Hello there! I hope you’ve all been having a lovely summer (Northern Hemisphere) or winter (Southern Hemisphere) 🙂 The season is quickly coming to a close and this update is long overdue, but nevertheless, here it is.
I mentioned ‘The Big Move’ in my last update at the start of the year and we have finally made it! There was an unexpected hold-up with Kevin’s visa which kept him in Australia from April 5th to June 29th, but it was a glorious day when I heard the news that his US visa had arrived on June 27th.
Before I get into what’s happening now, let’s back up a little bit.
In late February, Kev, Josiah (nearly 6 months at the time) and I left Australia and spent one week in Hawaii on our way to Louisiana, where we would spend time with my family over the Easter holiday.
Hawaii was stunning, of course. Our experience had a few kinks, including an Airbnb booking where construction was taking place (um, really?), loads of rain and lack of sleep due to a jet-lagged baby boy, but we still had a wonderful time and are thankful for all of the beautiful, big-hearted people we met along the way. Here are a few of our favorite moments from the trip (photos taken with our new Canon 6D):
Our friends Dave & Sav (fellow Aussie/American couple who love to travel) had just been to Hawaii and told us about this sweet little hidden beach with sea turtles. I couldn’t get a good photo of the turtles, which were absolutely amazing, but you get an idea of how special this spot really was.
The Pillbox Hike was the perfect size for climbing with our little man in the carrier.
We drove around most of the island of O’ahu and came across the cute little town of Haleiwa (which is also very famous, which we discovered later). We stopped for garlic shrimp at a food trailer hub in the area and ended up hanging out with a cool local guy who was selling coconuts. Josiah couldn’t get enough of the fresh coconut water. A bit later, we happened upon Matsumoto’s Hawaiian Shaved Ice. They were MASSIVE! And no, we didn’t give Josiah any of that sugary frozen goodness 😉
The vibrant flowers and rock formations off the coast were reminiscent of Tahiti, where Kev and I honeymooned back in 2011. There were little gems like this everywhere we turned!
On our last day, we were driving around once again and saw this food truck just near Diamond Head Crater, a famous hiking spot on the Southeastern tip of the island. What was a simple decision to stop for a little snack turned into making some very fun new friends! We hung around for a while and chatted with the young men who started the business (called Banán, check them out). They are three high school friends who scattered across the States for college and then moved back to their hometown to start the food truck. Being an entrepreneur myself, I was super impressed and left inspired.
Part 2 of the story coming soon!