Aloha ‘Oe
I am a lucky dude. Lucky that my family and I are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to get away on a trip to Kauai, lucky my parents are so generous as to share some of their beautiful home with us, and lucky that my kids are quiet and occupied on a 5 hour flight (knocking on wood, we’re only an hour in).
The hassle of trying to travel with kids can’t be effectively described, but many of you know firsthand. The excessive packing, the crying, trying to get through security without being shamed by some solitary business man. “Yes, sir I know you are the master of business travel, and we all bow down to you, but please have some patience while I try to wrangle up my two year old who doesn’t understand why some woman in blue wants to inspect his milk”. But additional hassles created by “the Man” don’t help. Apparently, the TSA will allow regular milk to pass through security, but not strawberry milk. This is an attack on our individual liberties to enjoy strawberry goodness!
But enough complaining, everyone knows that nightmare. I admit that I too played a part in the overloaded baggage. I brought along a number of gadgets to fuel my addiction to data. One of these gadgets is the Garmin GPS watch, which delivers to your wrist real time data, such as pace, heart rate, elevation, cadence, box scores, shopping lists, and winning lottery tickets. Okay not all of that is true, but it is a pretty nifty tool to keep track of all your workouts. After I finish a swim, bike, or run, I can download the data directly to their website for all sorts of reports that may help me improve (or at least help me know if I’m getting any better or worse).
I also brought a gadget that is more just for fun. I brought along my GoPro so that I can make neat montage videos of me looking like an idiot. That’s been kind of fun strapping it to various parts of my bike and body to get some different shots. It’s interesting how much more friendly people are to you when you have a camera strapped to your head.
I’m looking forward to running and swimming on Hawaii, as there is no shortage of beautiful scenery (scenery which I will attempt to capture and post here. Unfortunately, I will have to stick with a stationary bike for the time being, since the roads are narrow, and the bike rentals are expensive.
I’m also looking forward to some good food. While I’m improving my diet, it’s important to note that I am taking these measures as much as possible. That’s not to say I’m “cheating”, although some would call it that. I want to avoid being “that guy” who brings his own dinner to a restaurant, or tries to modify the entire menu just to fit my narrow diet guidelines. I’m still of the mindset that a little flexibility won’t kill me. It also helps me to avoid being an arrogant snob. Besides, this island is filled with healthy eating, even if I do plan on doing a swan dive into a plate filled with shredded kalua pig.
