Sleeping Giant

I thought I'd start each post with a view of the mountain to the west (through our kitchen window), everyday it'll be the same location and same time, first thing in the morning.

I stand in mountain pose facing the sunrise with my eyes closed. Breathing deep, the carrot orange glow of daybreak infuses me from the inside out with a warm luminosity. The sun salutations feel familiar and welcome, my body instinctively moving from one pose to the next. When I am finished, I feel strong, limber, balanced and calm.

Dan and I enjoy a leisurely breakfast (our "normal" yogurt, fresh pineapple, toasted coconut and macadamia nuts) while we watch the local news. We crack open the laptops to check our emails and Facebook. We talk about going snorkeling but I have two towels and one of them dried off the dogs yesterday. I remember reading about a website that has trail routes called kauaiexplorer.com, we decide Nounou trail looks good.

I finally got to get all hot and sweaty. I have been craving a good workout to release some of this anxiety since we got here. Today, I got just that. Nounou trail is on Sleeping Giant, it's the mountain you can see from our dining room window. 

Fifteen minutes from our house, 3 miles one way, and a 1200 foot evevation gain (thank you Shannon Hall for the guide book!). The smells are totally different than the Rockies. The fruit that carpets the forest floor, fermenting in the sun, smells like wine casks. Sometimes, the scent of flowers dance under your nose. The canopy is thick with a huge varity of plants and trees.

Trailhead

Trailhead

Looking behind us

Getting steep

The roots act like a stairway, making the going easier. The red dirt of Kauai is wet (because of the rains) and makes the going a little tricky.

Tree canopy

Giant Lodgepole Pines

Looking back

Yup, I'm a tree hugger! This is a giant Oak.

Looks like we should continue on here...we'd been going downhill for about 1/4 mile before we decided we missed a turn and doubled back...this wasn't it! We backtrack some more.

This way! The real assent begins, a steep 15% grade.

This is an example of my inability to get the camera to do what I want it to do! In that little opening is the first sighting of the ocean, the breezes are welcome!

Up, up, up. About 18% grade now.

Pretty!

Almost to the top. The famous Bali Hai Mountains on the far right, jutting up, signifies the beginning of the Napali Coast.

View from the top. I took a shot from this angle because we live down there. If you look along the coast line, to the left is a tree, just off center. Go up from there, inland, there is a light green groomed field, to the right of that is a baseball field where the farmers market is. We live about 5 minutes up from that.

At the top there is small clearing with a covered picnic table. Underneath, Loel and Sarah, an elderly Menonnite couple, maybe 70, are enjoying their lunch. We are impressed, we saw them heading up the trail about a 1/4 mile ahead of us. She is talkative, he is not, both are extreemely nice. She learns of how we came here and when Dan tells her how everything just lined right up, tells us it is God's way. She asks us if we have jobs, I say no, she asks me if I have faith that the lord will provide and I say yes, she likes that. She asks me if we have been to church yet and I tell her we are not really church people. She persists, telling us about all the churches they've been to on the island. A young group of 3 hikers join us after checking out the view. I ask them if there is an ocean view and they point the way. Craving an ocean breeze, we say goodbye. What we see is the picture above, almost a panorama. A little opening in the trees on a cliff top makes it impossible to get a 360 degree view. Perched on a bench, munching their lunch, is a couple from Seattle. They come here a lot for vacation, would love to live here. We tell them about our new adventure and they share theirs with us. Several years ago, they quit their jobs, sold everything, and bought a sailboat. For 3 years they cruised from San Francisco past Mexico, Central America, South America, and back through the Panama Canal to Florida where they ended their journey and sold their boat. They suggest eating at Scotty's Beachside BBQ in town (that's what I call our downtown of Kapa'a) and we head down! We pass Loel and Sarah on the way back down and she asks for our names so she can pray for us. I'm happy to know someone like Sarah is praying for our success here!

Big ol' root going across the trail.

Almost there!

Ah, done! I'm hot, I need a cold beer and food!

