Family

Swimming with Dolphins off Hawaii’s Kona Coast is a Magical Experience

April 12, 2010 by Shelli

We just returned from one week of vacationing on the Big Island of Hawaii. It was our second time to the area. The Big Island is definitely on our short list of favorite places in the world.

One of the highlights of our trip was a “Swim with Dolphins” snorkeling trip, provided by Sunlight on Water. I went on the adventure with our two oldest sons, Wolf and Hayden, ages 9 and 8.

Here’s one clip of a guide, Kevin, swimming with Wolf. Watch to the end and you’ll see a manta ray:

My husband, Jerry, is recovering from a spine fusion, so he and our 2-year-old son, Fin, spent the morning exploring tidepools and building sand castles and swimming while Wolf, Hayden and I went on the dolphin swim.

Here is a clip of Spinner Dolphins living up to their name, captured before we swam with them:

Sunlight on Water is owned and operated by “China Mike” and Melainah Yee. This adventure is ecotourism at its best! We found out, firsthand, that to swim with dolphins, in the wild and out in the middle of the ocean, is an adventure of a lifetime.

The adventure started with Captain China Mike performing a Hawaiian Ceremony and prayer. This offered a cultural aspect to the adventure, making it even more memorable.

Coming out of the harbor, we were all pleasantly surprised to see a humpback whale. We were visiting the Big Island at the tail end of the humpback whale migration. Most of the whales are well on their way back to Alaska so we didn’t expect to see any whales.

However, before our 4-hour adventure ended, we had viewed six to eight whales. It was incredible! We not only saw mommy whales with their babies, but also males, who were singing. China Mike put a microphone under the ocean waters so we could listen to one of the male whale’s tunes. One time we watched a mommy whale and her baby right before they passed under our boat. For a minute the good-sized boat we were on felt pretty small…

Check out the male whale’s song here:

According to Mike, the whales spend time in Hawaii’s waters giving birth. Alaska’s waters are too cold for birthing because baby whales, who can weigh about 2,000 pounds, don’t have any fat on them. Mommy whales’ milk has more fat than any other milk on the planet.

We learned a lot about dolphins and all of it was fascinating. For example, dolphins are among the most intelligent of animals. Individuals communicate using a variety of clicks, whistles and other vocalizations, all of which we could hear while swimming among the dolphins. Play is an important part of dolphin culture, and although dolphins rest, they never fully sleep. Rather, they can turn one hemisphere of their brain off in a “slow wave sleep” that allows them to remain conscious enough to breathe and be aware of predators.

Here is a clip of me swimming with the dolphins:

China Mike and his guides were phenomenal. One of the guides was Kevin, and he helped ensure that Wolf and Hayden got the pleasure of swimming right in and with the dolphins and helped them see things they might otherwise had missed. It was the first time the boys, who are good swimmers, spent time swimming out in the middle of the ocean, and it was their first time for snorkeling. I was worried and they were a little uneasy. But thanks to great instruction and hand-holding by the Sunlight on Water crew, particularly Kevin, the boys had an awesome time of it. In all, I think we snorkeled and swam with dolphins on five different occasions during the adventure.

Whale — Humpback whale we spotted during our Sunlight on Water dolphin swim adventure.

It was a perfect day. After our adventure with the dolphins came to an end, I asked Wolf and Hayden how they would describe it. Both of them thought “magical” best described it. It was a significant highlight of their trip, and they are still talking about it as we return to our life in the snowy mountains of Wyoming.

This was truly a magical adventure and I can’t recommend it enough!

Both Michael and Melainah are USCG licensed captains. “China” Mike has been surfing, diving and has captained boats on the Kona Coast for over 25 years and is one of the most experienced captains on the Big Island. He operated the first charter boat offering Dolphin Swims in Hawaii.

Michael and Melainah are Kona’s leaders when talking about experience with Dolphins and are known internationally for their expertise. They have been featured on several television documentaries discussing the human/dolphin connection.

We were made aware of Sunlight on Water, and this great adventure, by Tom Barefoot, of Tom Barefoot’s Tours, a provider of discount tours and activities on the Big Island, Maui, Oahu and Kauai. Tom provided invaluable input to us as we were planning activities for our trip, and I am grateful to him, especially for directing us to the Sunlight on Water dolphin swim. (And yes, Barefoot is his real last name.)

Dolphin swim videos included in this blog post were captured and provided by Ryan Leinbach and DolphinDreams.com, a video business that accompanies the adventure and captures underwater footage, which is available for purchase later.

One Year Ago, I Was Lazy and Chubby

April 1, 2010 by Shelli

This is POST 24 of my “fitness journey.” For backstory, see Post 1,
Post 2, Post 3 , Post 4, Post 5, Post 6, Post 7,Post 8, Post 9, Post 10, Post 11, Post 12 Post 13,Post 14, Post 15, Post 16, and Post 17,Post 18, Post 19,Post 20,Post 21, Post 22 and Post 23.

