We Made It

So it's been a while since I posted anything on there and I am contemplating continuing on but I think this is the best place to keep record of our adventures in Maui...the next phase of our life and for our friends and family to keep in touch.  For now, this is where I will make a better attempt to post the happenings.

This is going to be a long post with a few pictures so I can catch up to where we are at today in a few posts.  Just a heads up ;)

We obviously made it through the scary move.  The dogs passed all of their various tests and inspections and received their glorious blue papers from the State of Hawaii which allowed them entrance into the State.  It was a lot of work but turned out to be much easier than all the mumbo jumbo on the quarantine's website made it out to be.  Just follow the directions and you will have no problems getting your pet to Hawaii.  Just start saving now...

Ron and I flew over on September 5 with Franklin and the three cats.  We drove to Seattle and flew direct from Seattle to Maui.  We took a week and got the basics picked up, dog beds, food, furniture, etc.  I flew back to Spokane on September 12 to pick up my Mom and the other 3 dogs.  We drove to Seattle on September 16 and flew to Maui on September 17.  We rented a mini-van to get from Spokane to Seattle.  I can promise you that I will not ever own a min-van.

I am not sure Cooper packed enough tennis balls for the trip.
Paisley was a bit too excited for the car ride.

A few tips for any of you considering moving to Maui or any of the Hawaiian islands:

1) work on crate training so they don't panic when you lock them up at the airport;
2) bring treats on the day of your flight, their water bowl, and carry ALL your paperwork on you;
3) exercise the hell of out of them the day before and the day of their flight;
4) it is far more nerve racking for the parents than it is for the animals;
5) fly Alaska Airlines;
6) enlist the Maui Humane Society to handle the direct release your pet(s);
7) start a Pet Quarantine savings account---it worked out to be about $1k per pet when all was said and done.  Yowza!

Adjusting to life in Maui has definitely been a change.  Not sure what I was expecting but real life followed us here, damn-it!  Such a bummer.  The upside is that it is beautiful here and the view from our office is amazing, so it makes working a little less painful.  Our house doesn't have AC so we depend on the trade winds to keep us cool.  The last few days there has been no wind so it has been a wee bit toasty.  Most houses don't have AC because the cost of electricity is out of sight.  Probably another savings account I needed to start before moving!

We generally spend most of our "free" time at the beach either sitting in our beach chairs catching some rays or playing in the surf with the dogs.  The dogs now go to the beach instead of the park to play, which is kind of cool.  They loooove the water.  It is much different than going to the lake since the waves are much bigger and the water tastes salty.  Paisley is still trying to catch onto the whole salty water thing.  They get in a good workout and everyone returns home tuckered out--win, win for us all.

  That is all for now.  I will return with a second part shortly.  Aloha!