Happy Solstice, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a Joyous New Year
We wish you all a wonderful holiday with family and friends. We are going to take a week off to celebrate Christmas with our Maui family. We will continue our trip reports soon. Thank you to all of you for messages and cards about how much you are enjoying our travel adventures. We continue to pray for peace and love in the world.
Thank you to all for your outpouring of love and concern when you heard that Lahaina and other parts of Maui were burning. Neil and I were on the mainland visiting family when the news reached us early in the morning on August 9. A friend from the Big Island texted me to ask if I had heard of the tragedy? She was up way too early Hawaii time (turns out she was on fire watch at her home in Kohola.) She texted “Lahaina’s gone.” I thought it was a slightly exaggerated statement until I read the article that she included. I was in shock. The entire town of Lahaina as I knew it was literally gone to the ground. Neil and I were stunned and saddened and felt powerless to help our friends. Group texts started flying around among my friends and coworkers and all turned out to be safe. But some of my friend’s family were not. 
The nightmare continued when Mailea, Neil’s daughter who lives 5 minutes from us, called to say that she was preparing for evacuation and had her cats in their carriers and the car loaded. She asked what we wanted rescued from our house when she picked up Neil’s stepfather Morley next door. We are grateful to private companies and individuals who drove their bulldozers all through the morning on their own initiative to create a fire break around the houses up slope from us. They were able to stop the fire from reaching the homes, otherwise, once the first line of houses caught fire all of North Kihei would have been devastated since there were no firefighters or equipment within a half hour of us at that time since they were fighting elsewhere. The fire came within one or two football fields of the housing development before it was stopped. Neil got photos from the airplane when he flew in.
The Maui community is amazing and strong. Within hours, grassroots efforts brought food and water to the people on Lahaina side who were in desperate need. When they couldn’t go by road, they took it by boat, sometimes from the next island over. We love Maui and feel it is a sacred place. We will do all we can to help the communities and the families rebuild on their family land.
As I mentioned, we were on the mainland visiting with our family. I had a busy spring working in hospitality as a travel director and Neil started working activities and dinner events as well. We were ready for some visiting time. Mid-July we flew to Missoula Montana for 2 weeks playing with our grandsons Patrick, 7 years, and Connor, 4 years, and their mom and dad, Ariann and Eric Schultz. We loved having in-person time with them! Some of the best highlights of our time there are also the most mundane sounding. Sitting on the floor playing with cars, trains, and games. Going bowling or to the trampoline park. Driving to the lake for a swim. Dining at some of our favorite brewpubs. And helping Patrick ride his bike without training wheels for the first time.
Next we flew to Minnesota spending 2 weeks with Neil’s sister Cindy and her son and daughters. Cindy has done a beautiful renovation of her home and we thought we would have some down time. But noooo, she had a minion list for us (at our request). On top of that, we encouraged her to have a garage sale to reduce the basement and garage clutter so Neil could install heavy duty shelves all around the walls of the basement. Finally, Cindy was able to get everything off the basement cement floor and her clutter became highly organized. She is so happy. In fact, she told us multiple times a day for several days how happy she is.
A road trip to Iowa came next. Neil and Cindy got to visit their niece Stephanie, attend a family reunion on their father’s side, and have a great time visiting with some of Neil’s high school friends. We had such a warm welcome and great food at John and Cathy’s home, we want to go every year.
Neil and I then flew to Ohio to visit Dad and my family. Mom flew out from California and we had a family reunion on her dad’s side. Mom has a sister and brother living in Ohio who she gets to spend time with when she visits Ohio. Dad and Jane are still in their home on an acre of land. Dad enjoys his workshop and caring for the yard. Neil sharpens his tools every time we visit. My brother Warren and sister Pamela live in Van Wert near dad, and Melanie and Will just bought a place neighboring Pamela! I am grateful they are there to help dad and Jane. Mom and Bill are still in Ridgecrest and I am grateful Bill’s daughter is there to help them.
Neil flew home to Maui the last week of August while I went on a road trip with my mom and Melanie. Our goal was to visit seven of the states Mom hadn’t been to yet, working towards her bucket list goal of being in all 50 states. We traveled through 13 states in all from Ohio and ending in Virgina. I thought the New England states and Delaware were all she had left but she said there are three more: Mississippi, Alabama, and North Dakota. Maybe next year, Mom. We concluded the trip staying a few days with Mom’s grandson Will, his wife Meghan, and their children Jackson and Violet. Violet is Mom’s newest great-granddaughter and she a sweetheart.
