclusive diagnosis, but I'm convinced. Also, before I started this diet, I thought I was lactose intolerant...I'd often get a bad stomachache/more unpleasantness after eating ice cream or milk. Since going gluten free, I can eat ice cream with no gastrointestinal side effects. Strange, huh? Perhaps it was the gluten all along.

It may seem I've jumped on the crazy train, but given our family's history of 'temperamental tummy' (Waves of Doom, anyone?), I wonder if we aren't all just gluten intolerant. There's also a super high correlation with migraine headaches (ahem...).

-Jeff, Amie, and Xavi are coming out to visit next month! I can't wait to see them! Let's be honest, my next post will probably be a recap and pictures of their visit.

-My roommates and I are going to Maui in November, and I can already barely contain my excitement. I want to start packing my bags right now...

Welcome to Wallingford

I randomly had 5 days off over July 4th weekend, so I went to visit the fam in St. Louis. It was a lovely visit, which included a girls night out to go see Wicked (a first for all of us), many lovely hours by the pool, and lots of quality time with a certain tow-headed little charmer.

Xavi, doing his thing in the car. Jeff & Amie need to have a key safe...I can totally see him being one of those kids who tries to go joyriding as soon as his feet reach the pedals.

Amie and Jo, flashing 'W's on our way to see Wicked. Amie needed an astonishing amount of coaching to get her hand into this position. I have other, less flattering pictures of the process :)

Family swing time at Fairmount Elementary...the old stomping grounds.

Love this little blondie boy. I like to think I'm growing on him, too :)

* * *

This time I have a semi-acceptable excuse for not posting in over a month. My lease was up at the end of July, and I was slogging through Craigslist ads and looking at crappy apartments (and apartments I definitely couldn't afford)...and drawing up plans for the furniture fort I would surely have to build on the street and defend from the other homeless people. It was a soul-sucking process, but I learned a few lessons. Here they are:

- If something sounds too good to be true (like a 4 bed, 2 bath in a great location for $1400/month), it is definitely a Nigerian trying to scam you.

- Old world charm = 1 bathroom, usually in a bizarre location, like off the kitchen pantry + extremely creaky floors + windows that are painted shut

- A washer/dryer in your apartment is worth at least $250 a month

Seattle is one of the areas of the country where real estate is 'on the upswing' apparently, which leads landlords to assume they can jack prices back up...I'm talking at least $1400 for a 600 sqft 1 bed/1 bath with a washer/dryer. Perhaps I've been spoiled by having a roommate and renting from a woman kind enough to lower our rent when we told her our raises had been frozen at work. I had a really hard time finding a place, and found myself despairing on more than one occasion. But God is good. And funny. After lots of looking, and several different options (living alone, living with a friend from work, living with friends who are married)...I eventually fell in love with a 3 bed/3 bath, which I just moved into with my friends Jon and Kara and Jack the cat. We are calling it our experiment in community :)

The place is big and open, but sound doesn't travel well at all...which is kind of perfect. Also, the 3rd bedroom/den is upstairs and connected to a deck with a lovely view of Lake Union and the city. So there's enough space for us to stay out of each other's hair if we want to be. We also live across the street from the Burke-Gilman trail, which is this long bike/walking trail that goes east to west. I went for a nice little run the other day (wearing my Vibram 5 fingers) about 3/4 mile to a great park, and back. Then yesterday I took the trail over to the University district (which is nice in the summer as it's not totally full of college students), where I rented a kayak for $15/hour and got in a lovely upper body workout while working on my tan :) Very efficient.

The only real downside to this place is walkability. In Ballard, I was a block away from 2 grocery stores and a post office, and a whole strip of stores & restaurants was within 1/4 mile. Not so much here, it's more residential. But also quieter. And we live a block from a bus stop which I can take to Fremont or Wallingford in 5 minutes. And the nearest grocery store to me now is the one Dave Matthews shops at.

Here are some pics before Jon & Kara moved in. We are going to make a video tour once we're all settled.