Local brew

Pulled pork

Lunchtime view. It was good to go to the restaurant because we didn't know we had such a great beach park. Not shown, on the inland side, is a paved bike path. Oh yea, can you see the chicken?

Our driveway.

Since Baxter and Lucy didn't come and we had some errands to run, we went back home to get them and our flip flops. I forgot to bring them for post hike comfort. Baxter was running wild through the yard, chased a rooster and got it to fly 25-30 feet, straight up and over the hedge. There is a secluded area on the property (for parities I guess) that I haven't checked out yet and I can see Baxter's outline chasing a rooster through the hedges. This is what I found.

Party Time!!

I need to add a disclaimer. Sometimes when I post pictures they say they are centered and they are not. I don't know why it does this and I don't have the patience or desire to figure it out, please forgive me. Also, sometimes the font changes...

My Bad!

My girlfriends can see it a mile away, they remind me through comments on the blog or thoughtful emails. This is what we asked for! This is what we've planned for. We wanted to be uncomfortable, we wanted to stretch ourselves. Deb says we still need to chill out, get familiar with the island and island life. Look at other options, editing may be my way of creating some normalcy, something familiar. She is right and I think we are in sync. Just this morning Dan and I were talking about how we need more down time. It's a process, not only do we have no where to go and nothing to do but we are living in a smaller space. We are releasing the busy, busy, busy lifestyle of work, family, friends and private time to nothing. No plans, it's whatever we want it to be. It still kind of feels like vacation since we don't have any of our stuff yet. No pictures on the walls, not much to cook with, Dan doesn't have his extra pillow. Not much familiar, just what we brought with us. Plus, the ability to have privacy is gone. No more going downstairs to read, do yoga or watch my shows while Dan does his thing. It's a readjustment on so many levels, we are rebalancing our lives. We are making progress, for example, I slept until 7 today! It's like taking off a tight fitting shirt on a hot, muggy day, it doesn't want to come off!

The rain cleared up today so we took the dogs for a walk. I was wrong about Kapa'a being like Aurora. Our neighborhood is filled with beautiful green manicured lawns, giant trees, blooming flowers, and million dollar homes on rolling, verdant hills. It is simply breathtaking. I have to get some pointers from my photographer friend John because every picture I take is not what I'm looking at. There is a lot of contrast between the shadows in the jungle and the bright sun, so my pictures are blown out, look like silhouettes, or the scene is so vast, my camera can not capture it. It's like taking a picture of the Grand Canyon. Sometimes I get lucky, sometimes the shots are just ok. I got some ok ones today. I'll post them because I keep getting requests for more pictures.

The entrance to our house. That isn't our house in the background, it's further inside. There is another house to the left.

It was great to get out and about today, I think we all had a touch of cabin fever. Continuing our search for a place to let the dogs run off leash, we found a park using our iPhones close to the house. Once we got there, it was total jungle with no entrance, at least none that we could see. The map indicated a reservoir ahead so we drove on. Distracted by the enormity of it all, a tree canopy, maybe 50 feet tall, shadowing the road for about a 1/4 mile. Colossal ivy plants crawling up the enormous trees with leaves the size of a frying pan. Again, the reservoir is a jungle, maybe you can get in but we don't see how. Dan, determined to find a place, keeps looking. Finally we come upon the Lihue Koloa Forest Preserve. We see other people, tourists, so we keep the dogs on leash until we get to a secluded area.

                                      

They are pretty!

Lihue-Koloa Forest Preserve

Lucy was so happy to finally get out and run, she doesn't run very far though. Usually she is right by our side.

Baxter is ecstatic to finally get to run!

Because of the heavy rains the river overflowed onto the road and Baxter and Lucy make the most of it. Baxter actually went for a swim, loving the cool, salt free water, he jumped right in, he wasn't prepared for the 3 foot drop! Can you find the 3 chickens?

Part of a gnarly root at base of a huge Rainbow Eucalyptus tree.

