Lessons with Sea Turtles

This is a guest post by Scott. While Jen is working in Hawaii, I get to do the fun exploring and she asked me to post Monday. Since my adventures were so well received, I decided to return for a Bistro Chic bonus post.

When my adventures left off, I was venturing out for Japanese food.

Since, I spent Monday morning in the ocean. Monday afternoon, I went for a llittle beach photo walking. I walked the coastline from my hotel to the base of diamond head mountain.

People watching was fascinating. Saw all sorts of magical locations.

What a wonderful Monday! I don’t think I will ever get tired of Hawaiian sunsets.

Monday evening, we went for an exquisite dinner at Morimoto’s. Highly recommend the ishi yaki buri bop. Of course, since it was more a business dinner, I refrained from photos. They cooked my yellowtail fish table-side with a 400° stone bowl. The restaurant was located in a modern hotel that had full-sized mattress-like-beds for sun chaise chairs. I could have just slept there for the evening. It was very modern chic.

On Tuesday, I headed out for some sea kayaking. The bus depot at the hotel was a bustling people moving center.

A LOL moment in the van

I was picked up by the kayak shuttle and after a few stops, we headed up & down a mountain on our way to Kailua Bay, Oahu.

Since I had time to kill on my van ride, I slipped into working mode. I started to read my emails on my phone. Tuesday happens to be a day where I have a regular meeting with a client to discuss our projects. I received an email with the meeting notes and action items. So of course, I started thinking what projects needed to be done next and what tasks were on my plate.

I don’t think I will violate any NDA’s if I share the emailed notes I received:

Please review task list and ensure yours are complete for our next meeting.

Tasks
1) Scott……enjoy a Mai Tai on a Hawaiian beach with Jen

2) Scott …..Repeat task 1

It was the perfect email for me at the perfect time!

If you are open to them, Lessons can be learned and reinforced by anyone at anytime.

Thanks to my client for the gentle reminder and reinforcing the lesson to work hard & play hard. Time away helps recharge the brain and provides a great way to generate new ideas.

We should step away sometimes even to daydream about Paris, Hawaii, or some other travel destination. All work and no play makes you a dull boy or girl.

Lesson 1: Work Hard & Play Hard!

Heeding the moment, I immediately shut off my phone and reengaged with the scenery. I was able to catch some wonderful views of the thousands of year old Caldera that formed Oahu.

We arrived at the Kayak home base to sign papers, waivers, and go through a quick safety check.

They unloaded the sea kayaks by the beach, and we went through a paddling instruction. My guide tried his best to be funny. It only worked in that it was so off the wall and almost sarcastic. He tried to use some new-age-y zen comparisons like comparing the Ocean to the book Who Moved My Cheese.

Now, I went sea kayaking one time about ten years ago. I found it rather easy to do. So, when I got on my kayak, I did not expect to flip over immediately which is exactly what I did about a half dozen times.

They gave me a red kayak that was sized for a female As soon as I tried to paddle, my weight would shift and flip into the ocean.

Of course, I was determined to kayak. So, I finally got to a point where I was settled and was able to stroke the paddle while keeping my body still. We kayaked for about 50 to 100 meters, and they asked me to switch kayaks with a girl who had a blue boy-sized kayak.

What a difference!

Here’s how you can experience the same feeling: at your local pool, take your adult-sized body and jump on a child-sized water raft.

Lesson 2: Kayaks come in different sizes for a reason.

So, we’re off headed for the Mokulua Islands about 4 kilometers away.

The wind and the waves were a little choppier than I expected. It was fun being on the ocean in a kayak. The rhythmic pattern of paddling had a calming effect which almost made me understood the guide’s zen talk.

We arrived on the island and hiked to a tide pool called Queen’s Bath. We were able to jump in the tide pool for some fun photos. As I was preparing for my swim, I dropped my phone into a tiny little pool.

Lesson 3: Don’t open water tight bags over water on rocky terrain, you never know what might slip into the water.

Luckily, I pulled it out quick enough that the camera still worked.

As I crawled out of the tide pool, I cut my fingers on the a’a rock. A’a rock is a sharp pointy basaltic igneous rock.

(See Mom & Dad, I did learn something with my Geology degree.)

Lesson 4: Soft water logged hands and sharp objects don’t mix.

If I was at home, I’d probably, be pretty mad. I had a water-logged phone that may not work, and the cuts on my hands enough where there’s blood on my shirt.

Yet, I didn’t really care. I was in vacation mode. All I really wanted was lunch. I opened the bag lunch they provided to find a Ham sandwich with mayonnaise. Good Grief! I hate mayo.

Picture this:
I’m sitting on the rock looking at my water-logged phone with bloodied hands eating a Subway Ham sandwich with mayo that I hate.

Thinking, thinking, thinking. Thinking. Anger starting to rise. Pulse quickening. Then the roar of the ocean tumbling back and forth swept the worries away as I peered off in the ocean with this view:

Lesson 6: Stop and enjoy the view no matter the circumstances.

As we kayaked home, about 5 to 10 meters from me, a sea turtle popped up to ask if I learned my lessons today.

I smiled and rowed on.

Maholo and Aloha.