Hawaii Living

How it began....When our son decided to move to Hawaii, we thought it would be short-lived, and he'd realize that it was too expensive and come home. That didn't happen. He thrived in Hawaii. He got a certification that allowed him to earn enough to support himself and eventually began studying at the University of Hawaii, where he is currently a graduate student studying materials science. When we realized he would not return to the mainland, we decided to look for property there. Well, it was nearly impossible to find anything that was not leasehold, and if fee simple property was for sale, the prices were exorbitant. However, we found a tiny house for sale in Waianae on the farthest northwest part of Oahu that we could afford. We made an offer, it was accepted, we got financed, and then our problems began, Our bank financed the property without an inspection, and when it came time for insurance, we were turned down flat! The house was built in 1917, so we should not have been surprised, but we were. So, Steve, the competent person he is, flew to Hawaii with a suitcase full of tools and rebuilt the house. Some Hawaiian people, who have since become dear friends, showed out of nowhere. They needed a place to rent and decided to help Steve get the place fixed up. They moved in and remained until this past year. Magically, Steve retired just as they moved out, and we took over the house ourselves. It's a little beach house one block away from the Po'Kai Bay and two blocks away from a lovely marina.  Our daughter Stef calls it the Mango Shack and the name definitely suits it due to its color and the giant mango tree that shades it all day long.  The marina is a wonderful place to hang out.  It's great fun to watch the boats come in, sometimes with giant fish, like a five-hundred pound marlin that a boat towed in one afternoon.  Sometimes there are fishing competitions and it's lots of fun to watch the weigh-ins of the various fish.  The marina has a wonderful restaurant offering some favorite starch-filled Hawaiian dishes, and the best breakfast in town.  Another great restaurant is behind us.  It sports a sweeping view of Po'Kai Bay, live music, and excellent food, so occasionally, we join the party.  During the next visit, I plan to do a lot of walking along our beautiful Bay.  For some reason, I've not spent a lot of time there, but I intend to change that.  The Bay is beautiful and filled with activities, like visits from groups of dolphins, who jump and play, sometimes with tourists.  We are blessed!
     True to my commitment, I am walking the path around Po'Kai Bay daily.  It's a beautiful walk and the ocean view vary daily, so much so that I hardly notice completing nearly half my daily step goal every morning.  Also, we usually spend each evening at the marina where Steve enjoys fishing and chatting with friends there.  He caught and released a puffer fish a few days ago.  We both thought it was very interesting.  Po'Kai Bay is great for surfing on a long board.  On my daily walks, I enjoy watching the surfers.  Our son went out several evenings ago as Steve looked on.  Beautiful views of the mountains and oceans surround us here.  Even our commute into Kapolei where we work out and do most of our shopping is gorgeous.  Slow traffic or a back up is no problem at all as there are gorgeous, crashing waves and seashores all along one side and colorful, rugged, mountains bordering the other.  Nothing about this place is tedious, including a traffic jam!
     We visited Kauai for several days and enjoyed a few hiking trails while we were here.  We left one of our Blessings in Bottles on Willies Beach Trail as well as Waimea Canyon.  Read all about them on this link.  We always put them on trails are relatively easy to navigate so I'm keeping up with my daily steps while seeing beautiful views I would not see otherwise.  Our stay in Kauai was as comfortable as as our space in Waianae, and definitely much more luxurious.  It was so quiet it made my ears ring.  Still, we prefer Waianae because it is authentically Hawaii, filled with native Hawaiians, and some are friends.  While I think its unlikely we'll return to Kauai, we are very happy we visited there.