Timing is Everything

I got a call from the Post Office this morning in response to my recent inquiry about the frustrating absence of our package of winter clothes that we need for our imminent Japan trip. I was told the package would go first to Honolulu on the island of Oahu, then over to Hilo on the opposite side of this island, then to Kamuela (a little bit closer to us), then to our place here in Waikoloa. The result of this circuitous route is a four to six week typical travel time, despite the USPS web site's original assertion that it would only take about two weeks.

So, resigned to the prospect that we didn't have a snow cone's chance in Hilo of receiving the package by Wednesday, we went shopping for clothes. And not wanting to blow our budget on cold weather gear that would seldom get used again in our new Hawaiian lifestyle, we hit the thrift stores first. At the one associated with the Hawi Transfer Station (a nice phrase for “dump”) we got a couple of hoodies, a long sleeve shirt, a stocking cap, and a decorative plate (A what? I know – Deborah can't help herself) for a grand total of $3.25. Then it was over to a church thrift store in Waimea where, with the help of a Valentine's sale, we acquired four long sleeve shirts for me and a funky handmade denim/fleece jacket for Deborah, all for $11. Another Waimea thrift store yielded a couple of pajama bottoms for $7 that Deborah will use as tights. Eleven articles of clothing and a decorative plate for $21. Who says Hawaii is expensive.

Of course, once we arrived back at the Waikoloa house after our shopping odyssey what did we find sitting on the front porch? Our long lost box. The Post Office employee I spoke with this morning gave no indication the package had even made to Hilo yet, let alone that it was on the verge of finally being delivered to our door step, almost exactly one month after it left Olympia. But all our emergency purchases this morning were not a total loss. Deborah loves her funky new jacket and intends to bring it to Japan anyway, plus a couple of the other items. I can say the same for one of the shirts I picked up. And if we ever close on the vacant lot we're trying to buy (we're still waiting) then we'll need work clothes while we're cleaning up the property. Maybe the title company can mirror the post office and perform a similar miracle of perfect timing, bringing our property purchase to a close just before we fly off to Japan. Let's hope.

 Ponds near the Mauna Lani Resort, used for raising fish in a traditional Hawaiian method.

 Similar ponds at Waikoloa Resort.

Deborah models her new jacket.