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Lagoon at Ko Olina |
Last I wrote, we were just settling in to our new home; Ko Olina Resort Marina. I’d say we are firmly settled now as we now refer to it as “home”. The name Ko Olina means, in Hawaiian, Place of Joy and its really living up to this for us. The word “idyllic” is mentioned nearly every day in my phone calls to my best buddy, Carolyn. Jeff and I realize how dang lucky and privileged we are to have landed here and are so, so appreciative of each day.
While we watch the rest of our country hurting and hoping to heal racial injustices and at the same time deal with the ever-increasing Covid 19 pandemic, we enjoy an easy and safe life. Hawaii has the lowest virus rates and Ko Olina is a bubble within the safety of Hawaii. It does play with your mind and conscience… However, this is where we are and we always strive to live every day to the fullest. A new friend we met in Kauai gave us a great saying “Build a life you don’t vacation from”. And of course, our favorite saying, taken from a boat name we saw during our Alaska trip, “Long time dead”. Meaning; Life is short! It hits home for us and we savor every day.
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| Jeff's First Hawaiian Shave Ice! |
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| North Shore of Oahu |
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| Makua Beach |
So, what are our days like? They start with a “lap” swim or water run in our Lagoon. Its about 150 yards long and we are there every morning for an hour. The water running is a hoot! We “run” in different depths of water and up and down the sand beach. What I think is my cheerful encouragement to Jeff probably sounds like, to the few others on the beach, a drill sergeant! But, we have fun with it and it’s been super for Jeff’s health. His insulin intake is lower, his A1C in now in the “pre-diabetic range” and he’s lost some weight. Exercise is the ONLY thing that has shown any promise to slow the progression of Parkinsons so we are going at it full force.
Temperatures here are in the mid eighties each day with about 55% humidity. We are on the dry side so we get a misty rain every few days for a few minutes but that’s about it for rainfall. The water temperature is now a lovely 80 degrees in the lagoon. Yep; its pretty idyllic.
When not working on our own or other’s boat projects, we travel to anchorages and now other islands. Our favorite local gunk hole is Makua Beach. Just a short couple hours sail north of us, its filled with friendly spinner dolphins, turtles and reef fish. The beachgoers are mostly locals with which we’ve had only great experiences. Respect, a genuine “aloha and how is your day going” and a smile go along way to easing any tension. Yea, its the USA. But, we are visitors on their islands and feel privileged to be here. We also understand that with no tourists here yet, we kinda stick out. We’ve been shown the Aloha Spirit and hopefully give it back to others.
When the inter-island quarantine ended, we beat feet up to Kauai. We just returned yesterday after 11 - should I say it - idyllic days in famous Hanalei Bay. The beauty of the island is well known but we were able to experience it with little to no tourists. When we hiked the famous Na Pali Coast Trail, where they cap the daily entrance at 900, we saw maybe 20 people all day. When I took a surf lesson, I was the only student (Johnny usually has 6-8 students at a time). When we took a dive trip, yes, you guessed it - we were the only ones and the first trip Eric, our guide, had in 4 months.
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| Beautiful View from the Na Pali Coast Trail |
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| Another view from the trail |
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| More beauty on the trail |
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| Salpare feeling the Tradewinds as we head to Kauai! |
Its a 90 mile, overnight trip through open ocean and the Kauai Channel from Oahu to Kauai but worth the effort. It’s interesting that although the economic toll is huge to the local communities, everyone we meet is ok with no tourists yet. Beyond the safety margin of less incoming folks, they are truly loving having the islands to themselves for a bit. Its a double edged sword for sure.
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| Hanelei Bay |
At the end of this week, we head back to Washington. The treatment Jeff usually gets in Germany is now available at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA). It’s been 3 years and time for another round of PRRT. We’ll be staying at SCCA House which has apartments for those coming from out of town. That first week is filled with lots of doctor appointments! We had intended to stay just a week or so but the 14 day quarantine for incoming people to Hawaii was extended to July 31st. We’ll need to have a negative Covid 19 test 72 hours prior to flying back “home” to Hawaiii to avoid the quarantine. So, we changed flights and now will be in Washington all July. We fly home August 1. Last time we visited, we saw over 60 friends and stuffed ourselves on meals at restaurants. Of course, this time will be way different. We still hope to see some of you but at a distance of course. Its such a different world than our Ko Olina Bubble…
Aloha,
Fran and Jeff