Mom and I flew together to LA where I had a long layover. She took a shuttle to Palmdale, drove from there and arrived home in Ridgecrest by the time I was boarding my flight to Maui! It was great to finally be home and sleep in my own bed. Neil had been volunteering in the community several times already and I have been able to help some myself. There will be much to help with on Maui for many months.
Our travels are soon to continue. We will be leaving next week for a month in Southeast Asia. Our first stop will be in Cambodia for 5 days in Siam Reap and the Angor Wat temple area. Then on to Phuket, Thailand for 2 weeks where we will have dental work. Afterwards, we will stop in Singapore for 3 days to visit our friends Vanessa and George Spencer. Then on to Bali to celebrate my birthday. On the way home we have a long layover in the Philippines where we plan to visit Manila’s Old Town.
I will aim to do another update after we return! Love to you all.
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 9th), and Connor (turns 2 on January 28th). 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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The year of 2019 brought many joys into Neil’s and my life. We have a new grandson Connor James Schultz born January 28, 2019, to parents Ariann and Eric Schultz and big brother Patrick Hayden Schultz. We visited the Schulz’ and our grandsons in August after the weather had warmed up from the sub-zero winter of Missoula, Montana!
The year also had deep sorrow in the passing of Neil’s brother-in-law Dan Knak in July in Hastings Minnesota. We had planned our summer trip to the mainland for August but we moved it ahead a few weeks to rush to Minnesota to help Cindy, Neil’s sister, when Dan took a critical downturn in his long fight against leukemia. As such things go, Dan’s passing was a beautiful bittersweet thing because there was so much love and wonderful laughter along with the sorrow.
We flew to Ohio for Harter and Kreischer family time. My Mom was visiting from California and my sister Melanie drove from her new home in South Carolina. We had all the siblings (and parents) together since Pamela and Warren now live in Ohio near Dad. We had a great time visiting, working together, family reunions, a trip to Ohio Caverns, and a tour of the Airstream factory. It all ended too soon and we flew back to Minnesota for a few more days with Cindy’s family. 
Mailea flew in from Washington while we were there so she could reconnect with her aunt and cousins. One highlight with her was an early-morning kayak exploration down the Kinnickinnic River lead by Keegan.
The last part of our trip was spending two weeks in Missoula, Montana, with Ariann, Eric, Patrick and Connor. It was an active time playing with a 3 ½ year old and an 8 month old. We had a lot of adventures together, including a road trip together to Skalkaho Falls, Georgetown Lake, and Phillipsburg. They are lucky boys to have such wonderful parents.
We got back home after being gone seven weeks and started on house projects! A major reorganizing of the kitchen took place to make room for the new flat bottom wok. We decided to cook with more vegetables and are developing wonderful recipes. We put up new outdoor blinds that keep the house much cooler from the tropical afternoon sun. We added a motion detection porch light and more flowers and herbs to our hanging planters. We upgraded some electronics and ordered a new dehydrator. Right now we are making black garlic (3-4 weeks of dehydrating!) and are very excited to make some mango fruit leather next.
Our Maui adventures included a tour of the last remaining Pineapple Plantation in Hawaii and the Haili’maile Distillery which uses those pineapples in their Vodka and other spirits they produce. For my birthday, we went rappelling down waterfalls and parasailing over Lahaina.
I continue my work as a Travel Director. My “season” is January to June but there were also a few Fall events which I worked in September and October. I am booked into 2020. Neil worked for Hilo Hattie’s through July. He is now working for a local organization on a project planning an eco-village that will incorporate permaculture, aquaculture, and education, with eco-tourism.
Right before Thanksgiving, Neil’s mom Jean took a fall and went in the hospital for a week. She was home a week and continued to get weaker rather than gain back strength. While trying to help her to the car to go to a routine doctor visit, she collapsed and 911 was called again. She was in ICU for 4 days and is now in the Telemetry Unit. Neil and I have been taking her husband Morley to visit her daily. The doctors are planning to eventually move Jean to a Rehab facility where they hope she will get her strength back. Right now, she can stand for only a few minutes with a walker, and not take any steps at all. She has a positive attitude and still has her sights set on returning home.
