Satisfaction

WAIPIO, Hawaii // After driving up the Kohala mountain road, we hiked for about 2 hours to reach a secluded lookout point on the north side of the Big Island. It was a 3 mile hike in Polulo Valley, which included going down a steep section to a beach, up the valley on the other side, and across a ridge line to an isolated grassy field. I could have stayed for hours just looking at the waves crash onto the steep walls of the valley from this small piece of land on a hill. There were another two guys there who had hiked in a mini cooler of beers and shared it with us. When they left we were all alone and just stared into the vast empty ocean watching the waves.

A few days later we drove to Waipio lookout and although equal in beauty to the one we hiked the day prior in Pololu, it just felt different. We got out of the car, walked 30 seconds, and there were about 50 people taking photos. it didn’t mean the same to us and felt too easy to observe and appreciate. 

Often in the last few months on this trip we have realized not only does the journey mean more than the destination, but in this case rather, the destination and the difficulty to get there adds much more satisfaction, desire, and sense of accomplishment. 

Kini & Aka

KONA, Hawaii // When we lived in Manhattan we used to make up alter ego names for when we visited the foreign land called Brooklyn. A lot of soul searching, laughter, and alcohol went into naming our friends as we adventured in Brooklyn. I was plain Jane and Adam was Hamper // like the dirty laundry bin but with an accent over the “e” making it pronounced Ham-par // like I said lots of adult beverages to come up with these names.

We thought it only appropriate that Adam and I come up with Hawaiian names for our time while we call the islands home. My mother got me a Hawaiian ring years ago that I am currently wearing as my wedding band with Jennifer translated into Hawaiian // Kinipela. The meaning of the word is “wave" which I find so appropriate as I have recently been fascinated with the waves at the beach and the energy that circulates through our oceans // details on this topic are for another post. We shortened it to Kini as I prefer two syllable names.

Adam translated is Akamu // of the Red Earth. This makes sense as Adam turns red after being in the sun for an hour. We nicknamed him down to Aka. We let our aunty know of the name change and she laughed but she has diligently been calling us by our new names. Its been fun being Kini and Aka here in Kona. It feels right. 

In fact, we went to Waipio Valley lookout today and the ranger thought we were locals. The Maui Built hat I wore and the Kihei south shore shirt Aka was rocking led him to believe we were from Maui. 

Kama’aina discount here we come!
 

Zumba

KONA, Hawaii // The two words I am focused on this year are learn and play. My aunty on the Big Island is into zumba. You could say it’s her jam. Adam and I decided to tag along and discovered a world of play. Zumba is an hour of cardio dancing which equates to an hour of play in my books. Dancing, even if off rhythm and not in step with the rest of the class, brought me as much joy as building the large octopus sand sculpture on the beach in Santa Barbara. Dancing is something I'd like to incorporate into my daily routine // probably after journaling and stretching but before lunch. Not just toe tapping to music but all out flailing of the arms and shaking of the booty. Zumba was not only a great workout for the physical body but also the playful spirit within. 

Dedicated to Aunty Brenda. Thanks for showing us your moves and for making it impossible for me to keep my spirit fingers in control when “Get Ugly” is played on the radio.
 

"Enjoy life as it comes at you"

NEWNAN, Georgia // Grandpa Shular passed peacefully in his sleep on January 19, 2016. He was a wonderful grandfather, father, husband, brother, and soldier. He would have done anything for his family and he will live on in our memories and in the stories we tell. 

We have had doubts about quitting our jobs // about our big year // but after grandpa passed I know for certain this is exactly where we are supposed to be. Our time in Georgia with him are now priceless moments // the stories he shared about his life // the smiles and laughs // his advice, “Just enjoy life as it comes at you.” 

I encourage everyone reading this to take the time to interview your grandparents and record it. I guarantee you will not regret it. Below are a few of the questions we had prepared. I hope they inspire you. The time is now as you never know when you may lose the opportunity to do it.

• What’s your full name?
• When and where were you born?
• What were your parents names?
• What do you remember about your parents?
• What was your childhood like?
• What was a typical dinner like?
• Did you have any day to day chores?
• Where there any holiday traditions?
• How did you meet each other?
• What was your first date?
• Did your parents approve?
• When did you get married?
• How long have you been married?
• What are your kids like?
• What was it like being a parent?
• What are you most proud of?
• If you could go back would you change anything?
• Do you have any advice for us?

Dedicated to Grandpa Shular 1931-2016
 

There is no love sincerer than the love of food

PUKALANI, Hawaii // Food is the universal language of love. The universal sign that you love your grandparents, that transcends race and heritage, is eating their food. Each bite a little token of your love. Each smile and “Mmmm" a hug wrapped tight around them. After sitting with several of our grandparents I can attest it is absolutely true so I eat and eat and eat. The more you eat the more they know you love them. 

