A Stroke of luck

I don't know about anyone else, but it seems to me that true luck really only strikes when you're not looking for it. Metaphorically, Andrew and I hadn't even put any money in the slot machine when we hit the jackpot: Free living arrangements in a beautiful cottage in Upcountry Maui!!

The move Upcountry, which physically happened on Tuesday, actually began developing several weeks ago. With nothing better to do, we accepted an invitation to go camping with Scott, Andrew's boss, at the Waihe'e Refuge, a property owned and maintained by the land trust. Great, huh? Well, the hitch was that along with Scott would be Scott's son. And along with Scott's son would be his entire 3rd grad class. And along with the 3rd graders would be their parents. Despite knowing full-well that we'd be entering into an awkward situation the lure of s'mores and ghost stories proved too strong.

For most of the evening and the next morning we kept to ourselves, only making small talk with a couple of parents (particularly those in charge of handing out marshmallows!) But clearly, we were there to enjoy camping and not to make friends. So, when it came time to leave in the morning (I needed to rush back to attend a job fair that couldn't wait for Scott), we found ourselves in the awkward position of asking strangers for a lift back to Wailuku. As I cowered in the background, Andrew walked right up to ask. Rejected on the first attempt, he tried again. This time successful.

The man who gave us a ride was named Pete Peck. not knowing that this would be an important conversation, I remember only a few of the details. But the salient points are what matter: his family was leaving for California for the summer and was looking for house-sitters to take care of thier pets and plants while the were away. Andrew traded phone numbers with him and within 2 hours his wife Susie, called and asked if we'd like to meet up at their house to talk details.

After seeing their house and guest cottage, meeting the pets, and finding out that we could stay for free and be paid to look after the animals, we both agreed that 'yes, we'd like very much to house-sit'. Um, kind of a no-brainer! Andrew was right when he said that the only thing that would make the deal better for us would be the use of the BMW Z-4.

So now we're living in Ha'iku. Like the poem. The town is on the northern, more remote, edge of the island between the two more lively towns of Pa'ia and Makawao. The Peck's house is on several acres and has a small guest cottage, where we'll be staying. The cottage sits on a hillside and overlooks a wooded gulch so that the only neighbors we can see and hear are the birdies. Its a simple studio style layout, but is furnished by almost all things Pier I, as far as I can tell. It's lovely and has everything we need, plus some.

I may have mentioned in pasing that the Peck's have pets. To be more presice, they have 3 rabbits, 2 cats, and 2 dogs. For people who are not naturally pet-people (aside from Gracie Spot and Mona), this is a whole lot. As if that we're enough, Ginger, the 9-month old brown lab, demands as much attention as all of the other pets combined (probably times 5!). We may be in over our head, but I guess we'll find out once the Peck's leave (actually, their cab just pulled up!). But for now, we're sitting back and enjoying the cooler air and thinking that life is good!.