Kona – A Serendipitous Discovery

This February marked thirty years that my wife Audrey and I moved to Kona, Hawaii. Say it isn’t so! What is that old saying? “Time fly’s like an arrow and fruit flies like a banana.” We were in our early thirties and full of that “what’s next?” energy. I speak with people almost every day who are looking to move from somewhere on the mainland to an island paradise that offers a vibrant lifestyle. It’s kind of like looking for what’s on the other end of that rainbow. It has to start with a dream right?

I wrote a quick blog published January 15, 2021 titled “The Big Move” that touched on our journey to Kona back in 1993. Today, I thought I would take a minute to share a few more details that lead us to the Big Island. The serendipitous discovery of Kona. So here is our story that makes me say… what if THAT didn’t happen?.  

My nesting ground and start of life began in a small town in central New Jersey. After thirty something years there, I can sum up my incentive to move with one word – Winter. Layering clothes and wearing coats and boots to enjoy the great outdoors for five months had taken its toll. Audrey was born in the Caribbean, so the concept of moving to more sunshine was an easy sell. We decided to give the Florida Keys a shot. Escaping the tail end of winters grip in March of ’92, off we went for a one month stay. Anchored right about in the middle on Big Pine Key, we rented a home on the water. No doubt we enjoyed the beautiful water and tropical feel. Those features checked the boxes but something was missing. Wait! I know… There are NO mountains and the place was flat as a pancake. The vibe overall didn’t quite land well for us. I don’t know, we just weren’t feeling it. Great place to visit.

The home we were renting had a maintenance issue, so the management company called Andy the Handyman for us. He stopped by to find us doing a little fishing for dinner in the backyard.

Fishing was an important activity for.. dare I say both of us? ..at the time. Handy Andy seemed intrigued as to what might have brought us to the Keys and asked if what we found so far was to our liking. After a truthful explanation of what our mission was, he quickly replied, “Oooh.. You’re looking for Kailua-Kona.” Bewildered and doing my best to process the pronunciation of what he just recited I asked, “Where is that?”. “Hawaii,” he replied like a proud Ali’i. Andy had lived on the Big Island for nearly fifteen years. Wait right here he said, “I have a map of the island in my truck.” In a flash, he had that map sprawled out on the ground pointing out the many micro climate areas and adventures terrain around the island. He said, “On the Kona side, lots of folks live where you can see the ocean from your home and the most beautiful sunsets”. “Fishing”, he added.. “is world class”. I looked at Audrey and we both said, “SOLD!” He was nice enough to give us the map and we still have it to this day.

A serendipitous moment! I often wonder where we would have ended up if our toilet wasn’t having plumbing issues at the Florida Keys rental home. Andy not only fixed that, but he also helped set us on the course to a wonderful lifestyle here in Hawaii. Mahalo Andy… wherever you are.

The moral of our story is, change can be good… real good. Never give up the dream and where there’s a will, there’s a way.