Honk, Honk! “Our ride is here”

How many of you have had the experience to go visit Hawaii? The excitement of getting packed days before and not sleeping a wink the night before? Maybe you are going for the first time or the fifth time. Maybe this time you are going to a different island or multiple islands. Maybe this time it’s going to be the whole family or just the two of you. Whatever your situation is, it’s going to be unforgettable. The Hawaiian islands are magical and bring so much joy to everyone who comes to visit.

Finally the long plane ride is over and you have arrived at the airport in Kauai. The excitement overrides the fact that you are tired from the flight. You want to get your rental car and check into the hotel so you can begin your vacation. You head off to the beach and into the warm ocean. During your stay you enjoy one side of the island to the other maximizing your 7-10 day trip. You take a boat to the Napali coast and take in the magnificent views. You go surfing at Hanalei bay and snorkeling at Tunnels beach.

During your stay you begin talking about what it would be like to live in Kauai. At first it’s just small comments like “can you imagine if we lived here” or “wouldn’t it be cool to live here” The days begin winding down and your trip is coming to a close. You don’t want to go home and the talks about moving have become more in depth and consistent. You start trying to figure out how it would work and could it work. It’s your last day and you are packed up and going to the beach on more time before leaving for the airport. You gaze out across the big blue ocean and look back at the lush green mountains. Then you turn to your wife and say. “we should move here” she looks at you, smiles, and says. “OK”.

Back at the airport, rental car return, bags are checked and you sit and wait for your plan to arrive. Now you are starting to realize the trip is over. This brings on thoughts of sadness as you are not ready to go back home. You sit on the plane and reminisce about your big Hawaiian trip. The plane shakes a bit and you wake up. The plane has landed at the airport. You finally got some sleep and now you are back home.

A few weeks go by and you are back to your old routine when suddenly you begin thinking about Kauai again. You come home from work and say to your wife “what do you think, should we still move to Hawaii?” This brings all the memories rushing back into both of your minds at full speed. “It’s not that easy” she replies. “We can’t just pack up and move, we have work here, our kids are in school, our family is here. We have never lived anywhere but here. This is our home.” You reply with “What if we just move for a year.” One year doesn’t seem as permanent as forever. This conversation goes back and forth for a few days and your kids begin talking about it. A few months have passed now and you talk less about moving to Hawaii, but it still comes up in conversation.

It’s now been 9 months and still you and your wife and kids bring up the thought of moving to Hawaii. You have a baby girl now, your family is getting bigger and it’s become harder to imagine leaving your extended family. Then one day your son says. “you guys keep talking about moving to Hawaii, but you’ll never do it”. Well that was all you needed to hear. That single statement said a lot more than you would think at the time. This not only gave you and your wife a little more drive to make the move happen it also let you know that your child was “OK” with moving. He too wanted to move and he was going to be ok with leaving his comfort zone to try something new.

Now you are putting thoughts down on paper and trying to figure out work, housing, family, money, and a lot more. You come to the conclusion that you are just going to go for it and move to Kauai. Only moving for a year makes everything a little easier. You don’t have to sell your house. You rent your home out and move your belongings to a storage unit. You let work know of your plans and that you may be back in a year. Keeping a good relationship with your current employer is always important. Slowly you begin telling family and friends that you are going to move to Kauai for a year and see how it goes. You could never have everything planned out perfect as that would bring so much stress and would be unrealistic. You have your general plan set into gear and your adventure is starting  to take shape.

The date is set. You call the airline and get your tickets for the move. One way tickets to Kauai! You give yourself two months to get your self ready before you fly out. You don’t know where you are going to live, where your kids are going to school or where you are going to work. You just know its going to be a fun ride!

Only a few days to go before your departure. Bags are packed, you visit with family for a going away party, double check that you have a place to stay for a week while you find a more permeant place to live in Kauai. You spend your last day at work. You are feeling nervous and excited all at once. You think this might be a bit crazy, but you are happy with your decision. Once again it’s the night before you leave for Hawaii and you don’t get much sleep as you lay there hoping you have taken care of all the loose ends.

The alarm goes off and you jump out of bed. Today is the big day!

Honk, Honk! “Our ride is here”

To be continued…