Floating in Poipu

I am Cleopatra, laying on my barge, floating in Poipu. The large elephant ear palms are fanning my bronzed skin. I hear doves cooing, roosters calling from the banks, and fragrant flowers lightly scenting the moist air.

My husband sits in front of the TV, watching the SuperBowl XL. The appetizers are odd; bananas, oranges, peanut butter, lilikoi goats cheese and a little baguette. I must be dreaming!

Our condo is furnished with so much art, and parrots are not scarce. . . no wonder I'm painting them, I see them everywhere I look.




The day started normally enough. Church at Lihue Lutheran with retired Pastor Magnuson, in his wheelchair. His theme was, "God loves you, Deal with it!" Church went long, an hour and a half. It was so heartfelt.

I compiled every item in the fridge to come up witha 'fusion' breakfast, we're using up all the leftovers today.

So the end is near, but we're still 'sipping the Nectar' in each moment. . .

After church we drove by the sugar mill.. it's now an ATV Park. Sugar is out, tourism is in. The south shore is much more elite, golf and tennis clubs and shopping, I guess.




Our best morning ever is watching the Honu from the sacred fishing grounds. In no time at all we see turtles as old as St. Raphael's Church. that would be 150 years old. They kind of hang at a 45 degree angle in the surf, floating and body surfing. You can really see them well when the curl of the wave is translucent, they look like gigantic olive disks. And then A Monk Seal swam by. Yes, they are endangered. When they crawl up onto the beach, the biologists fence off the area with yellow tape. And this huge mammal scoots by like a cloud in the sky.

The afternoon is spent floating on my green plastic 'barge' (lawnchair).

After the big game we'reoff to Lawaii for our last dinner at The Beach House. Our best meal on this Island, ever. We share the macadamia nut encrusted crab cakes in a papaya black bean salsa with ginger buerre blanc. Dan enjoys the duck and I this mushroom risotto layered with baby spinach, and kauai tomato salsa.
Followed by the Molten chocolate souffle and vanilla ice cream. Mmm. . . too good for words.
Once Home we watch Desparate Houswives and Gray's Anatomy.

Tomorrow we fly home. We are happy to share our final sunset from the Beach House overlooking Lawaii Beach. It has been 16 days of heavenly bliss. Santosha~ deep contentment,



Mahalo Nui Loa Kauai,
Love Susan

The South Shore

We leisurely pack our clothes, music, movies, toiletries and food. Checking out at ten, we pause to drain the last of the rum into the last of the passion fruit juice and take one last long look at the whales, frolicking beyond The Cliffs.

To Hanalei, for a last long look, and an urgent trip to the Farmer's Market for more lilikoi goat's cheese, which the owner described as like 'cheesecake.' Better than I could do to link it to an earthly entity.

We try to buy a Hawaiian dress at Tropical Tantrum, because this is always so much fun, but the sale rack only yields one outstanding fit. And it's forest green! (Not to mention the astronomical price at even 50% off). No sale.

We have lunch at the Waimea Plantation Brew Pub. It is set on the sunny south shore, dry heat with cacti and bouganvilla, and all the palms and star lillies imaginable. Here is what Dan orders, the Thai beef salad:


He asked me not to let him order the hamburger, because he's been disappointed in it in the past. I have salad and fries. I can't remember what it feels like to be hungry we've eaten so bountifully. And we have reservations for after Mass at Pomodoro's in Kaleho.

When we check in we are surprised to have a two bedroom two bath condominium. I get lost in the space.With my limited sight, I don't quite know where I am in relation to so dark a hallway with so many doors. I ask Dan to call "Marco" every three minutes so I can be led to his voice. "Polo," I reply as I venture through the home. Dan unpacks his three shirts to the walk-in closet, I lay out my church clothes.

Then it's off to see the Honu (turtles) that float on the waves . It's a little windy by 3 p.m. so we bring beach towels to wrap up in. It's hard to spot their little necks reaching out of the surf, so we didn't try for a photo.

Mass at St. Raphael's was sweet. The Father asked that those who were celebrating wedding anniversaries in February and March to come forward for a special blessing. We were blessed and sprinkled with holy water. Then he re-wrote our wedding vows to say, "The Wife may now kiss her groom!" We did.

Off to Pomodoro for a wonderful Italian feast! Exceptional lasagna and manicotti. . . alas, no photograph. Then home to bed before the alarm rings, calling us to Lihue Lutheran.

There really is no Pose of the Day: This is Vasisthasana, strive to find balance in each day. "Sleep eight hours, work eight hours and play for eight hours." ~ Dr. Blair

Apparently our return to planet Earth is imminent.

This night, no sounds of crashing surf to sing us to sleep: a part of the weaning process, Hawaiian Aloha 2006.

Sweet Dreams ~Susan

Hanalei Aloha

Our last day on the North Shore dawns, tomorrow we will pack it up and move to Poipu, on the South Shore for our last few days. So it's not really over, just a day of anticipating transition.

The day is full of 'Nectar.'

Bikram yoga at 9:30-11 a.m. Here yoga is performed in a heated room, try 105 degrees! It is a series of poses, and a mild 'drill seargant' struts around directing the class. Between poses there are sit ups. I wasn't looking forward to this class, even though I chose it. (I took one for the team, so we have have a stretch of uninterrupted beach time this afternoon, and are able to attend a 4 p.m. concert.)

I am so glad the teachers name was Janice. It made all the difference. I told her I was visually impaired and described my field of vision. She was cool with it; gentle on me, and compassionate. I did my best and pushed through my fears. She afterwards told me I was an inspiration. A wonderful last class in the series of ten. I feel gratitute for Yoga Hanalei. Thet have the wisdom literature of Patanjali, the sanskrit and are upholding the 40,000 year old tradition of teaching. I did not receive the Yoga Sutras and Upanishads in my teacher's training. And I love the inspirational literature.

