That Place Between Point A and Point B

More often than not, the space between Point A and Point B is measured in miles, representing the distance between one physical location to another. But this "place"...it can also be metaphorical, relative to our individual state of being. Right now, I am living in that place between Point A and Point B. And as much as I like to think that I am a patient person, right about now, I'm feeling pretty darned impatient.

Through the eyes of an optimist, this state of limbo might be referred to as "the journey"; that portion of time in your life that requires the majority of the hard work be done. This blanket-journey can apply to various "random" moments in life, from wanting to lose weight and becoming physically fit, to paying off debt and saving (more) money. Whatever the case, there is a recognizable Start and Finish.

[POINT A: Pre-Run, 5:45am.
The moon's job is never done; chased away by the approaching rays of the Sun, she retires for the day, only to bring light to the night of lands in the distance.]

I am an impulsive creature; I have the tendency to start strong - with a tangible sense of enthusiasm and tenacity - and still be able to tap into reserves that summon a valiant Finish. But it's that space in-between that challenges me the most. I become distracted; I stray. I lose interest. Unknowingly, I set myself up for failure...and consequently, I become frustrated.

I am struggling right now, to reconcile these thoughts; I am in that state of limbo in so many areas of my life...and if I can be candid, it SUCKS. I find myself wishing there were a "fast-forward" button that might allow me to just skip over the hard stuff and get right to the prize.

[POINT B: Pre-Dinner, 7:00pm.
Tag-Team. The Sun is quick to continue her travel West, allowing the Moon to take over once again.]

But that would be too easy.

Right now, I am trying to be mindful of the fact that hard work is never wasted. Hard work builds character; it teaches patience, endurance and persistance. And while I might not necessarily be at the precise moment and place in my life that I imagine, there is light.

And where there is light...there is hope.

* * *

I've been feeling a little "off" lately; bummed by my lack of patience, but motivated all the same. I have a list of goals that eagerly await the check-mark of completion, but I continually struggle with the acknowledgement of Where I Am as opposed to Where I Want to Be.

I suppose this might be a contributing factor as to why I spent the Easter weekend feeling more discouraged than renewed; I felt like I could have (and should have) done so much more to observe these days of significance. I expected more of myself, only to realize that I continue to fall short.

[Easter morning brunch with friends].

I am Here, but I want to be There.

As I re-read this post, I am finding it more to be a a stream-of-consciousness instead of a post with a definitive Point A and Point B. But perhaps that is the lesson, here. In my attempts to define the journey, I am instead reminded of that place in-between.

And clearly...for now, it's where I need to be.

The Road Less Traveled - Part 3

(The Road Less Traveled - Part 1 and Part 2)

We had finally dipped our feet into the cool waters of the Sacred Pools, but what we really wanted was to take a full swim. Although tired, we were happy to be here; it is no easy trek to make it to Southeast Maui and the trip requires at minimum, a full day so that you are able to stop and appreciate the jewels along the way.

These pools trail the O'heo Gulch and are all fed by the Pipiwai Streams (the waterfall we spied on our initial hike); it is definitely a site for tourists and wasn't exactly the empty and remote location we'd hoped for, but still, its beauty was well worth the wait.

We crawled over rocks to an empty spot by one of the pools nearest the shoreline; with a boulder to our back, it was just enough space that would allow us to lay out our belongings and jump right in:

It was invigorating! The cool water against our sun-drenched skin was refreshing and gave us the second-wind we were needing. Living near the ocean, it is easy to forget that not all water is salt-water; the pools are all fresh-water rainfall, so not only was it a treat to soak in purity goodness, it was also entertaining to suddenly find ourselves less "buoyant" than in the sea:

In our attempts to take a self-portrait with a rushing waterfall behind us, I nearly drowned Phil in this photo. I was laughing so hard and failed miserably at trying to hold onto him as a floatation device; he was quite slippery. Note to self: never put on sunscreen right before taking a dip.

Hey Woman, I'm not your life raft!

