Aloha!

We must say we are starting this post feeling a bit embarrassed by our lack of upkeep to this blog. It seems that we are not immune to the routines of everyday life and feel that maybe our lives have become “not interesting enough to write about”.  In returning to the real world again we’ve neglected the blog a bit more than expected until we got so far behind that it now has gotten hard to figure out where to start off again. So, in order to keep this short, let me just say that the past few months have been hugely eventful for us and have brought us many ups and downs, yet they haven’t necessarily been the exciting adventures that everyone loves to read about.

After our delivery, we went back to our Bella after settling on the idea that she was in fact what we are happy with and what we want to live with at this point in our lives. Don’t get me wrong, I greatly enjoyed the luxuries that accompanied the larger, lavish yachts we were working on for the past year, however, once we got back to Isabella we felt that sense of comfort that only comes with the place you call home. The work that was ahead of us was overwhelming, but nothing could change how we felt about her.

So we got to work and began to give Isabella a facelift while completing all the little projects we’ve talked about for the past year. It was grueling work, but we were motivated to get it all done. In between hours of sanding and painting, we picked grapes in the local vineyards in Napa Valley to help keep our rapidly depleting pockets full (boats are so expensive!!!). We stayed with an amazing couch surfer who opened up her lovely Victorian home to us so we wouldn’t poison ourselves with the nasty chemicals floating around the boatyard.

After a month and a half of productivity the weather started changing rapidly from day to day which was making our projects that much more difficult. To top it off, the “to do” list kept growing and our spirits were starting to plummet as we tried to fight mother nature for a little more time to finish Isabella.  We had a decision to make whether that meant getting the boat back in the water or walking away from her once again to pursue something new. After a few phone calls from an old boss of Mike’s in Maui looking for his help once again coupled with the fact that finding work in California was looking very grim, we starting thinking about leaving Isabella once again to seek work elsewhere. Many restless nights and endless hours of conversation eventually led us looking further west out into the middle of the Pacific Ocean, only this time on a boat, but somewhere equally as pleasing: Maui. The move meant “going home” for Mike and a new adventure for me, which we both were very excited about. We were hesitant to say goodbye to Isabella once again, but we knew we were making the right decision (did I mention we’ll be warm!!!).

As we said our goodbyes to California and dear Isabella, we made a quick visit back to the East Coast to visit our families and friends before we could make it to the land of Aloha. As usual, it was great to visit home, but we felt increasingly excited as our departure date to Hawaii approached.

We have now been settled in Maui for a month and it has certainly been quite an adventure. Mike at first went back to work doing boat charters with his old boss, but then picked up his knives to do a bit of cooking once again. He is at David Paul’s Island Grill, which has a stellar reputation here in Maui. I am really proud of the work that he’s been doing there. I also went to work straight away working at a restaurant called Duke’s. They are a great company to work for and have been outstanding with their employees. Plus I get to be outside on the beach everyday! =) Between work, sailing, and general boat life, we are enjoying the beautiful landscape and sunsets that Maui has to offer every night. We recently just moved into a house as well as living on a smaller boat than Isabella offshore here has been quite challenging with opposite schedules. So for now, we’re happy settling into island time and living the simple life here in Hawaii. We may not be the best with our posts for the next few months, but we’ll try to keep everyone posted the best we can! Mahalo!