I love that my kids are more adventurous than I was at their age. I've always told them that if they want to travel, or move to new places, or try out different jobs, that they should do it when they're young. Because if you wait for "the right time" it may never come. You have to make now the right time.
This from a woman who's in pajamas by 7 every night.
What can I say? My kind of adventures are conducive to an early bedtime.
I think I first starting touting the whole live-simple-and-have-adventures-in-life thing after we returned from our first trip to Kauai in 2007. I was enamored with the simplicity and beauty of the island life and I told my husband and kids I could live in a tent on the beach there and be just fine for the rest of my life.
My husband said he was fine with that too. He'd even throw me down some food from his hotel balcony once in a while.
Yeah, he's real funny.
Who knew my older daughter, Sissa, was actually listening to her mother's ramblings?
It started with her trip to Portland, Oregon, where she stayed with a friend for two weeks and did a lot of skinny dipping. She talked about a bank teller who rode around town on her bike, naked, then would go into the bank, put clothes on, and help customers with their
Apparently, nakedness is a thing in Portland. She came back with plans to move there by the end of last year. I think I mentioned this a few posts back.
Well, that plan changed. Her and her Portland friend, and another adventurous gal from Phoenix, decided to try something called WWOOFing. WWOOF - it stands for Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms. If you want to travel cheaply, you can volunteer on a farm, just about anywhere in the world, and live and eat for free in exchange for a few hours of work on the farm each day.
I had no idea this existed, but what a unique way of experiencing different cultures and lifestyles! Honestly, I was all for it. Of course, I'm always worried for her safety, but there were three of them and this is an established "thing" and would be a wonderful experience for her.
She wanted to find a farm in Kauai to work on, but the ones she inquired about were full. So she decided to head over anyway, with a backpack full of necessities, and wing it.
My excitement for her adventure quickly turned to "Oh, Dear God, my daughter is going to be a homeless hippie."
So then the plan became, backpack-through-Kauai-and-sleep-on-the-beach-and-if-we-find-a-farm-to-stay-on-great.
Great.
They set out in late January. Here's Sissa (on the right) and her Portland buddy before they boarded the bus (They took a bus to Phoenix, picked up their friend, and then flew to Hawaii):
Look out Kauai - Hurricane Sissa is coming! |
I was jealous! |
She sent me this picture of their "bedroom" the first night. Yup. Those are hammocks.
I have to admit - this looked pretty good to me. |
You learn a lot of truths about your grown kid's lives from Instagram. |
They camped on various beaches for the first week, then met someone who told them to go to the Farmer's Market because all the local farmers are there and maybe one of them would take them in to work on their farm. So they did that, and what-da-you-know, they met a farmer who had quite a few people just like them, working on his farm. I got this picture from her a day or so later:
My daughter? Working outdoors?? |
You missed one. |
More nakedness. Perfect.
Apparently, hitchhiking is a common thing on the island. Or so my daughter tells me. Here's another Instagram gem:
She's embraced island life, my daughter, and is like one of the brown-skinned natives. By brown-skinned, I mean she's become a monkey:
Nip or not a nip? That is the question. |
When she texted me this picture, I looked closely at it, and could swear I saw a nip. I texted her back to pull up her top. She said it was part of her top I saw, and not a nip. But to avoid posting porn pictures of my daughter online, I covered the questionable area...just in case.
Sissa stayed on the farm for about a month, then decided to hike to a remote area of the island that's only accessible by boat or hiking in. It's an 11 mile hike one way and one portion of the trail is a fun little stretch known as "Crawler's Ledge." Here's a picture I snagged online of it:
Trail? What trail? Picture courtesy of: http://kalalautrailhike.blogspot.com/ |
So basically, my daughter was embarking on one of the 10 most dangerous hikes in the world and I had no way of knowing if she would make it to the end of the trail in one piece.
The homeless hippie thing didn't seem so bad because at least I could communicate with her.
As it turns out, she did make it to Kalalau and has hiked in and out of there several times over the last 6 months. She sent me this picture of it:
Wow. Right? |
Sissa is still in Kauai, and much of her time is spent in Kalalau.When she hikes out, I get calls and texts from her to update me of her adventures. She's having the time of her life. She's learning about herself, her spirituality, her strength, and how to share and give back to others and to the earth.
It's a unique community on Kalalau. Some people hike in for a day or two and are gone. Some return again and again, like my daughter. Some never leave. They're either escaping or finding themselves, I suppose. Sissa's Portland friend posted this on Instagram:
Looks a little like Woodstock, wouldn't you say? |
Her boyfriend (a good-hearted soul who was her first love in high school and who recently became her love interest again) joined her on Kauai a couple months ago. She posted this on Instagram:
What more could I want for my child?
She's been in Kauai for almost 7 months now. I miss her. So does her dog, Gracie Lou, her other love:
We miss our Sissa. |
If only she could keep the nakedness to a minimum.
Adventures-in-pajamas mom, signing off.
**So a few weeks after I posted this, Mama Kat sent out her Writer's Workshop prompts and one of them was: "Write a blog post inspired by the word Adventure." Score! I get tobe lazy and link up with a post I already had!
**So a few weeks after I posted this, Mama Kat sent out her Writer's Workshop prompts and one of them was: "Write a blog post inspired by the word Adventure." Score! I get to
12 comments:
What an amazing adventure! I have often wished my kids were more adventuresome; I never was. And as to the nakedness...at least they are young and adorable!! lol!!
How fun! It looks like a blast. I love Hawaii.
I love this post.As much asyou worry,you must bevery proud of your ability to parent a child to end up this open and adventurous. Very cool.
Oh. My God! I don't know who is braver - you or your daughter? I would have loved an adventure like that, but I don't think I could have ever done it. And I hate to say it - I think I would chase after my girl and bring her home - which I'm sure I'd live to regret it if I did. Amazing pictures!
Oh my gosh, real live hippies! All over again.
amazing!!
Good for her! Nip or no, sitting in the tree looks like fun. This week is Burning Man and all the hippies drive through Reno on their way to the Black Rock desert. I be she would love that too. Thanks for sharing such amazing pics.
She does have an adventurous spirit. Stopping by from mama kats kelley at the road goes ever ever on
Wow!!! I am equal parts marveling and cringing with you. What a beautiful life and that last instagram about living the dream. Love it all. She's an inspiration!
I have to admit I am a little jealous!
Loved this...love the puppy, love the photos...love the adventure of it all. I hope she won't miss it too much when she eventually returns :)
Hi Lori,
You sure got my attention with your headline! =)
Thank you for bringing your post to Blogger's Pit Stop.
Janice, Your Pit Stop Crew
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