WE HAVE ARRIVED!

Aloha!

No pictures on this post. We have arrived on the island and we are getting settled in. But I promise many pictures are to come!

Our "goods" are on a container ship and won't be here for a few weeks yet. It was quite an ordeal deciding what to bring and making sure that it all fit in the container! Our movers, West Point Relocation specialize in oceanic moves and most of their customers are moving to/from Hawaii, Japan and Thailand. They did a terrific job and were superb at packing up our art and high value pieces of furniture.

We had a series of very successful garage sales in November and December. We also donated hundreds of books (they don't do so well in our humid Hawaiian climate) and clothes to charity. It is amazing how many things we really will not need in Hawaii. We got rid of many cold weather clothes as well as most of our leather goods. I could not bear to part with a few hand bags and sandals, so they will get a frequent wipe down to help preserve them. But leather jackets and most shoes went out the door. Finally as we were packing we discovered many other things that we really did not need and had a final pile of donations that filled an entire 1 car garage. After living here just a few days now, we are discovering that we need even less than we thought we would.

Hilo had over 30" of rain since we were here in November. It is very green and lush of course. The stream and water fall on our property are flowing too. On Monday when we arrived, we were delighted to find a bright sunny day! Tuesday was another sunny one and then we had a good rain Tuesday night and it cleared in time for me to go to the farmer's market at 9 am.

Speaking of the market... THIS is one of the reasons we love Hawaii so much! The market in Hilo is small by California standards. What it lacks in space, it supersedes all California Farmer's Markets in abundance and fantastic fruits and vegetables. I have to say only the Mercados in Mexico City & Cuernavaca have impressed me more than our little Hilo Farmer's Market. I brought home so many wonderful things. I will be sharing about each of our local fruits and veggies in the future. Some I have never seen before and others, like the fern fronds were only seasonal treats we had to forage for on the mainland. Here they are available year round.

We find that as each day passes we affirm the notion that we really do belong here and that some unseen force has drawn us to this beautiful island. It is hard to adequately describe the affinity I feel for the land, ocean and people of Hawaii. Living so close to the ocean, surrounded by sights, sounds and fragrances of such incomparable beauty brings me to the conclusion that this is truly one of the most special places on earth. I am honored to be one of Hawaii's newest citizens. I hope that I can make some contribution to this island and her people, whom we love already.