It’s official – we’ve been here a month!
And what a month its been. The good news is that before we left Virginia, we stored, sold, or shipped everything, even if most of it occurred in the shadow of our departure date.
Recap
When we arrived in Hawaii, we rented a car and got a hotel for 3 nights as we started to look for a house. Unfortunately, nothing was quite right and we extended the hotel for 2 more nights. And we STILL couldn’t make a decision and got a vacation rental for 6 nights.
At long last, 10 days in, we got a house and moved in the next day. But not before our rental got flooded the last night we were staying there.
In addition, we waited an additional 2 weeks for our boxes to show up, so we didn’t have many of the kid’s toys and games to occupy them.
With all the house hunting, we hadn’t been that diligent in looking for a car. That also ended up taking longer than expected and it took about 2 weeks of looking to find one that we were happy purchasing. We finally settled on some sick wheelz – a 2005 Toyota Corolla. Ohhhh yeahhhhh!
Chuck’s transition to remote work also was a bit tough at first, partly due to the delay in getting a house, but also a crush of activity with his job.
We’ve still found time for some fun, though.
- We’ve been out to a few beach parks and played around with the kids. Beaches here tend to be rocky, but Kirsten found a great sandy beach (Kua Bay), which we hit last weekend.
- Visited all the farmers markets and got a good handle on the local produce and products.
- Took the kids to a rodeo at Parker Ranch.
- Found the outdoor hockey rink and watched the roller derby girls practice.
- The kids have swum almost every day at the pool at our house.
- Eaten dinner outside on our lanai every night, with gorgeous sunsets to go with the food.
- Made a few new friends, 2 of which we invited over and promptly served them the worst meal Chuck has cooked in years. They were gracious enough not to gag or make faces.
In addition, Kirsten has made a lot of progress working on a new website. It will help people who move to Kona in the future have an easier time figuring out how to get acquainted and set up. It’s not quite ready for launch, but probably in a couple weeks!
Our Feelings about Month 1
- We feel great about having pulled this off. It’s really cool to accomplish a long-term goal that we’ve worked hard to achieve. It was only on Jan 1 of this year that we decided to move somewhere, and began to sell our house.
- It’s fantastic to be here. In some ways, it’s been a bit of torture, as we’ve taken so long hunting for houses and cars, that we haven’t done as much of the fun stuff right under our nose.
- I suppose this falls under the category of “Duh!”, but being with the kids 24/7 is tough. With no friends/family nearby and school out for the summer, there’s literally been no break for the two of us, except when one of us take the kids out.
Looking Forward to Month 2
Since our boxes just showed up, we’ve got a day or two of putting crap away, but we’re expecting to have a lot more fun this month. Here’s what we hope to do this month:
- Be in the ocean a lot more and start snorkeling. We need to get gear for Kir and the kids, and get in the habit of going more often.
- Find some friends for all of us. We’ve been so obsessed with the house and car that we haven’t made many connections. Our neighborhood doesn’t have many kids, so we’re going to have to do more than walk outside and be social.
- Launch the Kona website.
- Chill out! We’re still feelin’ our mainland “get stuff done!” vibe, and not feeling laid back yet.
Below are a few photos of our Month 1 highlights:
Frolicking at Hapuna Beach
Little-known Hawaiian Law: All cars must be outfitted with papaya holders
Fun with Fountains!
Sunset + Beach + Toasted Marshmallow = Heaven
One cool dude in the pool
Fireworks on the 4th of July