365 Inspirations—312: Kona, Hawaii

We made it to Kona. It was a long day of travel, but we were so happy to step off the plane into the nice warm sauna that it is outside. We got our rental car and headed to the King Kamehameha Marriott on the beach where we will stay for one night before heading to the Hawaii Yoga Festival on the Hilo side of the island.

After checking in, we decided to get a bite to eat and a drink at the poolside bar and grill. I instantly felt my entire body relax. I'm in Hawaii finally. The pace is different and I can't wait to see what is in store for us this time.

More soon from the land of Aloha!

Have you ever been to the Hawaiian Islands? What was your favorite memory of your visit?

365 Inspirations—305: Paris

“A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in the point of Life.”—Thomas Jefferson

I've never been to Paris, have you? I've heard so much about it, seen so many movies from there, met some lovely French people, but I can't say I know the place.

Tonight I went out with a friend. We started out at a Taiwanese restaurant called Fu Mandu and ended at a French Restaurant/Bar in the Greenwood area called Gainsbourg. There frites with aioli garlic sauce were to die for. My friend told me all about Paris and about several of her adventures there. We sat up at the bar and there were mini statues of the Eiffel Tower on the counter. The atmosphere was lively and homey at the same time. It was a perfect place to hang out on a cold fall evening.

In the background, they played avant garde, old French movies on a big screen. Every now and then an absolutely ridiculous scene would show up on the screen and I'd have to break our conversation to get my friend to look at the screen.

I think the best things about this evening were discovering a new place right in my neighborhood and spending time with my friend. That's the benefit of going out with a friend. Sometimes you get to see your very same stomping grounds through different eyes. Places you've never, ever ventured into or knew existed, become a whole new reality for you.

Today I saw the world through a Paris lens with my friend.

It makes me want to go there to visit, but I think I need to learn some French first!

Have you ever been to Paris, France? How was it?

365 Inspirations—244: Leaving on a Jet Plane

"Wherever you go, go with all your heart."—Confucius

Well, we head out today for Peru and beyond!

Long, long flights ahead—Seattle to LAX, LAX to Lima, Lima to Cusco. We'll be in the air and on the ground for a good 20 hours or so!

Two of the people on our yoga/trekking retreat in Peru will have already arrived by the time we get there.

Our bags are packed, I've got my neck rest, my Peru travel guide to study on the plane and my journal.

We'll be staying in Sacred Valley for 4 nights at a beautiful house there and touring some of the nearby sights and ruins and then we'll head out on a 4 night 5 day trek to Machu Picchu. Looks like the weather is going to be good, but will run very hot in the day and down in the 30s at night!

More soon from Peru!

Have you been on a plane lately? Where did you go?

365 Inspirations—243: Packing

On my first trek to Machu Picchu nearly 20 years ago!

"Life is either a great adventure or nothing."—Helen Keller 

 Tomorrow we leave for Peru! Yikes!  Lots still to do, but I'm going to try and find inspiration in packing today. The weather is gorgeous today and we headed out to REI to pick up last minute hiking goods for our Salkantay Glacier Trek to Machu Picchu.

I took my husband to lunch at a fusion Chinese restaurant and then he had an ice cream outside in the sun while I was doing a few other last minute things.

My goal today is to try to pack so incredibly lightly that people look at my back pack and say, "That's all you have?!"

Things I'm bringing on my trip to Peru:

• Therma Rest Air Mattress (I heard the trekking companies in Peru have uncomfortable mats)
• Small/Packable Sleeping Bag
• LL Bean Down Jacket that stuffs in pocket (got in 1996 when I did hiking in Himalayas!)
• Helly Hansen Rain Pants/Jacket/stuffs in pockets (also got in 1996)
• Convertible short/pants (Got on Amazon for $30)
• Hiking Boots (Gore-tex Sportivas—Got on Amazon)
• Water Sandals (Just picked up a pair of Keen Sandals on Super Sale at REI)
• 2 tank tops/2 short sleeve shirts/2 long sleeve shirts
• yoga pants
• yoga mat
• skirt
• gloves/hat/sunhat
• 4 pairs hiking socks
• sunglasses
• Fleece jacket
• long underwear
• Personals—insect repellant/sunblock/etc.
• iPhone/ iPad mini for blogging ^_^!

