Moo-Free

I've always been a nutrition nerd: I research and keep up-to-date on all the developing trends on diets, workouts and general health, but I have yet to apply any of those findings to my own lifestyle.  

Over the weekend, I decided to try kicking dairy to the curb for the week.  Luckily, it's not a huge diet overhaul.  I don't have a lot of dairy products to eliminate--but, I am going to miss cheese for a week.

I'm just curious if removing dairy from my diet makes me feel any different.  

In just a few days, I've realized that cutting dairy from my day to day menu means that I've cut out some not-so-healthy comfort foods that I tend to rely on dining out and at home (pasta topped with grated pecorino, cheesy egg omelettes, cheeseburgers, pizza, etc.).

In order to stay dairy-free, I've been relying more on home-cooked meals, and I've been making myself some good ones:

{Mexican egg scramble with sauteed veggies and kale, garnished with radishes and cilantro}

{Squash "pasta" with tomatoes, basil and a drizzle of balsamic}

and not pictured: purple sweet potato topped with garlicky kale and white bean stuffing and of course, lots of mega salads with tuna and all the fixings.

Yum!

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South Swell at Black Rock

The surfers are in ecstasy right now.  A hugely anticipated south swell just hit the island, and the waves are going off.  Bryan and I went to Black Rock beach this afternoon to check out the action.  The water is usually pretty calm here, but on days where there are waves, the action is epic.  Today was no exception, but the shore break today was especially massive. 

Of course, every time I whipped out the camera was immediately after a huge set, so everything I captured seems puny in comparison.  When Bryan and I were out there in the ocean, I got heaved up by a huge wave.  I was at the peak of it looking down at the beach from about fifteen feet up.  Yikes.  Scaredy-cat that I am, I got out from the water shortly after the monster set was finished and sun bathed.   Getting tossed around and bashed by little waves, let alone huge waves, are so not my thing.

In the video I took, you can see how long the shore break was.  The wave crashed all along the beach all the way down to the lava wall at the Sheraton in one clean line, the wave toppling and slamming down into the sand in a thunderous roar.

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Olivine Pools

Yesterday Bryan and I drove north along the western side of Maui to find the oft-mentioned Olivine Pools.  It's a small series of tide pools right on the ocean's edge, protected by walls of black lava rock.

Two stops after our favorite Ohai Trail, there's a pull-out on the left after a huge dip in the road.  There's a short, steep hike down to the pools.  Expect a little rock scrambling and awkward footing.  Bryan and I both tackled the path in our flip flops, but sturdier shoes wouldn't go unappreciated here.

{a view of the Olivine Pools from the top}

{Bryan on the hike down}

Once we reached the bottom, we explored back along the lava wall.  

The pools here were brackish, and not recommended for swimming, but they were filled with lots of little fish and hermit crabs.

{the remains of a sea bird's lunch}

{checking out some of the tiny tide pools}

{the swimming hole}

{a short shaky video tour of the Olivine Pools}

Yesterday was a very calm day at the Olivine Pools--which is what is recommended for diving in--but I found a photo which shows you what this area can look like when there are bigger swells refreshing the pools:

{photo credit from blog "Moving to Maui"}

The lava rock is HOT here on bare feet, so after a few seconds of arranging our things, planning our entrance and exit routes into the water, I dove right in.

{Bryan getting ready to join me}

Both Bryan and I observed that the water here is especially buoyant.

{I can float!}

After swimming in the pools for a bit, we got out and dried off.  The sun here was especially intense and the water was particularly salty, so we decided to head back into town and stop at my favorite beach, Kapalua Bay for a dip.

Here are some photos from my swim:

{Moorish Idol}

{Butterfly Fish}

{Collector Sea Urchin: they find small objects and cover their bodies with them for added camouflage}

{territorial Damselfish protecting their "nests"}

{a wrasse}

{a Humu Humu--a type of triggerfish}

{more pipsqueak Damselfish}

{and still more Damselfish}

{making angry fish faces}

{my new friend the Collector Sea Urchin}

{mermaiding}

After the beach, Bryan and I got cocktails and pupus at the Westin, followed by dinner at the bar at Kimo's.

Another successful day off on Maui!

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Square Photos

a little line up of square photos that I uploaded to the phone app Instagram over the last few days.  If you follow me @paiger_rager already, these will, of course, be repeats, but for those of you who are not Instagramming, these are for you:

{beach selfie at Black Rock Beach rocking my Toes on the Nose ball cap}

{Baldwin Beach pit stop on the way home from Hana}

{menu from Star Noodle--our return from Hana meal}

{Brussels Sprouts from Star Noodle with bacon and kim chee powder}

{open faced Steamed Pork Buns from Star Noodle}

{Hydro Flask buddies with my girlfriend Shaina at Kapalua Bay--my insulated 40 oz water bottle from Hydro Flask is my new true love.  Sipping ice cold water at the beach all day is amazing}

{Beautiful shot of Kapalua Bay from earlier today.  Amazing clear skies after 2 days of rain}

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Saying Goodbye to Hana

We really lucked out on the timing of both our drive in and our drive out to Hana.  On Wednesday, we beat the morning rush to Hana since we were banking on a later arrival time (our check-in wasn't until 3 pm).  We dallied in Paia, and then cruised all the way to Hana with very little traffic.  On our way home, we left way before any of the tourists had really gotten to Hana.  We passed gobs of oncoming traffic as we shot back home.  What a breeze!

Before we drove all the way home though, we made an afternoon beach stop at Baldwin Beach.  What a gorgeous beach!  We don't go very often since it's far from home, but the soft, pillowy sand and beautiful bands of turquoise water of the ocean make this a place we must revisit.  I was pretty wiped out from our Hana weekend, so after a quick dip, I ended up falling asleep on the beach under the shade of a tree.

We ended our afternoon with a lunch stop at Leoda's (pleasantly uncrowded) before resting up at home for our epic (and I mean epic!) dinner at Star Noodle.  If you follow me on Instagram (paiger_rager), you will agree with me when I tell you that it was probably the most photographed meal of all time.  It was worth every picture, and every bite was more exquisite than what was shown.

A few snaps from the ride home from Hana.  Once again, a huge, huge shout-out to Bryan who drove the entire way there and back and everywhere in between (Bryan was our official Hana chauffeur, and I have never felt safer).

{a great waterfall to spot on the way back, since most visitors don't even know they are driving over it on their way to Hana}

{Green Monster, you did us good!}

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Our Hana Home Away From Home

We were so grateful to have serendipitously landed this great cottage for our stay in Hana.  We booked our dates only a month in advance, and there weren't too many choices that fit our timeframe and price range, but this choice ended up being perfect for us.

The 2 bedroom cottage was tucked down onto the edge of a flower farm, so there was plenty of beautiful landscaping all around.

{grassy driveway leading up to the road}

{our cottage down at the bottom of the hill}

{the front of the cottage}

The cottage was equipped with an outdoor hot tub (which we didn't even end up getting in!) and an outdoor gas grill on the front lanai.

The kitchen had a full gas stove, but no oven.

{the back lanai off the master bedroom}

We had geckoes in and out of the house, puppy friends to greet us every morning and evening, and of course, loads of flowers.

{the backyard}

{saying goodbye to our puppy girl friend before we headed back home to Lahaina}

{Bryan's new best friend.  Shh!  Don't tell T-Bone}

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