There is no ‘why’  – just ‘go and do’.  My walkabout was built on news that shouldn’t have been news and then 8 months of “what the hell do I do? & where should I go?” plus some working my butt off to make things happen. Things that involve getting me to leave the place I called home for the last 18 years for places unseen. And friends – really fricking amazing and generous friends. And family. And understanding clients. 😉

After 8 months of kvetching and wondering I decided that the the ‘why’ was really a ‘why the hell not?’ so I booked 10 days in a Maui bungalow to start, then I looked for a cheap one way ticket.

I’m blessed with a job and a life that is not strictly tethered to one location – just decent WiFi.  I sold or gave away 85% of my possessions and headed west to Maui 6 days ago.

I’m still arriving. You know, in the existential sense.

I’ve also been working on my relationship to ambiguity (as in trying not to wrestle it to the ground and force it into a nice neat controllable situation).   Ain’t nothing in this life that is for sure ‘cept death and taxes, so why fight it eh?

I could never say that this walkabout has been on my own steam.  Not by a long shot.  I’m blessed with friends & family who helped me sell my stuff, move my stuff, store my stuff, provided a mailing address, surprised me with birthday/travel gift$, wrangled my car and drove me to the airport. I also have an amazing team who covered projects so I could take my first real vacation in years.  It takes a village yo!

Stepping onto the plane at 6:30am I was groggy but still awake enough to wonder WTF I was doing.  Then I got the back row of the plane all to myself and watched movies which knocked out the part of me that still thought this was a crazy idea. Distractions can be lovely.

A tail wind and a half empty plane made for a quick 5 ish hour flight to OGG (Kahului airport Maui).  No turning back now lady!  The valley isle awaits!  Also waiting was my 2004 Toyota Echo which I nicknamed “The Tuna Can”.  She makes a funny sound in reverse, has seen better rust-free days but the A/C works and doesn’t scream ‘Rob me I’m a tourist”. Also the price was right. When in Hawaii – do as the locals do – don’t be a jerky tourist.

I was also greeted by my pal Pete who has been super awesome and helps me not look like the jerky tourist mentioned above. #ihavethebestfriendsevah

Aloha Hawaii! So many vowels and glottal stops! I love you already even if I feel like I’m not really here yet and there are ants crawling all over my laptop.

More soon but for now, here is my trusty Tuna Can:

If you are going to Maui you’ll need a car. The folks at Maui Car Rental / No Ka Oi Motors  have been fantastic!