Beyond Kahakuloa

You may remember reading about the bike ride I did with Karen, Trav, and Mark to the small fishing village of Kahakuloa on Maui’s west coast (November: Another Great Bike). The Kahekili highway begins at Wailuku and winds, up, down and around the west coast of the island with constant views of the deep blue ocean and craggy peaks off to the left (I even saw a few whales send up a plumb of spray). Today, I continued on past Kahakuloa (home of the world’s best banana bread) and rode the twisty-turney road all the way to Lahaina. I can’t be exactly sure, but I think it’s somewhere around 35-40 miles! Unfortunately I had to eschew the camera in lieu of snacks and enough water, but I found a map and highlighted the route I took (sorry it’s so small, but it gets really blurry if I try to make it bigger).

So, after much pedaling and much panting, I made it Lahaina and instantly went in search of an icy, fruity smoothie which I finished in about five minutes. The ride was great – beautiful views, cool weather and something to brag to my friends about! (They can’t believe I actually did it…)

Rejuvenated and Restored

Last night I went to bed planning on waking up early t0 catch the 8:30 bus (with my bike) to Kahului then to Wailuku to begin a 60 mile bike trip around the west coast of Maui. I wanted to split the trip into two legs and spend the night in Lahaina then finish the last leg back to Kahului the next day. But… when my alarm went off at 7:15 my bed seemed way too comfy to roll out of. I think the combination of working late, being on my feet for 7 hours and laying out in the sun had drained me of all my energy. So, instead I lay around the house (although I did get a lot of house chores, cooking, and office stuff done) until the late afternoon. Luckily I checked out Haiku’s Studio Maui yoga schedule and found that they had a 4:30 Jivamukti class followed by kirtan! So I hopped on my bike and pedaled the 7 or so miles to Haiku to take my first yoga class on Maui (pathetic). The class was great and I really like the teacher. She knows Sofi and Keri from Yoga Vermont, but better yet, I had so much more energy after class and I feel so stretched out and relaxed (like my pizza dough!). Starting Monday I’m going to do some work/exchange at the studio – 5 hours of volunteer work + $20 gives me five yoga classes. Not a bad deal.

I realize that I haven’t written in awhile, but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been doing anything! I work five nights a week, but I have most of the day to play and sunbathe. I’m getting really good at tossing the dough in the air and I’m also trained on making salads and desserts now. Sean (long story about how we met, but he’s a doctor friend who is working at the Kahului hospital for eight months) took me surfing a couple times. I was able to get up twice on itty-bitty waves, but it was fun just to get out there and paddle around. I really want to try windsurfing, so I’m hoping Doug will have time to take me out next week (pray for wind!). Other than that, I’ve been soaking up the sun, reading (I just finished Lamb: the Gospel According to Biff and loved it) and watching the surfers. I think I’m getting a bit too used to the laid back lifestyle here…

Pizza Tossin’ Extraordinaire

Last night (New Years Eve) was my first night working at Flatbread Pizza in Paia. It was great fun… loud music perfect for dancing to while throwing pizza dough up in the air and lot’s of young energetic people to work with. I was trained as a pizza dough stretcher, so my job is to get the dough balls out of the walk in, make sure the station is set up with enough flour, garlic oil and cornmeal, and to stretch the dough balls into large and small pizza pies. Pizza tossing is actually an art and although there are many ways to stretch the dough, the basic rule are to first pat the balls flat to get as many air bubbles out then make a rough sketch of a crust by pinching the sides into a ridge. From there you basically do whatever you need to do to get the dough thin (but not too thin) and big enough for a small or large pizza pie. After two or three tries, I was tossing the dough into the air, watching it spin and catching it lightly on my fists. I loved it!

For those of you who have not had the fabulous experience of visiting a Flatbread Pizza establishment (there’s on in Burlington!), the pies are renowned for their great taste and crispy crusts. Flatbread uses only organic vegetables, free-range and nitrate-free meats and their own homemade tomato sauce cooked up in a wood fired cauldron. The pizzas are baked in clay oven that heats to over 800 degrees and weighs approximately 40,000 pounds.

As most of you know, I love to work and to keep busy and I think Flatbread will be a great place to meet some people and spend the next few months perfecting my pizza toss! We’ll have to have a pizza party when I get back to the states! (Whenever that will be….)

http://www.flatbreadcompany.com/

P.S. Happy New Year!