Mom and aunty Linda do Hawaii!

I finally talked my mom into coming to see me in Hawaii. I know, I know, it's absurd to have to talk someone into coming to one of the most beautiful places on earth. But I did, and she's glad she came! We did lots of fun things in the 1 week that she was here. She brought aunty Linda too! Here's some snapshots from the week....

Mom and I

Mom looking pretty at the luau

At the luau

Mom at the North Shore

Polynesian cultural center

Duke's

Luau

Diamond head cruise

Life in the 808

Once again, I've made a move. I am now living on my 3rd Hawaiian island in 6 months. I am a vagabond, however, so what did you expect? :) 

I've relocated to Honolulu and started a short term travel nursing contract here. I plan to stay until May 15th, then jet off on my next international escapade a couple weeks after that. (Central America, South America and Antarctica!) So hang in there, my blog will begin to get interesting soon!

In the meantime, I've been enjoying the great outdoors here on Oahu. There are endless amounts of hikes here, so I've been keeping myself quite busy. Keeping healthy and getting in shape. The time is flying by at mach 10. I found myself a cute private bamboo cottage nestled in the green fuzzy mountains, only about a mile from the ocean, which is the perfect refuge for me. So calm and relaxing....

I'm also finding time to surf, entertain guests, exploring more of the island and picking various tropical fruits. Oahu and I have a history. I lived here about 5 years ago for 9 months. It's good to be back. I love it here!

Ember reunion!!

My bamboo cottage

Picking star fruit

Me and Harley girl

Hiking bliss

Hawaiian sunset

Dream-like state of mind

Life on Maui is grand. It really is. It's like living in a dream. So why would I ever want to leave? Well, in my quest to see the world, there's one important thing I need in order to make my dreams come true: MONEY!!! I'm really not a greedy person and I can get by with a minimal amount of green backs, but frankly, there is no money to be made here in the idyllic paradise of Maui. I could live here forever and ever and never be scrapped for cash, but when I'm trying to save for another lengthy trip overseas, it's just not logical to stay somewhere that I'm making pennies. I look at my time here on Maui as a vacation. I only work 3 days a week, since overtime is not allowed at the hospital. It's an easy life, I tell ya.
So now I'm left with a dilemma. Where to next? It's a question I find myself asking frequently. This vagabond life seems very normal to me. It's all I know. Stay somewhere for a few months, then pack up and move on to the next destination. My mom tells me this is not normal, so I'll have to believe her. But I don't want to live my life a certain way because it's what everyone else does. I forge my own path and let my heart make the important decisions in life.
Some people ask me "what are you running from?" It's not what I'm running FROM, it's what I'm running TO! I'm a curious kind of gal, and I'd like to see how the rest of the people out there in foreign lands live their lives. I want to experience all that this world has to offer. We only have one life and there's no way I'm going to leave this world feeling like I cheated myself for not getting out and exploring. Get my drift? It's some inexplicable, innate force inside me. It drives me to do the things I do.
I have no idea where I'll be come January. Alaska? Hawaii? New York? California? Colorado? Virgin Islands? These are all real possibilities. I'm leaving it up to fate. Hopefully the suspense won't kill you.
I leave you with some of my snorkeling with sea turtle pics.....

coming up for air

....and a pic of me and Erin stand up paddle boarding, I'm on the left, taking a break : )

Island visitor

This week, I had a visitor. Yay! An old friend from college who lives in South Dakota. She's never traveled outside of the midwest, so I knew her adventure across the pond was going to be an unforgettable experience for her. We stayed plenty busy exploring this idyllic island. Here are some of the photos from the week:

 

 
 
 
 
 

Blog neglect

Lately, I've neglected my blog. I'm sorry :( Here's an update for everyone: I now live on Maui!! I said sayonara to the Big Island for 2 reasons. #1. It was boring. #2. My heart was in Maui and, as we all know, we should always follow our hearts.

1 month of living on the Big Island was enough for me. I was stir crazy.
Everything was going as planned. I was offered a position at Hilo Medical Center and also had a posh place to live. But, something just didn't feel right. I wasn't happy there. What I really wanted was to live on Maui. There was just one problem. There is only one hospital on Maui. Getting into this hospital as a travel nurse can be difficult. My recruiter had submitted my profile to the hospital and I hadn't heard a peep from them for 3 weeks. I put my tail between my legs and faced the reality that it just wasn't the right time for my Hawaiian dream. I accepted a travel nursing job in San Francisco and booked my flight back home. Less than a week before I was scheduled to fly home, the hospital in Maui called and offered me a job. I couldn't believe it. It was a dream come true for me and I was ecstatic! So I canceled my flight and contract with San Fran and said aloha to Maui.

This is where I was meant to be. Maui has such a nice vibe. I'm spoiled to live here, it feels like a dream. I've dreamt of living on this magical island ever since I first visited nearly 5 years ago. I feel so grateful to live here. It feels very surreal to me. You would think that the other lucky inhabitants on this dreamy isle would feel the same.
You're wrong.
I frequently hear my co-workers griping about the cost of living in this paradise. It is true, it's not cheap living here. Nurses are paid excruciatingly low wages, rent is sky high and food and gas cost an arm and a leg. But you're living on Maui, people! How can you complain?! Perhaps they need some tips on how to be more money savvy. Many locals have more than one job to compensate for the pricey cost of living. I'm fortunate to have a career as a nurse, where I don't usually have to worry about my finances. But I will say that living here is making it difficult to save for my next big trip. Sigh. I guess I'll go to the beach and sulk :)

One thing I've learned from traveling overseas is that what we think is essential is really not that important. I can live with very little belongings. I don't really need new clothes, when the ones I'm wearing are just fine. I don't need a fancy car to get from point A to B, when this little island beater does the job just fine. And I surely don't need the luxury of a TV to survive. I do, however, need things like food, water, and a toothbrush ;)
I'm a little perplexed when I hear people that live here complaining about their life on Maui. Perhaps they would rather live in the slums of Mumbai, where you share your nonexistent living quarters with rats and cockroaches. Or perhaps they would prefer to live in a wooden shack in Cambodia, where they can barely afford to eat. Let's look at this with some perspective, my American counterparts. You live in America, on top of that, you live in Hawaii, and last I checked you weren't living on the street, and you sure as heck don't look like you're starving to death. I think you're doing pretty darn good.
Ok, that's enough of my rant. On to lighter topics.

Harley (my pooch) is soaking up the warm weather and daily walks on the beach. She's pretty fit for a 10.5 year old. She has no problem keeping up with me on our tropical hikes, which has really impressed me. Although the process of getting her here was stressful (Hawaii has very strict quarantine laws), I'm glad I decided to bring her along for the adventure. She is a well-traveled pup, which makes her mommy proud :)

Hawaii is my playground with some of the most beautiful views I've ever seen. The sea turtles, the flowers, the sunsets, the tropical fruits. I love it all. Maui definitely holds a special place in my heart. I'm so happy I decided to make the move to this stunning paradise. Alooooooha!