Nature's Whisperings

So thankful for the sunshine this morning and having a place where my soul finds what it needs. #iheartnature #fingerprintsofgod #bigislandbliss #eventherockscryout #oceans #gratefulheart

The Garden Isle

Of the eight main islands of Hawaii, I have officially now been to four of them. This last adventure to Kauai was different than the rest in that I did something that I had never really done before: I traveled the tip solo.

Beautiful view of Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea, and Haulalai on the Big Island as I headed west

Perks: 1. I could go where I wanted when I wanted. 2. I had plenty of storage space in the car 3. I had no one to get in a argument with, I could only blame myself if things went wrong. 4. Didn’t have to share tent space. 5. I was super efficient.

Flip-side: 1. No one to bounce ideas off of and do something that I might not have otherwise done because I would never have thought of it 2. I had to navigate and drive at the same time in a place I had never been before. Another set of eyes is priceless when you are trying to find a road sign at night when it is raining. 3. Sharing the experience 4. Safety concerns are more at ease when you have a buddy. 5. Sharing food and other expenses are cut in half at least. (This was a hard one to swallow for me.)

With all of the pros and cons, the Garden Isle lived up to its hype. Beauty around every turn! Still I found myself leaving knowing fully that I had to return. I was told five days was enough. But for me it wasn't. I didn’t even interact with the Napali Coast!

Traveling solo I imagine gets easier the more you do it. Like going to the movies by yourself, the uncomfortable feeling passes over time. I did find that I was not the only solo traveler out there and had a really great conversation with one of them as she was on a journey to make sense of some big shifts in her life. Would that conversation have happened if I was with one else? Maybe, maybe not. But it was one of those moments when I had to push myself to be there and interact with those around me; because sometimes all someone needs is for you to listen. 

Adventures with Jean

Jean is at it again taking me places that I would never go otherwise. The kona side of the island is almost like a foreign land to me in many respects. Being without a car for so long and little public transportation to that side of the island my explorations have been closer to home.

Jean has a way of taking things to levels I would never do I my own. We can’t just go on one hike, we have to go on three. The hike can’t just be on to a well known destination. It also has to include stops along the way that require a little “off-roading” in a hiking fashion like cool hotel bathrooms or eating lunch on a porch next to the ocean as if we own the place.

Such a treat you are and I am so glad I have an exploration buddy of your caliber.

Upcycle Art

The artist true gift is in seeing. Seeing not the material for what it is, but the potential in what it can become. That is what I love about this annual upcycle exhibit. I often hold on to things thinking I will use them in a new way that they weren’t necessarily created for. I have yet to find a way over the last hurdle in my head - the one of creation. My mind has ideas but all of the construction elements have yet to fall into place. That is why I come every year - to expose myself to techniques and ways of seeing that I had not yet to come to find on my own.

Maybe one day I will be able to connect all of the pieces…

pieces of netting and rope found on the beach

gun wrapper chain in a clock case

created using safety envelopes

cardboard and strips of magazines woven together