Today's Pose of the Day is Nataranjasana, or Dancer's Pose. You have never seen me teach this pose because I have never thought I could do this pose.

Here's what Janice said:

"Hopefully we learn to embrace those poses for which we have the most Resistance."

And, "We learn to move past our mind and past our resistance into the sticky (as in stuck) and muddy."

After Dan picks me up, we go home for a light lunch, Macaroni Salad. It's tradional Hawaiian faire. Dan adds diced onion, olives, and peas! A feast with Kauai tomatoes.

Then we're off to reacquaint with some favorite beaches: Lumahai and Tunnels and Hanalei Bay so Dan can dip. "The creature of Hanalei Bay" ooh!

We have snorkeled Tunnels until we know the underwater like the back of our hand. There are caverns you can enter through tunnels. We love seeing Angel Fish. Today we watched a dog swim out to sea, to be with his 'man' and then guide him back to shore, looking back to make sure the man is safely making his way to shore. Talk about inspiring.

We arrive early for Doug and Sandy McMaster's Slack Key Guitar Concert 4-6 p.m. The sounds are so soft and sweet they can lull you to sleep or bring you to tears. We heard Amazing Grace and Puff the Magic Dragon and old songs from paniolo days.

Dinner is a New York Filet and my ahi tuna, with baked potato and salad. A shiraz rounds out the menu.

I am exhausted by the sea the sun and the emotion of today,

It's a sunset photo and Mahalo~

Love Susan

Waves of Bliss

At 6:45, the light beyond my eyelids awakens me. I LOVE sunrise. And have missed far too many this past year, unlike Dan. With our days numbered here at The Cliffs I need to squeeze every last drop of nectar from each day; and we do.


We sit out on the cliff's edge, enjoying the high surf, and each wave as it breaks. The air is warm but cool rains are forecast for the islands. I decide to expand my horizons today and go to the Ashtanga Yoga class instead of the safe routine of Hatha Flow.

I've taken this 2 hour class in years past. It is comprised of a series of poses. Five minutes of downward facing dog opens the class, and I know I am about to perspire heavily (and go where I have not gone before). Cleanse in a word. . . . Purge! "Teachers love it when you cry." And I do.

After Dan gathered up what was left of me, we came home to regroup. The rains arrived at the biginning of class, and the pour was seriously underway. What to do? "Let's go swimming!" The rain is warm and the hot tub feels so refreshing to me. Dan loves the cooler pool. We take a few Pose of the Day shots. Todays pose will be Dandhurasana.


"Yoga is not for the faint of heart.
It takes response-ability ( or the ability to repond)." ~ Tara
"To change from the inside out, to be transformed by each breath; cell by cell." ~ Bravani

Todays class began with Ujjayi breath, constricting the glottis, and filling ourselves like a bullfrog. Moving from the inside out.

After our swim, it's off to lunch at the Hanalei Bay Resort. The pouring rain continues. Dan orders a hamburger, it's roasted red pepper and tomato soup for me. Then home for a little rest, it's a "blissfully stay drowsy" sort of day. The ocean is so choppy, even the whales are taking a holiday.

Truly, everyone is going deeper! We noticed birds under the chairs at lunch
Then Oprah, and the end of the lilkoi goats cheese on toasted baguette. I cannot describe its wonderful qualities in this blog. It would be x-rated. But the goats and dairy are located where we photographed Viparita Karani yesterday, on Kahuna Road. We will try to buy more.

Tonight we plan to grill chicken and toss it with mandarin oranges, avocado and Kilauea greens. We do watch TV each night, and keep up with the news, although floating just above the earth is an awesome privilege.

Today Bhavani also said, "To live humbly doesn't deplete you, it fills you." I like this. We actually 'do Hawaii' as simply as we are able.


Mahalo, Susan

Going Bananas

Well, for the first time we didn't sleep very well. Advanced Relax Deeply was so strenuous, my kidneys ached. And the sheets were tucked in too tightly, we could hardly move.

We began the day eating bananas (and pinepple and waffles). Watching the humpback whales go bananas. Three were breeching at a time. Pec slaps, tail slaps and head slaps! Bonkers and Bananas!








We retreated to the pool for a soothing and invigorating dip. I painted the little torch ginger by my chair, against the graying sky, while Dan read.






Yoga took the last ounce of energy out of me. The Pose of the Day therefore will be Viparita Karani, or Legs up the Wall. It is most restorative! You can elevate your hips on a folded blanket for a deeper abdominal experience.

"The body is the temple
The asanas (poses) its prayers." ~ Bhavani

"Keep the enthusiasm!
and relax . . . yoga is a process and there is no end point.
Sip the nectar in each moment." ~ Bhavani

After a slice of pizza and a salad, we headed for the Kilauea Lighthouse, the northern most point in the Hawaiian Islands. The whales were going Bananas, so was Dan, intently observing all the activity in the protected waters, where it's birthing season. The whales are an alluring aspect of this annual winter retreat. And here's a great photo of Hawaii's state bird, the Nene (Hawaiian goose).




Then we drove around looking for Hale Luana, the place where Susan Cowan and her Art Adventure will meet to paint next month. She began my love affair with watercolors last June.

Then a trip to the grocery so we can prepare fish tacos and mashed potatoes for dinner tonight. Dan will cook as I am out of energy.

Hence the importance of slowing down, putting your gorgeous legs up the wall and drawing the breath into your temple. Opening the channels of healing and compassion for yourself.

Hey, gotta go. Now the waves are going bananas; crashing surf and swells to fifteen feet.

Namaste, Susan with Joy