It’s been just over a year since I walked into Elemental Training Center and hired personal trainer and coach, Steve Bechtel.

On March 23, I weighed almost 160 pounds and was getting chubby and felt sluggish and down. Most importantly, I was tired of the regret I felt each night after another day passed in what became a 4-year slump where I didn’t exercise regularly or eat very healthy.

Today, I weigh 131 pounds and am down to 11.3% body fat. I feel better in every way. I can’t remember the last time I weighed 131. I bet it’s been 25 years.

But that isn’t as big of a deal as all the new energy I have. I can wrestle and romp with our three young sons and for the first time in a long time can consider a variety of endurance events.

I should go on record and say, as my coach says, “Results may vary.” I not only work out very hard, regularly, I also have made drastic changes to my diet. The most significant change I made to the latter was I gave up pizza, most bread, potatoes, rice and other starchy carbohydrates. Regular, high intensity working out, itself, is really hard. Making drastic diet restrictions is difficult in its own right. I have done both. This is because I not only wanted results, I wanted them as soon as possible.

My stats today.

Also, as a result of my improved fitness and health, I:

• Hiked from the rim of the Grand Canyon to the bottom and back up in a day
• climbed the Grand Teton
• went on many 20+ mile day hikes in the Wind River Range
• competed in my first-ever skate skiing race
• did 19 continuous pull-ups (1 short of my goal of 20)
• deadlifted my bodyweight 39 times for a new gym record,
• am training for the Tahoe Rim 50-K trail run in July.
• am going to not feel as self-conscious wearing a swimming suit when our family vacations to Hawaii

P3210284 — My family is the #1 reason for taking care of myself.

The moral of this story is: If you’re not in good health, don’t wait another day to change that. I am so glad I didn’t hesitate another day. I can’t imagine having had one more year of mediocre health.

It’s hard. I know it is. I think probably the first two weeks are the hardest. Let’s say the first four weeks to be safe. I think if you can make it four weeks eating healthy and exercising regularly, it does get easier. I would imagine most people give up right as they’re approaching the end of the first four weeks, which could be right before the critical breakthrough when the good habits become formed.

For me, exercising and eating right is almost like sobriety. Every day that I’ve invested the work and good eating habits, is of great value to me. The longer I sustain this, the greater the accomplishment it is. If I turn my back on this, after one year of hard work, well, I will be disappointed in myself to say the least. As they say, I’ve tasted the Koolaid. I’m not going back.

I don’t want to sound preachy, braggy or like an expert. I’m anything but an expert. Heck, I’m just someone who got into shape during the last year. I’m not always strong. I can be weak like anyone else. None of this is easy and it’s seldom what I would call fun. But when I recall how I was feeling 13 months ago, and how I feel now, it’s crystal clear that the hard work and sacrifices, as difficult as they are, were overall easier on me than experiencing the regret that weighed on me for so many months for not taking the right actions to change my life for the better. Not taking action was harder on me than the actual actions. No matter how overweight or out of shape, for me, the physical work pales in comparison to the mental wrath of Shelli — the regret and beating up I can give myself for not taking care of myself.

ShelliPushPress2-MR — I'm lifting way more weight than I could have ever imagined, but thankfully not bulking up. (Photo by Mei Ratz)

It’s possible some of you reading this may have decided, many times in fact, that you were going to get more healthy and fit. But for one reason or another you haven’t really committed. For what it’s worth, I think deciding and committing are not the same thing. I know I made the decision to get healthy and fit several times, but for a few years never stay committed to it.This video and post touches on that.

I also should say I wouldn’t be where I am today without my husband, Jerry, who’s a fit physical education teacher and my strongest supporter. My kids also have sacrificed lots of Texas toast and Happy Meals on my account. My parents, siblings and friends — and the community at the gym — have all played roles in my fitness journey.

I can’t recommend enough the hiring of a personal trainer, at least in the beginning. The guidance I’ve received, and continue to receive from Steve is invaluable and a major reason for my success. If you don’t opt for a trainer, consider starting with a gym membership and check out the many classes ETC offers. There is something for everyone.

There are so many others in my community who are also reaping the benefits of good health and fitness. Watch for yourself some of their stories:

Millie Abernathy
Misty Atnip
Joe Powell and Sharon Terhune
Ray Hanson
Nick Czarnecki
Debra East
Matt Sissman

(Gym photos of me were taken by Mei Ratz, who’s an exceptionally good photographer and artist.)

Elemental Gym has a fantastic gym, some terrific programs and classes that will help you achieve better fitness. And, I might add, some great personal trainers: Steve Bechtel, Ellen Bechtel, Jagoe Reid, Sophie Mosemann and Lee Brown.

