August 8, 2019 (A current post from Cyndi)
Since returning from Los Angeles we’ve been enjoying our new rental in Kona. This one’s a bit further from town, but that’s good for us as we’re getting more walking in. We’ll be here a few more days, then we’re returning to the first place we rented. (Below, a few photos from our current neighborhood; click to enlarge/scroll).
It may not look like anything’s been happening with the blog, but actually I’ve been hard at work making some improvements. I started reading and combing over it from the beginning and have been making some fixes and putting a few things (like all of 2012 and 2013) in order. I have to say, it’s been pretty amusing reading some of that early stuff we wrote, and I have a few comments to make now from the perspective of a far more experienced cruiser.
One thing that really stands out: I have never seen two people more addicted to Starbucks! I guess we should have packed far more coffee than we did so we could wean ourselves off it as we crossed the South Pacific. Of course we still like Starbucks, but since that time, we’re no longer the fanatics that we were. It looks like it’s a good thing we left when we did, or we might have ended up homeless addicts begging for change so we could get another Starbucks coffee drink.
We also have a few observations to make about Hawaii, mainland America, Los Angeles, and cannabis–what, did you think we’d go to Los Angeles and not partake in legal pot? That stuff will be in future blog posts.
As for now, we’re really enjoying our time in Hawaii, me working on the blog and Rich working on a project. We made the right decision to take this season off and give ourselves a break, to spend our time primarily in Hawaii (yes, it’s America but its culture has more in common with Fiji), and to spend two weeks in Los Angeles, which was just the right amount of time.
We have about two more months in Hawaii before we return to New Zealand. You may wonder how we feel after living land life for awhile. Rich, actually, is the one most anxious to get back to cruising and would even wish to head back earlier if it weren’t for the cold in weather in Lyttelton. I, on the other hand, am pushing that to the back of my mind as I’m so enjoying the here and now. I have no doubt I’ll be ready to return when the time comes, but right now this land life stuff feels pretty great–especially in Hawaii!
In the meantime, I’ll keep working on the blog, finish my post about staying in Dunedin, and get on to some of those observations we’ve made during our time in America. Until then, aloha! -Cyndi
