Aloha, Hawaii

Well Great Big World, we made it.

Four months are up and we are DONE

Co-managing the Kona Tiki Hotel,

As of about 4:00 PM HST yesterday.

Right now I still mostly feel "numb".

We met a lot of people who thought

That this job must be a really great gig.

I can say I'm not sorry I did this,

I can say what an accomplishment,

What a unique, amazing thing to do...

But I will never say how "great" it was,

Or how "fun" or any other cheerful, 

Breezy adjective...

And I will never, ever say

That I'm coming back to do it again!!

Honestly, you'd have to experience it

To understand what it's all about.

(Ok, I deleted more whining...)

I feel like I've been deeply conditioned

To deal with this type of lifestyle;

I had to place all of my normal "things"

from my regular life on hold, 

In a mental holding tank...

And right now they're still there

Cause I am still here...

Getting back to "normal"

Will take some time...

How long, I have no idea.

But I do know, I won't start the

Deprogramming

Until I'm back on our

Precious mainland!

We fly out tomorrow evening...

Our final two days.....

This is part of the view from our current room on the top, third floor as we chill out for a couple days...we finally have a lanai and a better view of the wide open ocean after 4 months in the ground floor office/food prep area/bedroom/living quarters that doesn't have a lanai... since that space was used to expand the indoor living space...

Up here we can see the yellow tang fish, and the black fish I forget the name of....which we saw up close and personal the few times we went snorkeling...

...And we can see that there are java sparrows up in the eaves of the roof, making nests somewhere out of sight...we can see them come and go with pieces of grass...and ok we shouldn't but we put some chips out on the railing for a little snack for their hard work.

And always, the roaring sea crashes into the sea wall nearby.....



Will I miss Hawaii?  No, but I can say I'll miss pieces...like feeding the java sparrows and the one family of saffron finches and No. cardinals every morning.  They'll miss me too cause I can see that the current mgr. is barely putting any seeds in the coconut shell feeders....

I will miss a couple people, too...Mike H. the maintenance dude w/ his one-liner tees, great laugh, and good heart...and Meriam, the gentle Micronesian woman who was a housekeeper for a few weeks, and who shared her family with us one night over a bbq that they prepared for us, to thank us for hiring Meriam...her daughters played the ukelele and sang and danced for us, it was magical....thanks to "Bloody Meriam" we got to see someone chewing beetle nut for the first time, too! Yowza!

And, I can say that it's cool that we were able to see Kilauea Volcano, the world's most active volcano...countless beautiful, tropical flowers...sea turtles! ... and I snorkeled for the first time and subsequently saw many tropical fish for the first time...and even a red pencil urchin...and eels!
They really do exist!

And we did meet some pretty awesome, creative people (musicians, artists, writers)...Michael and Barbara, Tom and Rebecca, Tom and Catherine, all great inspirations for me to get re-acquainted with my creative side, so long over-due...this is what I believe was the true purpose for experiencing this crazy adventure...that, and the chance for Ruben and I to strengthen our bond as a couple...not that we thought we needed it but BOY did we get it!


So, aloha, Hawaii.  And aloha great Pele, Volcano Goddess and fierce ruler of the island.  You are a force to be feared and revered.  May you find peace some day from all that fury over a love that was not to be.

And finally...aloha, Kona Tiki. 

So quaint and serene on the outside,

A haven to so many who seek escape.
(But that just wasn't my own perspective.)

I will remember you well.

It is time to climb back into "the box".
And I am so ready.

(Edited: 10-2-12)