Feb 23 - happiness is a box of papayas...or maybe a footbal sized avocado

I'm in Hawaii! Really, what could be more amazing than that? Yeah, you're wondering, but is it really everything they always say it is? Well yes, it is. Here's my list of wonderful things I have experienced in the past two and a half days:

-Seeing my dad and little brother for the first time in 2 years, bursting into tears when my brother draped himself in my arms like a Raggedy Andy doll
-Sunshine, sunshine, sunshine
-Playing music with my dad, picking up the violin for the first time in years...and the whistle...and my country singer voice...where did all this musical confidence suddenly come from?
-Fresh papayas, avocados, pineapple, local greens...I could go on
-Making raw chocolates with my little brother (so umm yeah, the "cleanse" is now officially over with a substantial amount of avocados and homemade raw chocolate now appearing in my diet...more about this transition in a bit)
-Humpback whales: both mamas and babies, doing full breaches out of the water
-Swimming with a sea turtle (and touching it by accident, which, due to a completely unreasonable phobia of sharks, really freaked me out until I saw what it was)
-Random encounters w lovely people like the woman today who I think might be my Hawaiian fairy godmother, who just happened to sit beside us, share in raw chocolate and learn that we're both into the same type of natural healing using horses, the only other person I've ever met who is
-Buying a box of local produce filled with papayas, strange greens, a pineapple, etc. for $30!
-Watching my brother going from being scared of the water to boogie boarding by himself, in 2 days!
-Catching a wave w a body board
...the list could go on. And I still have 12 more days to go!

My trip over was quite smooth. Having been a little apprehensive about traveling raw it's so far proved to be just fine. I brought a stash of fresh and dried fruit, some green powders, superfoods, and other goodies. Some in my suitcase for use over the two weeks and others in my carry on to sustain me on the plane. This is my lunch on the ferry. As I looked around at my neighbors all enjoying their $12 White Spot lunches I really didn't feel like I was missing much. On the plane I survived on water, cranberry juice and smuggled dried figs.

Now traveling raw might be hard some places, but if you're going to do it, well Hawaii is probably the best place ever! A funny thing is how the locals look at me like I'm crazy when I'm loading up on the bounty this island offers. The urban harvesting possibilities are endless! The couple that sold me the $30 of produce were giggling and looking at me with looks that said: how can one girl possibly eat all that fruit and greens? I just grinned at them like a gleeful kid in a candy shop, especially after they added a bunch of free papayas to the stack.

The past two days have been magical. Serendipitous things keep happening, wonderful gifts offered, friendly people popping up. It's pretty great what the world will offer when you're moving through it with a big smile and joy for the beauty of the moment (which hasn't been difficult here).

So: my decision to re-insert the raw goodies back into my diet. Well it just sort of happened. The night before leaving I went to see David Wolfe talk in Victoria, which was inspiring! And they had all these chocolate goodies and his book Naked Chocolate there and the best quality cacao for sale and I just thought well, I guess this is the right time. I suddenly got this image of making chocolate and raw deserts for my family while in Hawaii and that I wouldn't want to if I wasn't going to eat them. I thought about how much my family would enjoy them, you get the picture...so I ate some chocolate. And after that...there was no turning back! I haven't been pigging out on nuts or anything, still keeping it good and green and fruity, but I have been enjoying the macadamia nuts grown by the man who owns the amazing little cottage we're renting. And we made chocolate, goji berry, macadamia nut bark. Jasper (my brother) was so in to it, telling Dad over and over "we're making chocolate from scratch!" and he ate tons! I felt really happy knowing that, though it was a treat, it was good for him and I could just let him enjoy it.

So that's the story of that. I feel good in my body and happy with this decision. And though I kind of wish I will be joining the beginning of the global juice feast this seems like the right move for me in this moment. I'm also already thinking of doing another juice feast later in the spring or summer. Also, let's not forget that eating raw is like living a cleanse, so things are still shifting and healing, just not at the rapid pace of a few weeks ago.

As you may have noticed I have changed the name of the blog. It didn't seem like Ariel's Juice Journey made sense now that I am no longer subsisting on just juice. But at the same time I don't want to get a new web address. So here we have it; the new name...and maybe a new header picture soon, but same address. So you'll still know where to find me.

Here's a few pics of the trip so far. Wish you could all be here, I don't think my goofy grin will wear off any time soon. I had a moment of feeling guilty today because everyone I love isn't enjoying this too. One of those "you don't deserve all this" thought patterns. Then I thought: forget that! I had a hard year, I've worked hard, even if I haven't "worked" I've still WORKED, and I DO deserve this. I decided the best thing I could possibly do is enjoy every moment.

Anyways, as Jasper likes to say: that's it for now. More adventure tales soon!

Here's my lovely little family from the East Coast (and if you live in Victoria that doesn't mean Toronto, that means Newfoundland).
































I like to call this one: Bliss on a Beach