As I dry Baxter and Lucy off and put them into the car, Dan talks to a man who was walking his dog while we were. He's got the dog in the back of his pick up and is drying her off. Tom, about 55 with shaggy grey hair, a thin build and about 5'6" tall, is a 15 year resident having moved here from the mid west. He gave us a bunch of tips. One, don't let your dogs off leash when people are around and can see you, it can be up to a $500.00 fine. Oops, we thought we were out of sight. As we talked more he opened up and told us about nearby trails. There are locals who are wild boar hunters, they have packs of hunting dogs and usually go out in the early morning. He points to a nearby trail and says he's taken his dog Dixie, who is maybe 7 pounds bigger than Lucy, on that trail and ran into them. They have pretty good control over their dogs and will tell you to pick your dog up if they feel it is at risk. I guess he's had more problems with peoples pets than the hunting dogs, one having attacked his. As long as you stay on the trail, you'll be ok. They also grow pot up in the hills and he says they don't take kindly to people getting close to their crops. He's been hiking the trails for years and has not had any serious problems, just some scares. So, we are warned, we will be careful. 

Dan had it in his head to get me a pantry today, so on the way back we stop at Home Depot. He's been mulling around what type of cabinet would be best since last Sunday. Countertops? Closet cabinets? Particle board cabinets? The cheapest are the particle board cabinets. On the way home we stop at Bubba's Burgers. You can sit outside and look at the ocean and the beef is from Kauai grown cows. I saw them cows roaming around today in fields of green and they are tasty!

Before

After

View from Dan's side of the bed. That roof is attached to our house, where our neighbor Dan and his wife live.

Crappy bathroom window and screen with a great view.

Kitchen window

Kitchen and dining room

Living room. Dan is using a suitcase with a blanket (that our friend Gail made us) as an ottoman for now. He gave me the side with the built in ottoman, he's so sweet!

Looking from the "wall" in the living room to the dining room, the kitchen is on the right.

The kitchen.

Aloha! Almost time for the Grammy's!

Woot-Woot! Internet in da house!!

Another grey, cloudy day where you can't see the mountains.

Hope has been brought into the house, along with the Internet. It’s been a long week of waiting. Last Monday, Dan scheduled Hawaiian Telecom to come and install our Internet, the only thing available was Friday. Now, they can’t tell you what time they'll be there, so yesterday we laid around all day waiting. There have been heavy rains the last 2 days. The down time ended up being a good thing because we didn’t realize how much we needed the rest and our minds wouldn’t let us see it. Our minds kept telling us; get to work! Get your home totally set up! Find a job! We were being forced to slow down island style, whether we liked it or not. All we did was watch movies, eat, and take naps. We slept hard all night and this morning I woke up with the idea! I’m still on my old schedule of waking up at 6am; Dan has no problem sleeping in, usually till 7:30. I don’t want to get up and go to the other room and read because the light will wake him and so would any noise, for example, if I did yoga. The ceiling is vaulted with wood beams and the “wall” that divides the bedroom from the kitchen/living room/dining room, doesn’t go all the way to the ceiling. So, I stay in bed and try to go back to sleep, but I usually end up thinking.

The junk on top (suitcases, yoga stuff) will eventually go in a shed, once we get one!

Last week when we got together with Starz West friends, Diana asked if we would be available to edit.  She owns a company that is like a co-op. Clients like Discovery and TLC book her to get a project done and she farms out the work. She said she could send us a drive and we could edit from home. Sounds great except what if she calls? We are not set up for that. All week while I lay in bed, I have been thinking about work and the tree house. Initially, I loved the tree house. I loved being so high, seeing trees for miles, the mountain view, the privacy, and it seemed so cozy. As the days wear on I can see this isn't going to work for more than 2 years. The roosters are also starting to get on my nerves, we noticed on the North and South shores (where it's more exclusive) you don't see a lot of roosters running around. If I want a bigger house and less roosters, I'm going to have to be making more than $10.00 an hour working on a boat. So, this morning it finally hit me. Now, it may seem obvious to you but we were BURNT out at Starz, I mean fried. We didn't care if we ever edited again. Plus, we've been trying to get ourselves out here since June, a lot of energy and stress. We really couldn't see past getting here. All right, I'll get to it, you've probably figured it out anyway, maybe even before we left! The name:

Lane

Post Production Services and Consultation

We have to fill in the blank Lane Video? Lane Cuts? Lane Frame? The Lanes?

