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Growing up in Oregon, I constantly heard wise words from my mother like "lets recycle that," "you can walk," "don't use too much water," "whole wheat is better than white," "no dessert if you don't eat your vegetables," "dark lettuce is better for you than light," "paper over plastic," "don't leave anything behind" and so much more. Her healthy ways got me into many sports and helped turn me into a record-setting track athlete. In 2006, my mother lost a 3 year battle with Lou Gehrig's Disease; something nobody would have ever expected. That was right around the time I joined the Surfrider Foundation in San Diego and had my first child, whom she never met. Now 10 years have passed since losing my mother, yet volunteering for the Surfrider Foundation, and becoming a mother, I've noticed her words have come through clearer than ever. In addition to personal training and triathlon coaching, I have done some blogging to help our planet, and improve lives. I hope you enjoy my content, and join me in my journey for a cleaner planet and promoting happier, healthier lives!

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

The Gift of the Tropics...

Oh, its been ages since I've posted.  Life of a Mom, athlete, and Coach makes it so.  Yes, I've been doing a lot of triathlon training and coaching since the fall.  What a perfect fit for someone with young kids, who can't take a full-time job (or could, but the pay isn't worth the childcare.)  So the "free-time" is filled with either writing training plans, working with athletes, or doing my own workouts.  Been eating a close to vegan diet, minimizing all dairy, avoiding meat, except some wild fish.  Feeling great eating lots of plant-based meals.

On to the "Gift," my husband's company sent him to Hawaii to teach a class... which happened to overlap the kids' spring break.  So we got to join him!  Oh, how thankful we are!!  Though he had to work the weekdays, we explored a lot!  A few things I wanted to share:

Riding a Bus
-You can get almost anywhere on Oahu with the Bus! (Check out app "DaBus")
-Traffic on the island can be a MESS!  (So take the bus if you can.)
-There is much more beautiful nature than you can ever see in a week.
-You can camp your way around the island if you are that brave.
-Rental houses are a much better deal than hotels.
-If you stay in Waikiki, you're missing out on the culture.
-You can get wonderful fruits and veggies at fresh fruit stands and Farmer's Markets.
From a North Shore fruit stand
-Coconuts can be mailed directly (as long as they don't have a single hole.) ;)


Another important topic, which this blog relates so much, is treatment towards nature, particularly the animals.  It seems when people go to Hawaii, they all want to TOUCH turtles, dolphins, fish, or other creatures.  Yes, when it's been a dream to see these beautiful creatures in nature, it is tempting to reach out an feel them.  BUT, as we quickly discovered, with all the tourists searching for them, there aren't many safe places for these animals to go.  When we finally saw a turtle, it was surrounded by tourists touching it, while it seemed distraught, trying to escape.  It did, and we did not even go close enough to take a picture of that one (to spare it extra misery).

And then, we found this one.  Notice everyone obeys the "look but don't touch" rule...

Here's a couple more photos of the nature we enjoyed...

Kailua Beach

Olomana Ridge hike.  (The real peak is too steep for young kids)
Our son with the state fish "Humahuma-nukanuka-a-pua'a"
















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-Aloha!



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