Quentin decided not to return to the cold and rainy University of Portland. He is currently working on both a photography career and working as a small business sales consultant on Maui.
Sending much love and wishes for a wonderful new year to all of you!
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As I sit here listening to Christmas music and enjoying the colored lights and ornaments we have put up to celebrate the season, I am grateful for all my family and friends. We had the opportunity to visit family on the mainland as well as enjoying many Maui visits from friends and relatives throughout the year.
I continue to work as a freelance Travel Director. The freelance part means I work for several DMC (Destination Management Companies) and also means I am not full-time with any. The busy “season” for Travel Directors is January to May when many companies schedule their employee incentive trips to Hawaii . I do a wide variety of things: I work at the airport for arrivals and departure greetings, work at activity locations (e.g. zipline or snorkel boats), dispatch transportation, oversee evening dine-arounds, and work at the hospitality desk. 
Sometimes I am scheduled out a year in advance when a company knows they will be hosting a large group and other times I get contacted just a week before as the group is finalizing their activity plans. I might be scheduled a full week with one group or a day or two at a time. That’s why it’s good to work for several companies to keep a full schedule during the season. This past year, I worked on Kauai, the Big Island, and on Maui (the companies cover all expenses for me on other islands.)
Neil continues to work at Hilo Hattie’s shipping and receiving as his “day job.” He commutes to Lahaina and prefers working four 10 hour days a week saving a commute day but making the other days very long. He enjoys driving our new Kia plugin hybrid allowing him to be on electric power when stuck in Lahaina traffic. Not only that, they like him so much they let him put in a power outlet at work so he can charge up the car while he works. That means we hardly ever use gas in that car and sometimes get over 300 mpg on a tank. Yessss!
We enjoyed time with Neil’s daughter Mailea this spring when she spent several months on Maui. She was traveling the world since completing her PhD last summer. Most recently, she taught some courses at Washington St. this summer and fall. She is headed for Australia for a few months on her next adventure. Neil and Mailea just submitted a second scientific paper on Maui water quality which they have been working on this year. Their previous submission was so dense with information that the reviewers recommended dividing it in to more than one paper. They have more data and research to continue their work and another paper is being discussed.
As soon as my last Travel Director program ended in mid-May and we had attended Quentin’s high school graduation, Neil and I headed to the mainland for a month-long trip. We had a 12 hour layover in Portland where we spent a fun day touring the beautiful city with Quentin’s sister Sophie, her father Peter, and her grandparents Dianne and Mike. Our next stop was Missoula, Montana, to spend two weeks with our grandson Patrick and his parents Ariann and Eric Schultz ;-). Patrick was 2 ½ at that time and was so full of energy. We had adventures hiking and exploring. One of his favorite things was throwing rocks, especially into water. 
He has a strong throw and good aim, and appears ambidextrous like his granddad. We worked on a few house projects and left a few that they completed when we left (downstairs bathroom remodel). We also got exciting news that Ari and Eric are expecting a baby due February 1 right after Patrick turns 3 on January 9. Ari is wonderful staying in touch making weekly video calls with Patrick so we can be part of his life and watch him growing up. It touches my heart every time he enthusiastically says “Grandma” with a big smile. Such a precious boy.
Our next stop was Hastings, Minnesota, visiting Neil’s sister, Cindy, new husband Dan, and nephew Keegan, and nieces Gillian and Kalli. They showed us a fabulous time. We were going non-stop for the 3 nights and 2 days including boating, fishing, kayaking, sunny cocktails, cooking, eating, touring, and lots of gabbing to catch up with their lives. Minnesota is beautiful in the summer but glad not be there in the winter. On to Ohio and visits with Dad, Warren, and cousins, aunts, uncles on my Mom’s side. Neil hadn’t been to Ohio since our 2007 two month trip in a camper van! 
We were there on Father’s Day and Dad had all four of his kids there to celebrate! (We hardly misbehaved at all.) Pamela spent a week in Ohio overlapping our trip, and Melanie drove up from her new home in South Carolina where she and Will were still settling in. It was fantastic to all be together with all my siblings!
Back home on Maui, Neil went back to unpacking boxes at Hilo Hattie’s and I had a few occasional working days working with DMCs through the summer and fall. My Mom came over for a week in July to visit and spend time with her Great Grandson Quentin before he headed off to University of Portland mid-August. 
She helped him pack and sort boxes for his “move.” I helped him finish up packing and emptying his room the week before he left. Family and friends saw him off at the airport for his new life adventure.