Grandparents also have the best recipes. Never written down. Never exactly measured out. A pinch here and a spoonful-ish of that. The only way to learn them is through experience. Make them with your grandma. Roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty. 

Grandma Shular has a few cookie recipes to die for. They are addicting beyond belief and Adam averaged about 10 a day while we were in Georgia. The best was when she gave me the recipe and then had me cross out almost all the ingredients and put in substitutes. Not pecans but macadamia nuts. Not that much sugar. 100% use parchment paper. To get them crispy you have to leave them in until you think they are burned and then leave them in 2 minutes longer. 

Polish dishes typically consist of cabbage and meat. We made lazy man’s cabbage with Grandma Stanowick. You have to fold the meat (do not squish it in your hands and fingers). Once you learn how to prepare the meat with salt, pepper, eggs, and onion you can use it almost any dish: meatballs, meatloaf, and hamburger patties.

Filipino dishes are pretty much a variation of salt, pepper, tomato, ginger, garlic, onion, and meat in some form or another. A Filipino tradition is to bring a bag of rice into a new home. Then the family will never go hungry under that roof.

My grandparents in Hawaii used to stretch a cup of rice and a can of Spam to feed a family of 8 for a week. They are also very creative with leftovers and the order of dishes each day. 

• Day 1 - Steak and rice
• Day 2 - Stir fry (leftover steak)
• Day 3 - Soup (leftover stir fry)
• Day 4 - Fried rice (all leftovers)
• Day 5 - Loco moco (Fried rice with an egg fried on top for breakfast)

It’s a brilliant progression and an art to orchestrate. It took me two weeks before I even recognized a dish as a leftover. 

Adam and I have been showing our love by the spoonful. Luckily we have been working out everyday, but all it does is offset all that we consume. 

Moral of the story: Eat your food, love your grandparents.
 

The Story Behind the Sausage

HAIKU, Hawaii // My Great Grandfather Arnold was in a concentration camp in Nazi Germany as a Jew right before World War II began. He got papers to leave the camp because he had served in World War I. He bought tickets to Shanghai, China with his family because that was the quickest way out of the country so they could all be safe. My grandmother, who has told me this story, was 2 years old at this time. In Shanghai they lived with other Jews in a ghetto for 7 years until after the war was over. Arnold was a butcher and sold sausages. 

While interviewing my grandmother a few weeks ago we came across Arnold's handwritten recipes for sausage, as well as papers to leave the ghetto to sell them in town to support his family. 

Fast forward about 80 years and we had the opportunity to make sausage with Jenny's Aunt in Hawaii. I called my Grandmother to translate the recipes from German to English, and today we made the sausages! 

I never met Arnold because he died years before I was even born, but experiences like this transcend some of the most adventurous activities I have done in my life. 

Mettwurst / Cooking Sausage Ingredients: 

• 4-5 lbs ground meat
• salt
• pepper
• onion
• garlic
• ginger
• potato flour
• salt peter

Parallel Universe

MAKAWAO, Hawaii // It was 12 noon Hawaii time and I was sifting compost. I was working with another farm volunteer and we were using the sifted compost as soil to plant new coffee trees. This other volunteer was a WWOOFer, meaning that unlike us, they were living and volunteering on this farm long term for 3 months. We chatted about where we would be if we had decided not to travel, and it got me thinking. Where would I be right now at this exact moment had I chosen to not take this trip?

Ironically, It was the Thursday before MLK Day. This day previously had no meaning for me, but for the last 7 years it was synonymous with our "end of the year" / holiday party, where I used to work. It would be 5 pm in New York City, and I would be leaving my desk in midtown Manhattan on 5th Avenue. My coworkers and I would be on our way down to a bar off Wall Street in the Financial District to have drinks. The party was at a venue at the southern most tip of Manhattan with a glass window looking out onto the Statue of Liberty. We would all be celebrating the good years we had trading of the stock market in 2015. 

I constantly wonder now, on certain days and certain hours, about what my life would be like if I chose to stay in NYC. My life is not better or worse right now, but just drastically different from the normal. 

Green Leaf Farm

MAKAWAO, Hawaii // We volunteered at Green Leaf Farm today in upcountry Maui. It’s only about 10 minutes from my grandparents which is super convenient. They had 6 wwoofers (world wide opportunities on organic farms) on the farm long term to help who were extremely bright and bubbly. They came from all over the world including Montana, Idaho, and even London. They typically work from 8 am to 2 pm on Mon, Tue, Thur, and Fri with a mango and banana break midday.