We relaxed at the pools for over an hour but knew we still had a bit of a drive ahead of us, so we reluctantly collected our belongings and made the hike back to the Visitor Center:

Back at the car, we loaded up our backpacks and were back on the road, gearing up for the adventurous roads that lay before us. But not before stopping to take more photos of sweet discoveries along the way:

For the record, I wanted to wait to see if these little piggies might just grace us with their presence, but this idea was veto'ed by The Hubs.

I feel it necessary to interrupt this recap and publicly acknowledge that I have the most patient and loving husband, ever. I mean, how annoying must it be, to take a drive, only to have your wife hanging out the window and exclaiming every ten minutes: "Ooooh! I wanna take a picture!"? On this day, my husband was the greatest. So great, that it wasn't long before he was taking the initiative to pull over when he spotted a photo-opportunity that needed to be grasped with both-hands:

We drove on, braving the unpaved and sketchy path that led us around the backside of island, eagerly anticipating the sights that awaited us.

And then there was a point when the unpaved section opened up like a mouth, it's tongue, the road, unfurling for miles into territory that is visually, out of this world:

With the sea to your left and a great expanse of land to the right and in front of you, you feel a bit out of place; for a moment, you forget that you're on a tropical island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Instead, you feel like you've reached a secret location; unchartered territory, for suddenly, we were the only vehicle for miles.

By 5:00pm, we had reached the point in our travels where we were able to catch a glimpse of South Maui to our left. Seeing this part of the island from this vantage point left us awestruck. Kaho'olawe and Molokini were soon within our sights and as the winding road led us back upcountry to Ulupalakua Ranch and just past the only winery on the island - Tedeschi Vineyards - my heart kind of sank a little. Our little road-trip was coming to an end.

I had the best day. It was one of the nicest, day-long dates I've had with my husband in a long time. We were unplugged, away from daily obligations, just the two of us, enjoying the simple things in life.

The Road Less Traveled - Part 2

Click here if you missed Part 1 (the drive to Hana).

We left Wai'anapanapa State Park and within minutes, had finally arrived in the small, quaint town of Hana. It is a quiet town, with tiny, Mom and Pop markets miles apart from one another. There is no sense of urgency here, and the people of Hana truly live on "island time". Many of the residents are self-sufficient and make a living on farming, selling their produce to local markets. Driving through this sleepy town, there is a tangible sense of ease; Phil and I are in agreement that if money were no object and we didn't have obligations to fulfill, living here would be ideal.

We didn't stop in Hana this time, but drove a bit further and decided to pull over at Koki Beach; a tiny cove protected by a wall of rocks and red dirt that boasted waters multiple shades of Carribean Blue. It was breathtaking:

Once at the beach, we both took our respective camera equipment and did a little exploring, taking photos and trying to capture this beautiful and remote location. The beach was nearly empty, save for the small family playing in the surf. And what a tiny island this is, for the family I am referring to was actually a friend of mine, who was escaping the busy-ness of "town" and decided to make the trek to the East side with his friends as well.

We spent about an hour at the beach before deciding to move on; we wanted to break for lunch in Kipahulu, where we had plans to go for a hike and then take a dip in the Seven Sacred Pools. I was running out of steam at this point, but we pressed on, determined not to stray from our agenda.

We made it to Kipahulu and the East entrance of Haleakala National Park, where we parked ourselves at a picnic table under the shade of a big tree, scarfing our sammiches and bottles of water. This meal never tasted so good; we were famished, and it was HOT. With food in our bellies and water to hydrate ourselves, we packed up our coolers and then got ready for a mini hike:

The air was heavy, stifling and oppressive; we were both quiet during the hike, out of breath and worn down from the heat. The hike suddenly seemed endless, because there were lots and lots of this:

Dirt paths, uphill, with no end in sight. After what seemed like forever, I was ready to turn around...I just wanted, no, needed to get myself into water. But we foraged on and finally reached the first lookout, 1/2 a mile in: Makahiku Overlook.

We stayed long enough to take photos of the prize: the long, sought-after waterfall. It is difficult to put into words just how amazing it is to take in a piece of beauty that is both this secretive and pristine; a reminder that we are small and that out there, exists something bigger than any of us can imagine.