Jean, Neil’s mom, and her husband Morley are still great neighbors living right next to us. We usually check in with each other every day. Morley spent a week in the hospital in August with an infection but is back to taking care of all the shopping and other chores. Jean took a fall in October and fortunately no broken bones but just a knock on the head with a few stitches. She said it knocked some sense into her. Neil said he is waiting for her to prove it.
I realized I had a month between work in Sept/Oct and was missing Quentin already. I really wanted to see Quentin in his new “home” (read that as dorm room on campus). Dianne and Mike graciously offered me to stay in their home for my visit and Mailea offered me her second car for the 4 days. I arrived in Portland Friday morning and Quentin gave me a quick tour of his dorm and the campus between his classes on Friday afternoon. He said classes were hard and took some adjusting but he is loving campus life. He is clearly well liked from all the friends he introduced me to in the dorm. 
He had a weekend dorm house retreat scheduled Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon but I had plenty to fill my days. I enjoyed evening meals and breakfasts with my hosts Dianne and Mike as we traded cooking. Saturday I drove to The Dalles, Oregon, to visit my niece Hailey (Warren’s daughter). She is now 32 and has two beautiful children: Jesse 3 years old and Jemma 1 month old at time of my visit! I hadn’t seen her since she was 16 but with Facebook photos we have been able to keep up with her news. Sunday afternoon I picked up Quentin from University of Portland and Sophie came to grandma and grandpas. 
We visited while I cooked Indian food for a fun family dinner with Mailea driving down to meet Quentin’s extended Portland family for the evening. Monday morning I visited my good friends Sara and George in North Plains and then connected with Mailea in the afternoon to visit her tiny house home. We picked up Quentin for dinner at Le Bistro Montage before she dropped me at the airport for my flight to Ohio.
It was hard not stopping in Missoula to see Patrick, Ari and Eric but I still had Ohio and California on my schedule. I spent 10 days staying with Dad and Jane. We had lots of projects to do including cutting firewood and cleaning the Lion’s Club sausage trailer. Warren is working full time but was still there with his chainsaw early morning when we went to cut wood! I am glad I got to see a lot of my brother! And I also enjoyed lots of visits with Mom’s side of the family.
The very sad news this year is the death of my brother-in-law Christian Beamer, Pamela’s husband. He was in pain since April but the doctors didn’t diagnosis the 4th stage pancreatic cancer until mid-July. Chris chose palliative care and I am so grateful Pamela and he had quality time preparing for his passing. The grief is for those missing his presence with us on earth even as we can celebrate he is free of pain with his Lord and Savior. Pamela and Chris’ sister Cynthia were with him as he transitioned on September 30, 2018. I had scheduled 10 days in California even before his passing knowing I could help or be there to support my sister Pamela.
I arrived in California about a week after Chris’ death and Pamela and Cynthia already had things well in hand. Pamela had decided to move to Ohio near Dad, Jane, Warren, and extended family rather than move to the California desert near Mom and Bill who are still in good health. Pamela started the house hunting process while I was still in Ohio. Dad, Warren and I looked at 3 places and we thought a certain clean and well managed duplex was the nicest. I took lots of photos and Pamela agreed with us. She got confirmation within 3 days that she would have a place to move to when she arrived in Ohio at the end of October! (Update: She is really enjoying her new home and furnishing it. The cold however is another story after living in California for most of her life.)
By the time I arrived, Pamela was ready to get out of LA for a while and so we drove to Ridgecrest to spend a week with Mom and Bill. The day before we left LA, Neil’s niece Stephanie, nephew Dustin, and great-nephew Jonathan were wonderful to drive over from San Jaquinto, California, to spend the morning with me. We walked the beach and had lunch on the pier at Redondo Beach. It was a great time catching up with them. Stephanie has just retired from the Army after 20+ years and she and Jonathan have a new home in California. Dustin moved from Iowa to help them with their home remodel and upgrades.
Overlapping our time in Ridgecrest, my sister Melanie and her husband Will came to town for their 40th class reunion. Pamela, Melanie, and I were all in Ridgecrest to celebrate Mom’s 83rd birthday! What a special time for all of us.
Back on Maui, we continue to love our little cottage in warm Hawaii while we think of all of you in the cold and snow! Mele Kalikimaka and Hau`oli Makahiki Hou!
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