Spa Day

I have spent the last five days in Poipu Beach on Kauai. I have had a fantabulous time so far and I can't believe that three days from now I have to head back home to Berkeley. Anyway, today I awoke around 9:30 am to a completely empty house, except for Zac, of course. He needed to get some work done so we ended up leaving the house around 10:40 am for what we thought would be breakfast burritos at Brennecke's Deli. We got to Brennecke's only to find out that they stopped serving breakfast at 10 am, so we walked back to the condo and made our own breakfast.

Around 11:40 we hear the door open and Jason called out to us stating that they were leaving for the farmer's market RIGHT NOW. So, Zac and I reluctantly got up and piled into the car to head over to Kolo'a for another farmer's market. Now, we were already not so enthusiastic about having had left so quickly, but when we got there we realized that neither one of us actually had cash on us. This made purchasing fruit quite difficult, i.e., impossible. So, this fact, in combination with the hourdes of tourists, led Zac and I to wander away to a picnic table in a shack by a nearby playing field. We sat, sweated, and chatted about how the trip has been so much fun thus far. About 20 minutes later, the rest of the family found us and we all piled back into the rental van with the newly acquired papayas, rambutans, star fruit, pineapples, and various veggies.

We decided to stop for lunch a the Koloa Fish Market where we picked up an assortment of tuna, lau lau pork, and kahlua pork platters. We then stopped at Brennecke's Beach to consume all of the delicious food. At 1:15 pm, the women drove back to the condo to prepare for the spa day ahead. Really, all we did was take a few moments to pee. Then, we were off to Anara Spa at the Hyatt.

The Hyatt here on Kauai is absolutely gorgeous. Right when you walk in, you walk into a luscious, green, plant-filled courtyard, opening out right on to the beach. We were escorted to the spa which was off in the back of the hotel. We checked in and were given the grand tour of the facilities, which included beautiful lava rock showers and a variety of saunas, steam rooms, and jacuzzis. Absolutely gorgeous. I then met my masseuse, Leilani, an over-makeuped white lady, and was off to begin the spa day. I had never had a massage before so I told her to explain to me what exactly I had to do. I was already naked under my bath robe and she told me to lay face down on the table, and to take off all of my jewelry. I did as I was told and she began the full body Anara massage.

She started on my back, which is what I expected. I did not expect, however, that she would move the towel to basically expose my upper buttocks and that she would actually massage my butt. Very odd, but it did feel great. She also used her forearms and elbows, which was also new to me. She discovered that my upper back had lots of "gristle" in the muscle, as she called it, and that the knots were from stress and the way that I carry myself. She joked that I need to get more massage treatments to work those knots out. Right, cause I have so much money to pay for massage. Anyway, she worked on the rest of my body and all was well. It was a great first massage. I will definitely try to get massages on a more frequent basis after this experience. We'll see. After the massage I got a great 50 minute pedicure which started out with a foot soak in delicious smelling mango lime water. The pedicure was awesome and my toes are now a fun bright red, orange color ;) Overall, I think my first spa experience was really fun, but I don't think that I would have done if it I hadn't been treated to the experience. I don't think I could justify paying those prices....

When we all got back to the cabin, the men were waiting for us and Zac said that he loved my feet and that they looked happy. I was happy that he noticed my feet. Yeah for observant boyfriends!

We all had a fantastic dinner of grilled ahi tuna, sauteed fiddlehead ferns and bok choy, and Lappert's ice cream. Oh how I love Kauai.

Anyway, tomorrow we head for the Na Pali coast to go hiking and swimming in Ke'e Beach. I'm very excited and definitely don't want this trip to end.

Off Off and Away...To Kauai ;)

So after a week back in the beautiful Bay Area, Zac and I are off again to the sunny and gorgeous Kauai Island in Hawaii. I find it somewhat interesting that we are going from the freezing cold and snowy Montana to warm and sunny Hawaii in a span of a week. I consider myself extremely lucky but I hope that my poor body will not be sent into some temperature change induced shock.

I am faced with the task today of having exactly 4 hours before I need to leave for work, and of course, having way too much to do. My plants need to be re-potted, the bank needs to be contacted, laundry needs to get done, shower, needs to be taken, and somehow I am supposed to get packed as well. Don't you love the stress that always inevitably comes with leaving for a trip? It would be wonderful if I could just snap my fingers and have it all be finished. Voila! But alas, it will never be so. Sigh. So here I am, procrastinating at the computer, pretending to myself that this is a crucial pre-departure activity. What I really want to be doing, however, is playing World of Warcraft.

That darn game has literally consumed most of my school break free time. I absolutely love it. Getting lost in a fantasy world with my fellow fantasy friends is just about the best thing I can think of to relax and unwind. (Except going to the gym of course, more later). Last night at Starbucks, while re-stocking cups, I saw a beautiful, gorgeous man sitting in the corner on his laptop and lo and behold, he was playing WoW!! I watched him play from afar for a few minutes before realizing that I was not so much interested in him, but that I was more interested in his character and what he was doing, questing or PvPing...sad but true. I found an excuse to talk to him for a few minutes about how his realm was always full and whenever he tried to log in he was #800 on the waitlist or so...yes #800!!! I think we were both a little embarrased to admit that we were WoW die hards and the conversation quickly waned. I let him back to his game and sadly returned to cleaning coffee grounds and making lattes. Secretely, however, I really wanted to be questing with my level 31 rogue on her new silver tiger mount. Oh yes I did.

After work I decided to head to the gym for some post-caffeine calorie burning. It was a very sad realization recently that prompted this late-night gym need. In looking at pictures from a year and a half ago and stepping on the scale, I realized that I have gained a good 50 pounds during the last 2 years. Oh my God! How could it be?!? But it is true. So now, I have to get my large ass back on the treadmill to walk, run, cry, and burn away all those pesky pounds. No more eating what Zac eats all the time. Lesson learned. Those of us with the metabolisms of snales cannot, repeat CANNOT, eat the same as those with the metabolisms of gazelles. Arg. I am doomed to a life of salad and soup....smile though. I need to smile.

So yes, tomorrow we leave for Kauai, the land of sun, warm sandy beaches, and scantily clad honeymooners. I, however, will be avoiding bearing my flab at all costs and will be attempting to snorkel in some combination of bikini top, tank top, and surf shorts. Oh well. That's what I get for those damn 50 pounds. Nevertheless, I am ridiculously excited to go and enjoy myself before school starts again. Hopefully I won't get stung by a jellyfish or eaten by a shark...