Life in Paradise

 Aloha everyone!

Although there has been some debate amongst the Greers as to whether we should continue to the blog now that we aren't traveling, I feel it is important to continue to document our journey, as Hawaii is just a step along in the process toward finding our forever home.

Since our arrival three weeks ago, we have spent lots of time sightseeing, working, adjusting, moving, and getting to know our new (albeit temporary) home.

Although it wasn't what we had planned (40 hrs/wk!) and it was an adjustment for both of us, I do love my new job.  The school is great, my coworkers are wonderful, and the kids are some of the cutest :)  There has been a bit of a cultural adjustment.  I've had to learn a few Hawaiian words like keiki (child), shi shi (pee), da kine (whatchamacallit), haole (white person), kama'aina (local), kane (boy), wahini (girl), kokua (help), pau (all done), Auntie (ma'am or lady), and my favorite - wikiwiki (fast).  There are also a few other differences, like that there are no squirrels here, but every kid knows what a mongoose is and, although many children are familiar with guitars, many are even more acquainted with ukeleles.

Jeremiah, in the meantime has been the homemaker of the family and he makes a mean bean soup and homemade bread, I might add!

Our first week on island, prior to starting my job, we spent most of our time getting oriented in Kona and trying to find a place to live.  During that time we stayed our first 5 days at the Royal Kona Resort (courtesy of my company).  It was pretty nice and close to downtown Kona.

That's the Norwegian Cruise Lines Pride of America in the harbor.  It docks every Wednesday and tenders passengers into Kona for shore excursions.

We next moved onto the Sheraton Keauhou bay.  Talk about a step up!  We got our first lei greeting since arriving on island, had unlimited internet access and two free drinks, not to mention an amazing pool!  It was a great way to celebrate my last evening of "freedom" before starting work.

The Sheraton was really nice as there were beautiful grounds all around the property, an awesome pool with waterslide, saw some amazing sunsets, and even went to a movie night by the pool!

By the end of my first week of work, we found a condo to move into, near downtown Kona, in a complex called Malia Kai.  When we finally moved into our current home, we were most excited about having a place to cook again!  The first morning we made a feast, complete with tofu scramble, toast, fresh pineapple, and some poi (which was awful!).

The only catch to our new place is that it will be a month to month lease until Dec 1st, when the owner comes back for the winter.  At that point we will have to find a new place.  There is an advantage to this, however.  Where we thought we'd want to live has changed since we arrived on island.  We originally wanted to be near downtown and the water, but after living in the condo a few weeks we are realizing that it's very noisy, we can't grow food easily, and we'd like to have a little more freedom.  We have also realized that there are more options further up the mountain that still have great ocean views, but have cooler temperatures and offer more space to spread out.

Our first few weeks here were also marked with many a rental car while we waited for the "gypsy wagon" to arrive.  When we got notification on 8/31 that it was ready for pickup, we were elated!  We arranged the next day to head to Hilo (2.5 hour drive) to pick it up.  I don't think either of us thought we'd ever be so happy to see a minivan!  It was great to have such a huge piece of "home" with us again.

Due to my work schedule, we have learned to take advantage of every moment of free time.  We've seen a few rainbows and many sunsets.

Sunset at the old airport park

Sunset at "magic sands" beach

Sunset from downtown Kona, a few blocks from our condo

We've gone to many beaches, both black and white sand, including some where we snorkeled with sea turtles and others where we learned the hard way not to mess with the waves and volcanic rocks here!

We've also visited some black sand beaches, seen the southermost point in the U.S., been to a macadamia nut factory, driven up to the dormant volcano, gone star gazing, visited Hilo on the other side of the island, gone to a hidden beach with drum circle, and gotten a little bit of a tan.

Punalu'u black sand beach

Kehena beach in the Puna district

Southernmost point in the U.S.  This picture doesn't really show how big the waves were.  They were HUGE!

Kilauea volcano, home of Pele, the fire goddess.

We've also discovered some great places to eat and drink in our new home, and some that are vegan friendly!  There is a huge asian influence here, so Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, and sushi, are readily available as well as some local Hawaiian favorites.

Fresh pineapple!

A taro flavored (hence the purple color) tapioca pearl drink - yum!

Mai Tais from Don the Beachcomber bar

Beer sampler at Kona Brewing Company

Vegetarian summer rolls from Orchid Thai

Of course this all sounds great, doesn't it?  Who wouldn't want to live in paradise?  Hawaii has temperate weather (no A/C required), sunny days with only occasional rain, palm trees, sunsets, and abundant tropical fruit.  Yes, all of these things make one never want to leave.  But, at the same time, we miss community, especially considering we set out on our journey to find community and we've ended up in a place that is home to very few people like us.  There are no community gardens, vegetarian groups, transition groups, or food co-ops.  There are mostly tourists, surfers, and locals.

We are trying to find some like minded people.  We've joined the slow food hawaii group and continue to look for activities to keep us occupied and enjoying our new home.  In the meantime, we've started a few plants on our patio, found the local natural foods store, and I'm getting to know my coworkers.

So, here we are in paradise, having a wonderful time, but missing our friends and families and longing for mail and or/visitors from home.  Any takers?

Much love and aloha to everyone!