All at Once

Dear Friends and Followers (if we still have any),

I am so terribly sorry that we have been so terrible about this blog! If anyone still follows us after such a long hiatus, thank you, and I promise that this post will be riddled with exciting news about the events that have been going on in our lives.  So, I shall waste no more time and get on with it!

Volcano sunrise

As our last post indicated, we have been living and working in Maui, aka paradise! We both really love it here and have decided that Hawaii is our place to call home (of course it already has been Mike's home for 10 years). How can one complain when we spend our days surfing, snorkeling, sunbathing, sailing...you name it, and then work a few hours at night in a place where one can see a beautiful sunset on a regular basis. We never do tire of those sunsets (although some people think that we just haven't been here long enough...I beg to differ). This really is quite the life. Sure we have braved a tsunami since we were here (offshore for 2 days on a boat), we have had a few interesting living situations (a tiny cork of a boat moored offshore during the winter storm season was not the most ideal place to call home), we've worked interesting jobs that involve wearing a grass hula skirt ("shake those hips for tips", and there were NO coconut bras), we have been discriminated against over property rights with locals (not really our issue, but somehow we are involved), and we have been tried and tested by interesting characters that have come to Maui to run away from their problems only to create more for others. But despite these little blips, we have made it through just fine and are still enamored with living here. Just last week marked our 10th month here on the island, which for anyone that knows me well, knows that this is certainly quite a feat. There is just something magical about this place. The constant, perfect weather may have something to do with it! I see why people fall in love with Hawaii.

Sitting above the clouds at Haleakala Crater

So onto the news!! Mike and I got engaged! We had a lovely weekend trip over to Oahu where we were looking at a new sailboat (more on that later). After a nice lovely sail, we enjoyed a beautiful dinner on the veranda of Morimoto's restaurant overlooking the Ala Wai Harbor. Suddenly, fireworks started dancing across the sky illuminating all the sailboats below in brilliant, vibrant hues. It was a nice surprise and treat, but Mike's proposal at the same moment was the icing on the cake. It was a beautiful moment and it caught me completely off guard. I can't believe he kept it a secret from me for so long! I realized that there are moments in life I will never be prepared for and that was one of them. It took my breath away.

Sunrise over the Crater

The engagement was just the first thing to start off our week of life changing, exciting events. That same weekend, we decided to buy the boat we were looking at and make it our new home. It is a 40' Acapulco, which is a huge upgrade in size compared to our 31' Isabella. It is beautiful on the inside with gorgeous woodwork, and it is strong and very seaworthy. We have been talking about upgrading to a larger boat for awhile, and this just came at the perfect moment. We have a bit of work to do on the exterior, but it isn't anything that we can't handle. It suits us well and we think we will have many great adventures with her! I will post photos when we get her over here in Maui (currently she is in Oahu).

With all of this elation does come a bit of bittersweet emotion. Naturally, it doesn't make sense to have two boats, so our beautiful Isabella is up for sale. Mike is particularly feeling sad about selling his girl since it has been his permanent home for the past 10 years. He has completely rebuilt her, with countless hours of blood, sweat, and tears, and he has a fondness for her as one would expect. We are hoping that she will go to a good home and will be cared for and used the way she is meant to be used. If anyone one here sees this post, please do let us know if you know of anyone interested. She still rests in Napa, Ca all freshly varnished and painted and ready to go (Mike has been there for the past 3 weeks working very hard to get her finished).

Well, that is about all of the excitement I have for now. Any more shocking news would just be too much! While I would love to be writing about trekking through the jungles of Costa Rica, we aren't quite there yet and that is certainly ok with us. I couldn't think of a better place to be in the interim. We plan on staying here in Maui probably through next summer and then spending our "honeymoon" heading down the coasts of Central and South America aboard our new sailboat. But, for now, I have a few more days of work until I head back to California to help Mike tie up loose ends with our beloved Isabella and then take a quick jaunt over to VA to visit my family.  Life is certainly full of surprises and has been quite a journey. I can't wait to see what the next few months have in store for us!