Next Stop: Everywhere

It’s been nearly nine years since we started travelling for long periods – up to six months at a time – not just to escape the gloomy winters of Western Washington, but to see what it felt like to really live in, not just visit, another place. Australia was the first, then Fiji, Europe, Mexico, Japan and Hawaii. We did a lot of house sitting and work exchange to moderate the cost and expand the experience.  These trips only deepened our love of travel and whetted our appetites for experiencing new places.

But the trip to Hawaii ended with us a purchasing a lot on the Big Island and then returning the following winter to build a house. Designing it ourselves, acting as our own contractor and doing much of the work ourselves, that project stretched to nearly two years. We loved our house and our small community in North Kohala, and made many good friends there. But we always knew our Hawaii stay would not be long term – partly because it is expensive, partly because of the inevitable bout of island fever, and partly because we have a terrible habit of moving about as often as most people change their cell phones. So this past May we sold our Hawaiian home, just three and a half years from the time we moved to the island.

How could we give up a house we spent countless hours designing and building ourselves? How could we leave paradise? It sounds mad, but we couldn’t afford to both keep the house and resume our overseas excursions, so the latter won out. Besides, we made a tidy profit for our efforts and, hey, we like designing and building houses. It’s entertainment for us.

So where do we go now? How about everywhere? We decided to just start travelling full time with no specific agenda and no end date in mind. We’ll just keep travelling until we get tired of it or until we feel compelled to once again have a home base. Or build another house. Or until I need to paint big paintings again. (Small paintings are doable on the road but, for me at least, big ones require a proper studio).

To manage our long term travel plans we needed to pare down to the bare essentials. Our Hawaii house was sold furnished with everything from the furniture to the dishes to the television and the linens. Other things like clothing, tools, art supplies, computer printer, etc. we either sold, donated or gave away. We even found great homes for our cat and part-time dog. In the end we were left with three cardboard boxes containing sentimental and hard-to-replace items, which we shipped to my younger brother’s house. A few yet-to-be-sold paintings were also distributed to various family members. That left us each with a carry-on suitcase plus a small backpack for me and a baritone ukulele for Deborah. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but it should be all we need. And since our first stop is Australia, rather than Mars, we can always purchase anything we’re lacking on the road.

The house we built in Hawaii.

The worker takes a break.

 

Our back yard, including steps and retaining walls from the old sugar plantation days.

Exposed beam ceilings.

Our front lanai (porch).

Our kitchen.

Our back lanai with ten-foot dining room table.

Lots of built-ins, here with custom stained glass made by our friends Bob and Elaine.

The bathtub in our outdoor shower area.

Rainbow Eucalyptus on our property.

Last days on the beach in Hawaii.