Maui On My Mind

Its 10PM and I am exhausted, but I just have to blog.  What can I say? Maui's on my mind.  Our trip was so glorious, so peaceful and so relaxing.  My current state of life is not.  Now, in all fairness I knew that coming home to a week of moving was going to be stressful, but the reality of all that needs to be done and isn't done yet and needs to be done in 2 days is.................nevermind....lets go to Maui.

We arrived on the shores of Maui nearly 2 weeks ago.

The weather was cool but not freezing and the lush green trees and ocean practically made me feel like I had literally figured out how to successfully get off the world.  We got settled into our condo and immediately changed into our swimming suits and headed to Kapalua for our first of many Sunsets.  It was wonderful, breathtaking and peaceful.  We swam with a family of turtles and then feasted at LeLanis.

I quickly discovered that swimming in the ocean was FABULOUS.  I was so buoyant and once I got used to the salt water and over my fear of being eaten by large water dwelling creatures, our many swims in the ocean were perfect.  I really honed my swimming skills over the course of our Hawaii stay and I think it's safe to say that swimming 1.2 miles is going to be in the bag come June.

Our first full day started perfectly with a run on the beach and breakfast at The Gazebo.

Holy Moses, Macadamia Nut Pancakes with Coconut syrup, white chocolate chips and  vanilla whip cream?  A million times YES!  After literally licking the plate we headed over to the Slaughter House Beach.

I know, bad name, but fantastic little bay.  The wind was blustery so the waves were decent.  After Bob was literally washing machined in the first 30 minutes, I braved it with the boogie board and we had the best time riding the waves.  I swallowed so much salt water, but had SO MUCH FUN.  It truly was a blast to just be silly and have fun with my husband. We spent all day on the board and in the water.

Our second day we visited Flemings Beach and spent another glorious 10 hours in the ocean, our only decision making had to do with when to put sunscreen on.  It was glorious.  Bob and I got our early morning swim in, and then spent the rest of the day in and out of the water boogie boarding our little hearts out.  We also discovered Maui Tacos.  Delicious fast Hawaiian style mexican food.  It was a favorite!  We also were introduced to KIMOS and Hula Pie.  YUM!

Day 3 brought us to the Preserve on the West/North side of the Maui Island.  We spent the better part of the morning snorkelling and meeting a few little minor jellyfish.  I could swim all day.  After about an hour though it was just chilly enough to be cold.  So we got out and headed to the Black Sand beaches which most definitely were not cold!  We looked for seashells and also encountered a woman who had gotten stung by a Box Jellyfish (very bad) on her daily 3 HOUR swim with her friends.  I was AMAZED that 1. She swims for 3 hours....daily......in the ocean and 2. that although her neck and upper body were literally going numb from the poison, she had enough composure to swim to the shore and walk to the car.  New Hero.

We also hiked into the Twin Falls, a gorgeous fresh water pool with a fantastic waterfall.  The hike was glorious and the waterfall majestic.  

Day 4 was more boogie boarding and snorkelling at Napili Bay.  We also made the gorgeous hike down to Honolua Bay too.  The water was cloudy but such a fun experience.  To get to Honolua Bay you have to hike down through this overgrown area where the trees are HUGE.  Its almost otherworldly.  It really was so beautiful.

Day 5 was seriously so cool!  We started the day by driving up to one of the local blow holes.  You have to hike down a really rocky trail to get to it, but it was so much fun to see a blow hole in action.  Bob and I went down until we were about 10 feet away from it and got soaked.  The hike was beautiful and to make it even better, we stopped for a while to watch the whales and managed to see a complete breach (where the whale literally jumped out of the water).  It was spectacular and so much fun!  

Our afternoon was spent at Ka'annapali Bay and the Black Rock.  The ocean was clear and perfect for swimming, snorkelling and rock jumping.  I also convinced Bob to go Paddle boarding!  I have seen it done all over the island and had a hankering to try.  I must have been a paddle boarder in a past life because I just took to it.  I had no trouble managing the waves while standing and paddling.  I even did yoga for a few minutes.......I know.....show off.  Bob didn't fair as well and found himself upended in the ocean.  At least we discovered that our phones are, in fact, water proof!

We stayed on the beach long enough to enjoy a Pina Colada and catch another amazing sunset.

Our last day in Maui was wonderful.  We woke up and headed out on a whale watching expedition.  It was incredible.  We headed out into the ocean on a little zodiac boat and were literally feet from the water.  The whales were so active and we saw several breaches, a baby whale, a competition pod and several whales just swimming along.  It was so cool.  I really liked the whale watching!

Our afternoon was spent laying on the beach reading, swimming and getting tan.  It was all things delightful and perfect.  We could not have asked for a better sunset to finish our time.

 Maui was one of those amazing memories.  Bob and I had such a great time with each other.  It was really fun to remember that we are actually really good friends!  Being there with Matt and Tara was absolutely so much fun too.  I will tell you what, it is really fun to vacation with friends and I hope that there are many more of those trips in our future.

Our lovely vacation has come and gone and we are now in the hectic zone of moving.  Its stressful....

I'll just keep Maui on my mind.

My Heart in Colorado

My dear friend and running partner Sarah posted a simply lovely comment on Facebook tonight saying goodbye.  I have held the tears that have wanted to flow back for months leading up to the inevitable day when I would have to say goodbye to her.  Well today was that day.  I held my tears until I saw her post.  3 years of memories and the fact that I won't meet to run with her next week caught up with me and the flood gates have opened, fully and completely.

Sarah,

There are just not enough ways to tell you how much you have meant to me over the past 3 years.  I am so unbelievably blessed that the Lord saw fit to reunite us.  Our friendship was good in high school, but our friendship over the past 3 years has been deeper, more powerful, more lasting than what we had back then.  Man, if only our High School selves would have known how great our friendship was going to be.....

Thank you for being my friend, thank you for being a fellow Mom, but above all, thank you for being my running partner.  I am so amazed at how evenly we are matched.  I love that we had our babies together and that we found ourselves and our friendship on the journey back to our bodies.  You are so special to me.  You are as driven as I am and I am so grateful for you.

Thank you for being someone that can bear my burdens.  You have been someone safe for me and I cannot tell you how much of a treasure that is.  I will miss talking to you, I will miss sharing everything with you.  I will miss you.  So Much.

I am so proud of you friend.  You have accomplished so much.  It has given me so much joy and satisfaction watching you succeed.  I always told you a marathon was in your reach.  I ALWAYS knew you could do it....even when you were unsure.

Thanks for being a friend who wanted it.  The best part was the training journey.  I will always remember our 20 milers around Chatfield.  I will always remember the Dam run, and the Nature Center will always make me think of you.  I will miss those places.  I will miss you.  Please run those places.....and think of me :)

You have always been a strong woman Sarah, but it has been so fun to watch you excel in your career too.  It has been a true privilege to watch you become such a leader in your field.  You are good at what you do friend.  Everyone knows it....especially me.  Thanks for including me in your journey.  I am so proud of you.

This goodbye sucks friend.  I can hardly see my silly screen right now because my tears are still coming.   No matter where I go, a part of me will always be with you on the trail.  A big part of my heart will always reside in Colorado.  I love you dearly.

Until we run again....and we will.

Beth