The Gingey WILD Heart

" from land to water we are all connected,  what's above flows below." So, we spent the first half of the day yesterday cleaning up trash on Northshore above the famous surfing spot Jaws in Peahi. Jaws is known for its BIG waves.  Peahi actually means wave in the Hawaiian language. I mean these waves are no joke! But the actual nickname Jaws came from two surfers, John Roberson and John Potterick in 1975, who came across these huge dangerous waves (30-80ft waves) and gave it the nickname after the movie Jaws, because the waves were so unpredictable like a shark attack. Peahi's traditional Hawaiian name for this spot  is actually, "Ke Kai 'o Waitakulu" meaning, 'The teary eye.' Now that I've shared about the water there, let's move up to the land there. In 2016, Maui County approved the purchase of over 270 aces of former plantation land in Ha'ikū: Hāmākua Open Space Preserve, in recognition of the Hawaiian m

I have done my fair share of volunteer work over the years, but nothing compares to what I experienced yesterday.  Yesterday morning,  11 of us met at a plantation located on the Coastal Dunes & Wetlands Refuge. We were greeted by a flock of peacocks. They're called a flock, right? Okay, I just looked it up  and apparently a group of peacocks is known as a muster. Well, now I've learned only males are peacocks and females are called peafowls. Okay, I'm getting sidetracked and could go down a whole different rabbit hole. Anyway, there are 4 male peacocks and like 15 females. I only learned the names of the 4. There's Kane, which is shown above) for his one foot is crippled and walks like he has a cane; then there's drumstick, pretty boy and baby face. They're super friendly and actually like just hanging around. So back to we met up at the plantation. We looked at a map of all the land trust takes care of and talked only a little of

How do I even begin to write about this weekends adventure? I sat in the car with Kyle today just blown away at God's grace. Just blown away that God saw it fit to hand pick us and decide we were to be chosen to live in a place people literally spend their whole lives saving money just to spend 10 days in and this we get to call home. I mean really think about that for a second. My 2nd day here a man told me he's been trying to get here for years but the opportunity has yet to present itself so he continues to travel back and forth. I never want to forget this gratitude I feel so strongly. By my house there is so much driftwood.. we stopped at the side of the road to look at the driftwood sculpted into a whale,, a turtle and as Kyle models.. a shark, lol Yesterday,  we headed up the back side to Hana. The night before there were some pretty strong winds and rain and it looked like it was hitting the front side that morning. So we met up with Brandy and

This morning I had an appointment at 9am to return my rental car. My little Nissan versa I rented for a week. From driving a jeep to this little thing, my experience with this car was parking too far from the curb and making wide turns in fear of running into a median I couldn't see. But it got me from point A to point B while my jeep was sailing over the ocean blue to reunite with me. I got to the gas station to fill up the tank only to find out gas is about $1 cheaper than back home. However, the little nobs that hold the gas receiver open for filling are rusted out so you have to manually hold the receiver while filling up the tank. Luxury problems, I know.  I filled the car on $18 and headed to the airport for drop off. $18! I felt like I was in 1999, but I know it won't be $18 tomorrow when I fill up again, so i just enjoyed the short lived experience. My friend Lauren picked me up from the airport and we headed to Waihe'e Coastal Dunes & W

Today is my 5th day on the island. This place is like nothing I have ever imagined. Honestly, I'm not even sure at this point what I imagined, but this isn't it. This is literally my morning view The people are so kind. When I got here I imagined carrying all my boxes up my stairs, but they were already up there waiting for me. You go to the store and everyone is saying hi and wishing you well. I have this tree right outside my balcony and the neighbor feeds the birds twice a day at this tree. So all these little parrots, yes I said parrots, swarm this tree to eat. I am located on the east coast of the western half of Maui. So, I get the morning sunrises over the water. My view is literally the ocean. I'm also at the mouth of Iao Valley, so there are always clouds behind me. Just last night around 8:30pm, rain began pouring down out of nowhere. I'm not talking about desert rain where it's a drizzle and we're afraid it's

Yesterday morning I had the opportunity to share in Lahaina some insight on the gratitude,  obedience and discipline I have learned through my higher power over the years. It was a beautiful morning and I gained a lot of perspective listening to those around me as well as taking in the silent moments of the heartbeat in the room. It was to be my second full day on the island and today my childhood friend,  Kyle was taking me to Hana on an adventure. Beginning the morning in Lahaina,  which is on the west side of the island about 40 minutes from Wailuku, I had packed a bag and didn't bring my motion sickness medication ( another story another day). The road to Hana is something like 620 turns and 59 bridges up the hill, which leads for several opportunities to potentially get nauseous. The upside is you get to encounter a flourishing rainforest filled with waterfalls and thousands of different species of plants; I lost count and couldn't keep straight all the differ