The Durant's: Aloha!

Aloha! We have been “living” in Hawaii for 10 weeks now and I can’t believe I have not posted a single thing! I will try to make my next few posts short and sweet, but enough to fill you in on our life in paradise.

When we first arrived on the island on October 1^st, we were able to relax a bit. Kyle had 10 days of leave that gave us an opportunity to look for housing, but since we are waiting for on-base housing, we didn’t have anything to do. So we went to the beach every single day. :) We went to my family’s (Adams’) favorite beach, Waimanalo Beach Park, which is only 20 minutes from the Marine Corps Base. The water was beautiful and calm! I loved it, but Kyle wished the waves were bigger.

Waimanalo Beach

Our 2nd day, so a little white still ;)

We also really enjoy Pyramid Rock, which is the beach on base. It is a beautiful, big beach with big enough waves to boogie board and surf. Kyle bought a long board to try surfing, but the waves were a bit too big for a beginner, so we need to find a better beach for him (and maybe me) to try surfing.

Pyramid Rock. It is right near the air strip, so there are always planes taking off and landing. See the plane in the top left?!

Boogie boarding stud ;)

As I mentioned, we are WAITING for a house to open up on base. While we were waiting, we had 60 days to stay in the lodge on base. It was a motel room with 2 queen size beds, a bathroom, and a mini kitchen with a sink, refrigerator, and microwave. Near the end of our stay there we were definitely getting a little tired of microwavable food and eating out. We couldn’t complain much since the Marines pay for our stay in the lodge and they also provide us with money each day for food. But we were definitely ready for a home-cooked meal.

Kyle and I have been trying to get to know people…especially couples we can become friends with. I was never the “new kid” growing up, since I went to Colton my whole life, but I am sure this is how they felt. It is very different moving somewhere and not knowing anyone. But I do feel that this is the perfect community for doing so. People are so welcoming and kind, because they are all new at some point.

One of Kyle’s friends/co-workers from when he was in high school is actually stationed out here! CJ, his wife, Sarah, and their son, Clayton have been so kind to us since we arrived. They have invited us over for a home-cooked meal and it has been great to hang out with fellow Oregonians.

Since we arrived, I have been attending a Bible Study on base, and the very first day I met a woman named, Della. We started chatting and both thought we looked familiar and low and behold she went to Western Oregon University with me! What a small world! We have had a chance to get to know each other, which has been a blessing.

Also since we’ve been here we have done a few hiking trails (I’ll post about those soon), experienced our first Thanksgiving without family, moved into a tiny little studio (I’ll post about this later too), went to Kyle’s Regiment’s Christmas party, been preparing for Christmas and Kyle’s surgery (explanation to come). It is very interesting actually living here and not just vacationing…it hasn’t been ideal since we do not have a home yet, but we are trying to get by..

I’ll leave you with a couple pictures!