The owners gave us a full tour of their 2 acres and then assigned us each a task for the day. Adam helped sift through compost and I helped prepare a bed for planting by weeding it. The weed I picked was called Honohono grass by the locals and it has shallow roots but grows out in all directions and takes over whatever plant gets in its path. We also helped move some rocks for a new retention wall they were putting in to help stop erosion near their green house.

The farm was very efficiently set up. It had an aquaculture pond with tilapia in it and 25 hens enclosed with their banana trees. The banana trees get nutrients from the manure and the hens get shade from the sun. Everybody wins. There were also avocado trees and kale stalks taller than me. At the end of the day they sent us home with an oversized grocery bag full of freshly harvested lettuce, kale, beets, potatoes, turnips, oranges, papaya, and avocados.

Overall I have dirt under my nails and all over my pants but you couldn’t wipe the smile off my face if you tried. Being sustainable and learning how to grow your own food has been a curiosity of ours for some time now. We are going to check out as many farms as we can while we are here on Maui as well as when we visit the Big Island next month. 

self

PUKALANI, Hawaii // Since we have quit our jobs we find ourselves rich in time. With this excess of time we have been able to focus on the idea of putting ourselves first. Whether this be time exercising or stretching. Time breathing or meditating for 5 minutes. Time reading or doing cardio. Taking the extra 3 minutes to floss at night or journal in the morning. I forget how easily it is to let self slip down the to-do list but self is all we entered the world with and self will be the only thing we leave with so whatever you are doing today try to fit in room for yourself even if its just a piece of dark chocolate to make your soul smile.

Today // Run // HIT // Swim

There is a local community center and pool in upcountry Maui that is about a 15 minute run from my grandparents house.

We run down to the park and do a few laps around the perimeter then we do a HIT (High-intensity Interval Training) workout that my sister-in-law told me about from instagram. The workouts are by Kayla_Itsines and she posts workouts every now and then. We have been doing her PLYO Session workout that she posted 6 days ago. I have no idea why and I'm hoping its the altitude but Adam and I really struggle through this workout. It burns in your thighs and bum like no other 10 minute workout I’ve done before. 

After that we swim laps in the pool. Yesterday I could only do 10 laps. Today we did 20. I struggled through the first 6 but then found my groove. My breathing calmed and my strokes felt natural. I had forgotten how much fun it was to play in the water and it was even more fun to see improvements.

All in the entire circuit took an hour and the total cost was $0 and on top of that the view of Maui was priceless.

Summit to Surf

HALEAKALA, Hawaii // We had hiked Haleakala before, but never did we go from the top of the visitor center, all the way through the Kaupo Gap to the ocean below. As we liked to call it “summit to surf.” The first day was extremely overcast and on the ride up to the trailhead we doubted if we even wanted to attempt the entire hike. We got out of the car for 2 minutes to walk into the ranger station to pick up our permits and could feel the stinging cold and rain. We bundled up and I felt fortunate to have brought a rain coat and bag cover. After about an hour through the hike, the weather miraculously cleared up and we made it to Paliku cabin about 2 hours before sunset. We made tacos, played cards, started a fire in the stove to warm up, and settled into the bunks that were provided at the cabin. 

The next day we were in good spirits when we started, but soon realized that the horrible weather from the previous day was here to stay. From the cabin to the end of the National Park took us about 2 hours longer than we thought. The terrain was all downhill and extremely slippery due to the rain. After 10 minutes of walking I was already soaked to the bone. Even my socks were wet which I knew would make for a long day of hiking since we had 9 miles still to go. But on the other hand if there wasn't any rain we wouldn't have seen all the waterfalls we did. 

I didn't know what to expect of the Kaupo Gap section of the trail. Haleakala park tends to look like a moon walk, dry and sandy. Kaupo Gap is lush and overgrown with trees and surrounded on all sides by mountains and waterfalls. This also made the trail a bit hard to follow at times due to the lack of people who use the trail and the vegetation quickly overtaking the trail. We found ourselves constantly in thick grass at least waist deep and sometimes even over our heads. We ended up in cow fields and climbed over multiple barbed wire fences as we made our way down. Certain sections were also extremely rocky which made it tough to keep your balance on and I still thank our lucky stars no one rolled an ankle. 

We also passed a few hikers who were going "surf to summit". Basically they were doing the exact opposite route we were doing. After looking at their faces I was happy we had chosen the downward direction. 

All in it was a great adventure. Even with the rough terrain, rain, and poorly marked trail I would recommend it to certain people and would do it again myself. Sometimes the best memories we make and the ones that are the most priceless are also the ones that are the toughest to live through. 

This post is dedicated to Mama Llama. You amaze me everyday with your will power to climb mountains! I love you!