IThe hub of activity in any home, the kitchen.

I love, love, love sitting at the counter. My chairs fit perfectly, and coincidentally match Jon & Kara's dining room table exactly (same collection from World Market).

View from the kitchen. The space is bigger than it looks in this picture.

I'll put up more pictures soon, but the total effect is really best in person. I have Benadryl & Claritin on hand for my cat-allergic family members...so come visit soon!

Restoring Faith in Humanity

Last weekend I was leaving a co-worker's place in the city, after watching the U.S. v England game. As I strolled down the sidewalk, I noticed a driver's license staring up at me from the ground. It was a little blue billfold, containing not only the license, but also several credit cards and a medicare insurance card for an elderly woman. At the moment I found myself sorely regretting my lack of a smart phone (which would enable me to find her phone number, look up her address on a map, and figure out which bus I could take to get there from where I was).

I looked her up in the white pages when I got home, and left a message on her answering machine. She called me back as I was enjoying the (rare) sunshine on my roof deck, and we ended up chatting on the phone for about 20 minutes before deciding that I would drop the billfold off at her place on my way out that evening.

Her place was a high-rise condo building not far from where I work. She met me in the lobby with her daughter who was in town visiting, and gave me a hug and thanked me. Then we all plopped down into armchairs and visited like old friends catching up after some time apart. It was surprisingly pleasant. She gave me a copy of one of her daughter's books (The Book of Qualities) with a card and some money inside. I didn't open the card until I was in my car...it said, among other things: 'It always restores my faith in humanity to meet a young person of integrity.' The whole experience left me with a warm, gooey feeling inside. She also remarked that "your parents raised you well!" Good job us, Mom and Dad, for restoring someone's faith in humanity :)

What's New...

The last time I tried to create a new post, it got deleted and I had no motivation to re-write it. I'll try again.

The month of May included a trip to Austin, Texas for my former roommate's wedding. It was a great trip (surprisingly wonderful to be back in Texas), although the experience pretty much confirmed for me that I do not ever want to plan a wedding. Highlight of that trip was 'floating the river' which basically consisted of tying a large group of people together in tubes (with coolers full of 'refreshments' in their own tubes), and floating down a river on a beautiful day :)

Toward the end of the month, I flew back to St Louis for my mom's birthday and my parents' pool grand opening. It was nice to be back for a visit, but the plan of luring me back to the midwest with an awesome pool didn't work :)

Here's Xavi trying to figure out what the deal is with the pool. The splash zone in front of him suggests that someone had just jumped in, but I don't remember who it was:

Here I am enjoying the pool and the bubble gun:

Didu showing Xavi and Irene how to splash. The water was about 70 degrees at that point, and Didu didn't like getting splashed back by his grown-up offspring later :)

Match-y poo-poos Xavi and Isaac:

Me and my nephew Isaac. We are pretty cute :) and it only took about six tries to get this picture.

The rest of life has been same old, same old. Work seems to finally be picking up (we have been very slow for a very long time...which is not good, financially speaking). I have to move next month, as my roommate is moving to Portland with her boyfriend, and I can't afford this place by myself. I kind of enjoy the purging process that goes along with moving, though, and am also excited to get to know a new neighborhood in this great city.

The weather has been primarily cold and gray lately, with the exception of yesterday (73 and sunny...pretty much my ideal day). I went wine tasting with my roommate and some friends. It was a little strange. I guess my only previous wine-tasting experience was in St. Louis at an actually winery...big outdoor patio, lovely scenery, live music. This was more like a strip mall, with a bunch of 'tasting rooms' from different wineries next to each other. You go from place to place trying the wine. In spite of the many varieties I tried, I am just not a fan of red wine. And I'm okay with that. I did purchase a lovely bottle of Viognier. And made a new friend named Lucy, an extremely friendly 2-year-old Labradoodle :)

As soon as I figure out where I'm moving, I will post pictures and details! And I'll try not to let so much time go by between updates.