Who Says This Princess Can't Rough It?!

A tale of trying to embrace the moments that define your life...

One of the many benefits of my job is the opportunity to take advantage of doing the various activities and excursions available here in Kauai. I happened to have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off work because of how the holidays fell this year and I had no plans for Christmas Eve. I thought I would go out whale watching on the south shore...but when I called they said they only had availability on the raft snorkel and whale watching excursion out on the Napali Coast. Mind you, on a catamaran and in the summer, this is one of my favorite excursions, but in a raft in the winter and with a big swell coming in I was not sure if this is how I wanted to spend my Christmas Eve...but YOLO kicked in and I scheduled my excursion in spite of my fears...

I am not a confident ocean swimmer, I enjoy the luxuries and comfort of a large catamaran, I enjoy a restroom on my boat, and the idea of being in a raft on the Napali with a big swell was terrifying. And up at 5:00am and driving across the island I was consumed by all of these thoughts...

Good news, cute and charming crew...bad news, this is really a small raft, only 9 passengers and we all have to sit on the rubber side of raft and hold onto a rope so as to not fall off the boat into the ocean. Did I mention there is a swell that came in today? And off we went, out of the small boat harbor in Port Allen out into the ocean on a rubber raft. Almost immediately we saw spinner dolphins. There would be wind later in the day, so the captain, Manu, made the decision for us to snorkel early in the trip, so we stopped to snorkel on the way up. Last time I snorkeled on Napali I couldn't stay in the water very long as there was too much motion in the ocean...but I was willing to try again and I jumped into the water and snorkeled all around, saw lots of beautiful fish, the water was nice and clear, and I had such a wonderful time being in the water.

Now off to Napali, dodging waves and riding them, thrilling and exciting and glorious. It was sunny and warm, and I felt exhilarated, and at that moment I realized I had a topic about which to write again...#yolo.

Napali Coast, but coming in and out of swell and waves...Manu was carefully gaging the waves and swell to see if he could get us into any caves and we finally managed to get into two sea caves...a catamaran can't do that! The cathedrals of the Napali are even more spectacular and awesome from the raft. Heading back we found whales and sat and had sandwiches on the raft watching whales dance.


What a fantastic way to spend a day! What an amazing and blessed way to spend a Christmas Eve day...#napalicoast #sunshine #whalewatching #princessdidgood #yolo
 

Sydney

#YOLO? Hashtag YOLO? That is the question I was asked by a fellow Bridge Climb Sydney group climber from Florida when I shared how I happened to be living in Kauai, how I sold my home and my car and all my possessions and bought a one-way ticket with no job or home to the island.
And how I happened to be on holiday in Sydney by myself climbing the Harbour Bridge, even though I cannot bring myself to climb a ladder at home. Yes, #YOLO.
And though I normally do not use hashtags, nor do I really understand what their purpose or use really is, thus came about the name of my new blog, on vacation, that will chronicle how I have the intention, whether always apparent or not, to live my life in this #yolo mindset.

At peak of Sydney Harbour Bridge!

In May, after his MBA graduation, my son told me how he hated people his age that said "YOLO."
And I shared with him then that I was in fact, entering a mindset that would hopefully allow me to do that...after all, I told him, "son, you just graduated with your MBA, your sister is graduating college next year, my work here is done. YOLO." Not only do I not use or quite understand hashtags, I only recently had heard of the term YOLO...the addition of the hashtag makes it perfect.

Sydney, Australia. Alone. I have never really had an interest to go to the land down under...but I figured that I ought to use the fact that I am sitting in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and work for a hospitality company to my advantage. I knew relatively little about Australia, except that it houses the Sydney Opera House, the Great Barrier Reef and is the land of aborigines and walkabouts, and a country that is also a continent. All relatively interesting, but not intriguing enough to be on any sort of travel "list" for me. Until my neighbor and landlord earlier this year


had suggested to me when I told her I wanted to travel to Thailand, that I go to Sydney instead and stay at the Westin. She had stayed there and said it was the nicest hotel she had ever stayed at, and that she knew I would love Sydney.
Its culture, its people, its restaurants and shopping, its sights and its sounds, all would contribute to what would become a memorable and extraordinary experience and vacation.

Milly and Motla from Botswana

Hunter Valley Wine Country Tour with Richard Everett

I met a woman, Milly, the President of the Botswana Red Cross, newly appointed to the International Board of Red Cross, I met a young man who had spent the last four years of his life traveling the world, I met wonderful young people from Florida visiting Sydney for a college friend's wedding, Bikram yogis from down under, I met gentlemen and cads, I met people from England, Chile, Colombia, Germany, The Netherlands, and New Zealand, and of course, Aussies themselves.

University of Florida Gator Bridge Climb Crew

I thought of sharing and documenting every event and experience I had on my journey, but instead I wanted to capture and share the feelings and emotions that those events and experiences created for me. For that is what travel does for a person's soul, it enlightens them, it enriches them and it gives them a connection to the world, and ultimately a connection to themselves.

Peter my Bridge Climb Guide

Travel is an immersion into another culture or subculture, and also a mirror into our own being and soul. There is a thrill in seeing and being inside the Sydney Opera House, an architectural landmark, but it is the feeling and emotion that being there arouses in you that you take with you...and that is what was magnificent about this trip. I had so many of these type of experiences that churned instantly into emotions and feelings of elation and joy and passion and appreciation and gratitude for my life. An excursion to the Hunter Valley, a daunting climb of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, a visit inside the Opera House, walks through a clean and beautiful city to Circular Quay, Darling Harbour, a stroll through Hyde Park to Surry Hills and Darlinghurst, amazing international dining, a ferry ride to Manly Beach, a visit to Bondi Beach and a picturesque coastal walk, bars and pubs and yoga and shopping...all of which I take with me.

And this is how travel is life-changing, for I will forever carry the emotions and feelings of these experiences with me as I move forward in my life journey...and I aspire to create more of such experiences to propel me forward. #sydney #downunder #yolo