Reflections on Kauai

Queens Bath, Kauai

We have been on the island of Kauai for two weeks now. The decision to start our trip here has proven to be very wise. We needed all this time to decompress from packing stress and take care of last minute travel details.
  Among the details I am most skeptical of is the amount of technology we are taking on this trip. We have been all over the world in the past with no more than a camera and address book. On this adventure we have decided to bring 2 cameras, 1 video camera, 2 e readers,an ipod touch, and a laptop. the amount of time we have spent so far maintaining this technological menagerie is absurd. I have had many moments of extreme desire to chuck it all(and I may still).
   That being said we have still found time to relax and explore this beautiful gem. We are here with our friends Paula and Ward who have a condo in Princeville on the North island. Having hosts who know their way around and are willing to share their favorite spots with us has been a dream. Mahalo! Among my personal favorites is the short walk from our place to Queens Bath. See picture. Queens Bath is a natural pool fed by the ocean. Small fish dart about as kids leap from the rocks above. On the way we passed a waterfall fed inlet and saw sea turtles munching the sea grass in the turbulent waters. I had a video of it but it was erased in one of many tech glitches. Other faves included a day snorkeling at tunnels beach where we saw a variety of colorful fish and coral, Hanalai bay and town, shave ice at wishing well, and the myriad of waterfalls fed by nightly rainfall.
   Anika celebrated her 13th birthday here as well! We enjoyed the day with shopping, Harry Potter, and a fantastic meal at Postcards in Hanalai. It it hard for me to wrap my head around having a teenage daughter but perhaps i will get used to it(or not). I will let you know in about 6 years.
   Besides playing with my touch I have been reading nightly from a book I picked up on the shelf of the local bakery for 2 bucks. It is "Awakening the Buddha Within" by Lama Surya Das(a white guy). Tibetan wisdom for the western world. If I was to embrace a religion it would probably be Buddhism. Not a lot of Dogma,personal reflection,etc. Putting it into everyday action is the challenge of course.

The pretty side of the family

  Well, thats about it for now. I have been having fun with my noise toy which I thought I broke but miraculously resurrected itself and keeping in touch with friends. if you like my Blog tell your friends. If you want to receive email updates sign on and enter your email address and click follow. Our family is having a friendly competition to see who can have the most followers(I am woefully behind). Be Well, Hotwater

Finally

saying goodbye

My sticker 

We are finally on our way! After years of fantasizing and planning our adventure in the world has begun. We are now on the island of Kauaii,having arrived yesterday. We will be here two weeks to recouperate from the big push to leave our other world behind. I had not realized how much we accumulate stuff until I started the process of eliminating it! I took at least 10 truck loads to the dump and know I wont miss any of it. I am making the commitment to live a simpler less cluttered life from this moment forward. The photo is on the beach in Santa Cruz with friends saying goodbye. Thanks to Karuna for organizing. Things I will miss besides my friends are disc golf, dancing at dance church and 5 rythms yoga with Kelly and Phoenix, this years Burningman(big), Well Within Spa(my former business),and making things in my garage. Speaking of making things, the last thing i made was a musical toy which I am taking with us around the world. It is an electric Kalimba with built in amp,speaker, and bent distorter circuit. My only concern is airport security suspecting it is a bomb of some kind. So far so good. Of course my family has its own concerns having endured the noise of other toys I created. This one though has an amazing range of sounds some of which even they can tolerate!

      I want to express my deep Love and appreciation to all of the people who have made this year possible. A big thank you goes to Eric at Well Within for being the right person at just the right time. Of course none of this would be happening without the constant visionary prodding from Lysa. I have created a theme for this trip which is "Obey the Awe!" Appologies to Shepard Fairy. With encouragement from Anika, we both had stickers made which I will use as gifts and calling cards along the way. Expect to see photos of them around the world on our adventure. Thats all for now, David aka hotwater