After successfully purging ourselves of many of the items that once felt necessary, we were left with approx. 100 square feet of family heirlooms, warm weather clothing and basic necessities for our new home. The Allstate Shipping truck arrived and carried away our Matson container. The driver was courteous, funny and a prime example of great customer service skills. No major issues thus far. As of today, the container is cruising along across the ocean on the cargo vessel.
Leaving without our puppy was really hard… thankfully she has great puppy sitters that allow us to Skype with her as we all wait out the mandatory rabies test days. I have to admit, having more space on my bed isn’t always a blessing – I never realized how being shoved off the side of the bed while I sleep is such a comforting motion…
The next hurdle was taking Penny’s Mom through TSA… we weren’t sure how they would react with the recent news coverage of the jar of remains being opened and spilled at an airport… We brought along her cremation paperwork in case it was needed, but here is one of the rare opportunities that I get to give TSA some major KUDOS! We placed her in the bin and alerted the TSA agent of who was in the bin. They stopped all the travelers’ luggage in our line, stood in a ceremonial military type stance and sent her through with pure respect. They made sure nothing encroached on her space, were quick with their analysis and, honestly, made the whole experience feel as if they were honoring her. THANK YOU Seattle TSA for demonstrating that quality of service.
The flight felt quick although the summer storms over the Pacific Ocean made it more bumpy than usual. We arrived home on Fourth of July in time to unpack and watch the Hawaiian Hula Dancers and Fire dancers on the beach. What a treat!
Matson had our car waiting for us to pick up the next day – again, another demonstration of fantastic customer service skills! The car was exactly the way we had left it, no hidden charges, and no storage fees. Way to go, Matson! Mahalo! A few errands later, we were off to volunteer at the Maui AIDS Foundation. They’re finally getting a doctor dedicated to them on a weekly basis and needed help preparing space for him. On went our painting clothes and off went the shoes – after all, slippahs are only required when we dress up here!
We were so busy the first few days that we didn’t even get to play on the beach until yesterday. We took a breather and I swam with the sea turtles – got awesome footage with my underwater video camera! I snorkeled out with a middle-schooler from Calgary and made a video of him swimming with the turtles so he could show his Grandma back home. True Aloha!
So that’s the scoop… A few adjustments still in the mix… For example – it may be considered very muggy but with the trade winds we don’t really notice it; however, I may need to get a nerdy little chin strap to hold my cool UW Baseball Cap on my head! J We have Hurricane Daniel headed this way followed by Hurricane Emelia but if the weathermen are more apt than those on the Mainland, we may just see some needed rain later this week. If not, it’s all good – we’ll be in the secondary bathroom with flashlights, drinks and a few board games – party at our place, want to come?