We are kicking around the idea of buying some gear and editing from the house. Also, Dan can consult for folks who want to set up systems. We have 38 years of experience combined, it's what we're good at, it's what we do. I'll do the rough cut and marketing and Dan will do the finishing and technical stuff. My friend Dyanne can do our web site which will include a breakdown of our services, a bio on each of us, our gear and capabilities, and, an FTP site so we can download and upload files. I'm in love with the idea, it's perfect. Our low overhead combined with the income would put us on the North shore in no time. Dan's only reservation is getting clients. I'll be calling Diane Monday to see if she was serious and approximately how much work she could be throwing our way. Our pricing is great, 2 editors for one low price. We can afford to undercut standard rates and still make more than enough so 1 job a month (lasting about 10 days) will be more than enough.


Two other bonuses. Smoke free day 2 is complete and we have lost weight! Hope is in the house!!


P.S. Now that we have the Internet, I can blog for real! I just noticed the comments my girlfriends left. Thank you! Thank you for reading and for your encouragement and support! I miss you guys!

Rain

The mountains that are usually visible are completely covered in clouds and the rain is pouring down. Dan and I are holed up in the tree house all day waiting for the guy to come and hook up the Internet. He never comes, 2 guys called in sick so they were really behind. Maybe tomorrow.
The only interesting news is that today was our first smoke free day.

-- posted from my IPhone

Location:Kaapuni Rd,Kapaa,United States

Chickens

If you’ve ever been to Kauai then you know there are thousands of chickens running around. You find them in the most remote places like deep in the jungle. And you find them in parking lots. They are everywhere. We have about 10 hens, 2 roosters and a family that come into our yard regularly. There are a lot more around the neighborhood, keeping Dan awake at night and in the early mornings. Baxter has a new job, to chase the chickens out of the yard. Our neighbors initiated this (and being good neighbors) we have been training him. Given their bad luck of having the crazy chicken lady as a neighbor and being so kind to us our first night, it’s the least we can do! He takes his job very seriously; always on the lookout, he sits on the landing intently looking through the railing. Watching, sniffing. Lucy enjoys chasing them too, but usually, she takes to long to notice they are there and by the time she notices, Baxter has chased them away.




Today we are being lazy. It’s a grey day, lightly raining. The misty clouds cover the mountaintops and we have to put on long sleeves. At the kitchen window, I see some chickens. I take Baxter outside and say “go get em”! There is a bend in the yard so he can’t see them. He runs down the stairs anyway and does a cursory pass for me, and comes right back up. I take him down and try to point them out but he is fixed on a different area. I walk over to where they were but they have gone into the next yard. Peeking through the tree hedge, I find the chickens. There are actually 2 rows of hedges, one on our side, a 4-foot space then the other hedge, making a sort of tree tunnel. Baxter comes over to look at what I’m looking at and sees the chickens. He’s gone, scaring the chickens every which way, he doesn’t bark at them but they are squawking like crazy. A hen runs into our yard where Lucy is, and she chases the hen until it flies into a tree making up the hedge. Her weight is bending the branch so she is easy to spot. This strikes me as hilarious and I start laughing out loud. That chicken thought it got away from Baxter only to run into Lucy! It’s up in the tree driving Baxter crazy, he wants it but he can’t get it. I finally bring him inside to calm down.




The only other excitement we had today is we ate our delicious, locally grown, organic produce, and loved it!



Vanilla yogurt, pineapple, macadamia nuts and toasted coconut. Yum!



A delicious salad of avacado, tomato, cucumber, lettuce, macadamia nuts, and basil tossed in a lemon and Temecula olive oil vinagrette. Tangelos for desert and a plumera flower just cuz.

