It is only called Quarantine if it is from the Quarantine region of France,
everything else is called Sparkling Isolation.

We are grateful to live in Hawaii during this time of lockdowns. With the sparkling ocean right outside our front door and plenty of time for gourmet home cooking, we adopted the phrase our dear friend Eric used, Sparkling Isolation. Businesses closed, parks closed, beaches closed, but the ocean never closed—the ocean was always open for water sports. Hawaii became un-welcoming to guests in mid-March and the tourist industry died. Hawaii had one of the highest unemployment rates in the US since tourism is the main industry. On the plus side, traffic was light, beaches were not crowded, and the skies were quiet.

Although the 14-day quarantine requirement ended for visitors to the islands in mid-October, the continued restrictions have limited the reopening of many business. April 2021 is the next date on my calendar when I will be working the first corporate group coming to Maui.

January of this year started in sadness with the passing of Neil’s mother Virginia Cooper. She took a fall before Thanksgiving (2019) and never regained her strength. After two hospital visits, she was able to be home with hospice care and was surrounded by family when she passed on January 24, 2020. Jean’s sense of humor kept her joking all through her bedridden last days. Morley was ever present to love Jean and make her comfortable.  Neil continued kidding his mom daily to let her know she’s loved. Jean’s granddaughter Stephanie and great-grandson Jonathan brought great joy to Grammadude by visiting for two weeks over Christmas and New Years. Jean’s daughter Cindy had fun filled times with her mom in the days right before her passing. Granddaughter Mailea arrived in time to be present with Grammadude at her passing. Jean had calls and video calls with her other grandchildren Ariann, Keegan, Gillian, Kalli, and great-grandsons Patrick and Conner keeping her surrounded by love.

Morley is doing well living on his own next door to us. We visit often to exchange stories, bring treats, and help out as needed.

There were many joys this year: Neil’s daughter Mailea married Rusty Hessel on our beach on November 12, 2020. They originally wanted the wedding in Spring or Summer, but had to postpone when the lockdowns and travel restrictions went into effect. When a short window of opportunity opened up, it was a whirlwind of planning, cooking, decorating, and celebrating. The bachelor party was a successful day on a fishing boat. The bachelorette party was an awesome horseback ride in upcountry Maui. We enjoyed activities and getting to know our new grandson Henry Hessel, age 10.

My nephew Will Levy IV married Meghan Plumb on October 31, 2020 in Key Largo, Florida.  I celebrated with them through photos. My niece Madison Shelton was at the wedding and a few days later gave birth to her second son, Cole Isaac, on November 5.

My great-nephew Quentin lives in Kihei near us with his girlfriend Kai. His is a server at Outback Steakhouse and Kai is finishing a course to be an Esthetician.

We are grateful that all our family is doing well on the mainland and we really missed being able to take our summer trip to visit them this year. We communicate by phone often. Neil’s daughter Ariann is so wonderful about making weekly video calls allowing us to interact with our lively grandsons Patrick (turns 5 on January 9^th), and Connor (turns 2 on January 28^th). We loved getting to see them open some their Christmas gifts this year.

Neil has been wanting a truck for a long time and it was finally time to get one when we turned in our leased Kia Optima. We have a beautiful new Honda Ridgeline. Within the first week, we put it to work getting 2 loads of composted landscape soil to raise up our carpeted driveway to eliminate a sharp drop-off from the cement parking pad. While we were at it, we levelled an area for the BBQs and new smoker. There are always projects around the house and yard to keep us busy. We love to cook and have enjoyed trying new recipes while in Sparkling Isolation but we were also incredibly happy when the restaurants reopened in June so we could enjoy a meal out occasionally.

Wishing you all a Sparkling NON-Isolation New Year!

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