Cowgirl Tuff Jeans or a 1,200-foot Parasail? That is the Question.

February 5, 2010 by Shelli

This is POST 21 of my “fitness journey.” For backstory, see Post 1,
Post 2, Post 3 , Post 4, Post 5, Post 6, Post 7,Post 8, Post 9, Post 10, Post 11, Post 12 Post 13,Post 14, Post 15, Post 16, and Post 17,Post 18, Post 19 and Post 20.]

Those of you who have been following my fitness blogging are aware that I’ve been working hard and have lost 26 pounds and a bunch of body fat during the last 10 months. I have been on this journey for several reasons, but mostly so I could have more energy to keep up with our three young sons and the demands of our adventurous lifestyle, and to be healthier and therefore, happier.

But I’ve discovered another benefit of my weight loss. Jeans. As in, now I can comfortably wear them. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but there are some really hip jeans out these days. I didn’t used to get excited about jeans. Well, recently, a colleague and friend of mine, Bill Garrels, group publisher of American Cowboy and National Parks Interactive, hooked me up with some Cowgirl Tuff Jeans.

This is not my butt, unfortunately. But these are pretty neato Tuff Girl jeans, no?

To be honest, never in a million years would I have thought I could wear these, or that I’d even like them. But now, that’s all changed. I have a pair of 28×31 Tuff Girl jeans in my possession, and frankly, I can’t wait to wear them, blingy pockets and all. At the same time we’re booking our spring break trip to the Big Island of Hawaii, where I hope to do a 1,200-foot parasail.

Parasailing 1,200 feet over the ocean near Big Island, Hawaii. Flickr photo by rjones0856.

Problem is, there’s a weight requirement: single riders must weigh at least 130 pounds. Right now I’m at 132, but I’ve increased my workout volume in preparation for an upcoming 25k skate ski race in West Yellowstone so could be approaching that weight. The parasail company is adamant that, unless I can talk one or both of our older sons into joining me on the adventure, I will only get to fly if I weigh 130 pounds. And yet to be able to wear my Tuff Girl Jeans comfortably, given my body and frame, I probably need to weigh not much more than 130 pounds. I feel like a wrestler.

Hence my dilemma. But I’m not complaining. I never thought I’d not be heavy enough for something, or that I’d consider wearing designer jeans. Thankfully, my very smart coach and trainer, Steve Bechtel, at Elemental Gym says no problem. Just schedule the parasail at the end of the (leisure) vacation. Smart coach, that guy is.

Obviously, though, the best yet would be for our 7-year-old and 9-year-old to go with me as a triple tandemand for me to be able to wear my Tuff Girl jeans. (No, not during the parasail, silly.) Wish me luck on making this happen. : >

(I should state that my husband, Jerry, would normally be on the parasail adventure, but given his spine operation rehab, he’ll be building sandcastles with our 2-year-old while me, and hopefully our two older sons, will be 1,200 feet above them.)

Deciding & Committing are Different Things

January 30, 2010 by Shelli

This is POST 20 of my “fitness journey.” For backstory, see Post 1,
Post 2, Post 3 , Post 4, Post 5, Post 6, Post 7,Post 8, Post 9, Post 10, Post 11, Post 12 Post 13,Post 14, Post 15, Post 16, and Post 17,Post 18 and Post 19.]

For more than three years, I decided — every single night — that the next day I was going to get out of the rut I was in and start exercising regularly and eating and living a much healthier life. But I never kept it up. It never lasted.

Here is a video blog where I discuss what I think finally made me keep it up.

Thanks to my family, friends and trainer for all of the wonderful support, love and guidance. It would be a lot more difficult to remain committed without all of you.

Thanks, also, to friend and fellow Elemental Gym athlete, Sharon Terhune, for conducting this interview. : >

“Check the lunchbox for $1 million notification”

January 26, 2010 by Shelli

The boys and I taking a cocoa break while sledding.

I learn from our three young sons every day. Not only of the various new strategies in their math homework, but in the most important ways.

Like how to look at something we take for granted and see its wonder. (A rock found by the trail on a hike, the way a leaf hangs from a tree, and so on)

But there are other things that my kids do that make me marvel.

The other morning I was making cold lunches for school for our 7-year-old and 9-year-old sons. While they were eating breakfast, Wolf, our 9-year-old, informed me that he always checks the bottom of the yogurt seal to see if he won the $1 million prize. He said, “So far, I haven’t won, but if I do, that’s where I’ll put the seal. So please check it before you clean out my lunchbox at night.”

Okay, I said. But, I told him, if he should get a winner, he should notify the lunchroom supervisor, or instruct his teacher, or the principal, to call me.

“And heck, we may even go out for pizza to celebrate,” I said.

We also have a 2-year-old son. I love being a mom. The aforementioned moment is just one of the million reasons I do.