We shared a moment of joint reflection, marveling at this sight, only to be interrupted by the man who almost plummeted to his death, insisting on standing on the rock wall in an effort to get a better view of the falls (I nearly had a heart-attack). Clearly, he did not take heed of the numerous signs:

After I could take no more of the sight of this man balancing precariously on the brink of safety and death, I urged Phil to head back down so that we could finally take refuge in the cool waters of the Sacred Pools. We headed back down the trail, while I took photos along the way.

I followed Phil, who, in total Man-Mode, decided he needed to take us on a "short cut". And by short cut, I mean, a route off the beaten path; a route that required us to crawl beneath chicken wire: a route that required Phil to hold back large arms of brush, while swatting at and breaking massive spider webs before us. I was NOT happy about this. I whined and I pouted, muttering under my breath that I would never forgive him, because we were destined to be bitten by poisonous spiders and left to die in isolation in the middle of who-knows-where. Always the optimist, he promised that we were on the right path...and it wasn't until I saw another couple that he was on my good side again. We eventually found ourselves back on the main trail of civilization, and shortly thereafter, we had made it: the Seven Sacred Pools.

First dip in these infamous waters:

The water was cool and inviting...every ounce of anxiety was immediately washed away, and all I could think about was shucking my backpack and diving head-first into the pools...

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Up next: The Road Less Traveled: Part 3...

The Road Less Traveled - Part 1

I am home from work today, feeling under the weather and quite pitiful, but still well enough to appreciate the TLC text I just received from my husband to "Please drink another Emergen-C" (done). 'Not sure where I picked up this bug, but man alive, it came at me fast and furious, sending me to bed last night at 8:00pm. You know you're old when crawling into bed at this hour - sick and all - is pleasureable.

* * *

(Picture-Heavy)

I mentioned in a previous post that Phil and I drove to Hana and beyond over the weekend; if you've never done this drive, I highly recommend. And if you've never been to Maui, I suggest you get thee on a plane and come visit---Maui is a slice of paradise and does not disappoint!

We woke up fairly early on Saturday morning, packed a couple of coolers and our camera equipment and hit the road. If there is one thing that I miss terribly about the mainland (aside from our family and friends, of course), it is the ability to hop in your car and take a road trip that only hours later, might even find you in another state. Here, we are limited, but what we lack in distance and location, we make up for in beauty and nature. And it's breathtaking, people.

[Though misspelled, still charming in its own way.]

Our little journey began on the winding, two-lane road, where The Hubs and I fell into the familiar rhythm of laughter and conversation, pausing only momentarily to curse the iPod adapter that refused to cooperate (Note: focusing on this temperamental device while navigating through winding roads will quickly make you nauseous, forcing you to settle on listening to CD's instead). Surprisingly, the road was free of traffic, allowing us to slow down to a crawl to take photos along the way and giving us the distinct feeling that we were simply taking a drive on our own, private island.

[Aptly named, for an island so close to the Heavens.]

We drove and stopped off at some of the lookouts to breathe in the salty air and to snap a few photos of this remarkable place we are fortunate to call home.

[Taro farms for the admirably self-sufficient!]

[I have a fascination with the old and rustic]

We were back on the road and just past the halfway mark:

Tucked away on the left-hand side, right before you reach Hana, there is the infamous Black Sands Beach (Wai'anapanapa State Park); a park with so much beauty to drink in, you can easily spend an entire day here. There's the hiking (and dodging massive spider webs), the lava tube, blow hole and the black sand beach, itself. The last time Phil and I made the trip out here, we brought two of our friends, did a little hiking and exploring and then spent a leisurely afternoon on rolling patches of grass having lunch and playing frisbee.

[Stunning, right?]

We knew we had a long road ahead of us with plenty temptations to stop for photos, so we made a point to keep the visit short and get back on the road. We had plans to stop off at a Koki Beach, take a break for lunch and still make it to the Seven Sacred Pools for some hiking and a little swimming...

* * *

Up next, The Road Less Traveled - Part 2