-- posted from my IPhone

Location:Kaapuni Rd,Kapaa,United States

Day 5

The days are softly weaving into the fresh, new tapestry of our lives. The colors are richer and the weave is tighter, stronger. Waking this morning we are both anxious. The reality of the precarious palm frond we are perched on is hitting both of us hard. Everyone was right, we were bold! We left good jobs, everyone we love, and everything we knew, were we crazy?!! We don't know anyone and don't have jobs. Plus, Dan is recovering from the stress of the past 6 months, trying to get us here. We talk about it and decide that we have 2 choices. We can stay holed up in our tree house and find a job, any job, and muddle through this, or, we can get out into the community, meet people, and look for work that we will like. After all, we moved here to start a new chapter in our lives; we were burnt out and bored. We needed to get out of the rat race and really live life. Of course it’s going to be uncomfortable, we don’t know anything, knowing what’s coming is comforting. In an effort to create fun, Dan decides we should drive to the north shore and see if we can find a beach that allows dogs, I’m game.






The dogs haven’t really been able to get out and run, besides chasing the chickens and roosters roaming around our yard.





Baxter chasing a rooster

Turns out dogs aren’t allowed on any county beaches. Stuck in a car, we decide to check out a yoga place I found on the Internet. Tucked in the hills of the north shore, the yoga center is in the ritzy residential area of Princeville. We walk past the owner’s house, down a hill, to the yoga studio, a solid structure with wood floors, open windows all around, and surrounded by mountains. The cool air and birdsong make it conducive to yoga. Michelle, a tiny, vital woman of about 50, just finished a class. Her long, dark hair now streaked with grey has traces of sweat. She is the owner of Mana Yoga and is friendly and knowledgeable. She is pioneering her own kind of yoga in which your body is never in a 90 degree angle (ie: forward bend, down dog), she says it’s not natural and that’s why a lot of people get hurt doing yoga. Her creased, animated face, expresses her frustration with the yoga community and it’s insistence on doing harmful poses, that she is convinced, are relatively new. She has 25 years of experience behind her, she makes sense, so Dan and I don’t argue with her. We’d love to take a class but it’s a good 30 minutes away.

We tool around the north shore, fantasizing about moving there. The east shore and Kapa’a, where we live, is like Aurora (metaphorically) the north shore is like Aspen or Vail, very rich, very well landscaped.






Downtown Kapa'a

Back in Kapa’a town, (they add town after all the city names) we check out the community center. They have a pool and soccer field right along the beach. Inside, 3 women are taking a hula class while the teacher sings a Hawaiian song and plays ukelele. Her beautiful voice and simple notes are soothing and I think about trying the class. The schedule says they have a yoga class on Saturdays. The community center is minutes from our home; maybe I’ll check that out this week. We try 2 other grocery stores before going to the farmer’s market. One is a health food store called Hoku. I heard it was cheaper than Papaya’s which is where we went the other day. It is cheaper but still too expensive, I think I’ll have to give up my organic quest, seems it’s for people with bigger budgets than us. The other is an Asian market; the prices are fantastic, but there is not a lot of produce.

The farmers market is the big score, one-quarter mile, lined on both sides, with vendor after tightly packed vendor. Almost all of it is organic, and the variety is unbelievable. There is a guy whose nursery is on our street 2 blocks away. We talk to him about gardening (we’d save a bunch of money growing our own food and almost everyone does it here) and learn that everything grows like crazy all year long. We leave totally stoked; making plans for our new garden. Our hands are full; 3 bags of pineapple, limes, lemons, tangerines, greens, lettuce, tomatoes, papaya, chili peppers, eggplant, green beans, zucchini, broccoli, grapefruit, cucumber, a big bag of basil, and a huge avocado, for $32.00. Score! I’m so excited. We can live off that for 3 days. With the jasmine brown rice I got at Hoku, we can have stir-frys, eat healthy, and cheap. Now, I just have to find a great place to get fresh fish.






Lunch at home



-- posted from my IPhone

Location:Kaapuni Rd,Kapaa,United States