I got a data plan on AT&T so that I can blog without roaming charges!

Looking forward to blogging and keeping you informed on the road of our expedition!

More soon from Peru—Machu Picchu, Cusco, Sacred Vally, Puno, Lake Titicaca and beyond!

Do you enjoy packing for trips?

365 Inspirations—237: Making Travel Plans

"I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move."—Robert Louis Stevenson

My husband Yoon says I should be a travel agent because I love making travel plans! On Sunday we are headed to Peru. I can't believe it. We are taking a group of yoga students with us.

I've enjoyed booking our plans for our yoga retreat and organizing the trip. I often organize many details of our yoga retreats and trips.

I still feel like there are a lot more details to work out. I've got the big ones down—flight, accommodations, Machu Picchu trek, but there are always little details. Sometimes it's good not to plan everything, so I like to leave some space in our plans for what adventures might pop up.

For sure, we know that we will be staying in Sacred Valley for four nights and trekking on the Salkantay glacier to Machu Picchu for five days. The caretaker/driver of the place where we'll be staying in Sacred Valley will be helping us with many plans once we get there.

We also plan to go to Lake Titicaca and the Island of the Sun.

I spent the evening drafting a letter to the yoga students about our trip and creating a packing list.

It's going to be fun and I can't wait to write about it here...stay tuned.

Do you like making travel plans? Do you have any fun trips planned?

365 Inspirations—169: Flat Tire

"Just because something didn't work out according to the way you planned it, doesn't mean it didn't work out for the best."—Unknown

During breakfast this morning, I browsed through the paper reading stories about the first man to be completely cured of AIDS and about another woman who tried to live on sunlight, but only made it 45 days.

For the record, Washington State is not the best place in the world to try to live on sunlight. There are other places that might be more suitable, like Arizona or Death Valley for example.

 At least the news was amusing. I'll take these stories any day over the usual murder and mayhem that is normally in the paper.

I personally like the weather section. I like to read about the moon cycles, high tides, pollen levels, weather in other parts of the world. I also like to read my horoscope on occasion. I'm a scorpio.

Here's what my horoscope said:

Today is not a good day to travel

Well shoot. Today I was supposed to set out on my yoga, meditation, writing, juicing, adventuring, book researching, go-wherever-the-wind-blows (or not) odyssey.

But the cards weren't in my favor.

Not that I instantly believed this blurb written under my sign in the Seattle Times. Who writes these things anyway?

As soon as I pulled up in our driveway, after a 4-day housesitting stint down the street, I noticed my left front tire had a rather FLAT look to it.

"You probably just need some air," Yoon said.

It was going to take more than a little air to pump that thing up.

I sifted through the mail and found a Midas Tune-up Special and Yoon followed me to the auto shop.

We dropped the car off and headed out to a Thai restaurant for lunch. Later, Yoon dropped me off at the shopping area where my car was being fixed because he had some work to do. While in the dressing room trying on summer clothes, I got the call.

"You have a huge nail in your tire. There's no saving it. You are going to need some new tires."

"How much for new tires?" I asked, feeling as deflated as my left front wheel.

The man in the office did some figuring out loud and said, "Let's see....well...looks like about $450 or so."

There goes my adventure. I settled on getting two new tires for half the price and got a tune-up. So here I am, still in Seattle.

I am grateful that I didn't discover the nail and flat tire on some desolate highway all alone. That would have been an adventure I could do without.

Even though I'm still here, I feel like I've already started my travels. I'm tuning in, paying attention to the signs, and going with the flow.

Who knows where I'll be tomorrow....I'll let you know.

Do you believe in blessings in disguise?