Living Aloha

So... I want to move. Again. I've decided my next destination will be Hawaii!! I don't know why I feel so restless lately, but I'm taking the feeling and going with it. I have no mortgage, or kids or any real obligations for that matter, that would hold me in one place. I am young and (relatively) healthy, so off I go! Maybe one of these days I will fall in love with a place enough to want to be there for more than a year or so at a time.

I've been doing non-stop research on Hawaii and Oahu in particular, the island I think I'll be happiest on. I'm trying to get as good of an idea as I can about the cost of living, schools, housing and job market. The only decision I'm still mulling over is whether or not to vacation there first, or just take the leap and move without exploring it. I know logically it would seem like vacationing first is a no-brainer. But I can say from my experience in moving to the Virgin Islands that visiting before moving is nowhere near the same as residing here. I came down to St John four times before I moved here. And I still had a very difficult time adjusting to life on the island. I've come to the conclusion that the only way to really understand how it feels to live somewhere, is to live there!

If I do decide to vacation and then move, I don't think I'll be ready until early next year. If I decide to throw caution to the wind and just go, I'm hoping to be there by Christmas of this year. We'll see what happens! Wish me luck!!

Sometimes I Wonder...

... if I should just travel the world, spend all of my money, have passionate love affairs and forget about the marriage and kid thing. There are many days where a life like this seems tempting, and others where it seems like it would be empty (for me). I wonder when I will know for sure.

If at first you don't suceed...

I'm heading back to St John. This "move" to Atlanta has, needless to say, been a really rough one. So, my plan? Or should I say Sky's persistent suggestion? That I come back to St John to recuperate, regroup, and try this whole thing one more time after things settle a bit. After fighting tooth and nail about it with him (I don't wanna leave!!) I've agreed that he has rather valid points. It has been very hard to deal with this tragedy without my fiance and father of my child by my side. And it's been just as hard for him. Plus the holidays are quickly approaching. Between the miscarriage and Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, this is definitely not the time for either of us to be alone. So back I go. But it won't be forever!

I'm not the happiest about leaving my friends and family so soon after getting reconnected, but it's what I have to do for now. I was really hoping to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas in a traditional way this year, complete with sweaters and fires and lots of family around! I'll have to settle for 85 degree weather and bikinis and rum drinks. But when I put it that way it doesn't sound so bad! So on that note I'm going to stop my bitching and enjoy the fact that in just a couple of days I'll be back in the arms of the man I love, on a tropical island in paradise!!! How about that for a silver lining?

Awake

It's midnight and Sky and I have to be up in about 4 hours. We should be asleep, yet we're both wide awake watching South Park. I think it's because of all of the butterflies in my belly!! I always get super excited about vacation the night before. I guess this time is no different!!

I will be blogging and posting pictures from the road. There are so many things I'm looking forward to!! And there will be LOTS to share with all of you when we get back. We'll keep you posted:)

Vacation!!!!

For any of you who don't know, Sky and I are leaving in a handful of days for vacation!! We're going to Alaska for two weeks to visit his mom, do some sightseeing, and generally just to get the hell off this island!!! We are both so excited to have a little bit of time off. If you know me you know I rarely let a month go by without a road trip or vacation squeezed in between the crazy busy days of life! That was one of the reasons I was so in love with Atlanta. You're only a few hours away from a busy city, a sleepy beach town, or the quiet mountains, whichever happens to be your pick. I don't find getting away here in the islands quite as easy. Just about any form of transportation is expensive and a hassle to get to. And obviously driving will only get you so far here; 9 miles to be exact. Yup, it's a really small island.

So off we go to wide, open, beautiful Alaska for 2 whole weeks!!! I cannot be more excited to start every morning with a walk!! I can't wait to wear a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt and sneakers!! We also have hikes, camping, a visit to the fair, a road trip, and a backyard bbq to look forward to once we're there! If that doesn't sound like an awesome vacation, then I don't know what does:)

One of the things on my Must Do list: a visit to Target. I miss Target more than I ever imagined I could miss an inanimate object ! But it's hard to go from 4 visits a week to nada for eight months!! Can we say withdrawals? I seriously have dreams about shopping in Target. So the point is I miss it!! That will honestly be my first stop after landing in Anchorage.

Other things I'm looking forward to? Eating at McDonalds (or really any fast food place), seeing a movie, shopping in a real mall, drinking Starbucks, and buying fresh, inexpensive, healthy food. I also miss driving on the correct side of the road, or driving period!

It really can't get here fast enough:)

America's Most Romantic Cities

Just ran across this article. Interesting!! I've been to 3 of the top 10. And Sky and I plan to travel to at least 2 more in the coming year. How many and which ones have you been to?...

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-35060647