I am in Escrow!

Aloha! This is the house I will own in a month or two. I've always heard, "location, location, location!," and this house has it in spades. It is in a great neighborhood at Volcano Golf and Country Club. It is 2.5 miles from my office at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, a 10 minute walk to the driving range and club house, and a 2 minute walk to the ukulele jam session. The quiets roads are a wonderful place for Breeze and me to walk.

The house sits at 4,100 feet elevation, so there are not as many bugs as down where I am currently staying. It's a quick 30 minute drive to Punalu'u where turtles rest on the black sand beach. It is an hour to the hot ponds or 45 minutes to Hilo. It is one hour from the southern-most point in the United States.

The house is on the outside edge of the rim of the Kilauea caldera, about three miles from Halema'uma'u, where Pele lives (Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes). You can see what is going on at the crater at http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/cams/KIcam/

The house sits on about 1/4 acre and is bordered on two sides by 30-some-odd acres of common area. There is a vacant forested lot on the other side. Across the street is a large home with a well-cared-for yard. One block away is the Volcano Winery. Not that I'll be spending much time there, but there are wine tastings and tours.

The house itself has 3 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms and a 2 car garage. There is a walk-in closet in the master bedroom. The two spare bedrooms have good sized closets and plenty of light from large windows. The house includes all the appliances: washer, drier, stove, oven, refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave, solar water heater and an electric garage door opener with remote!

Nice landscaping was put in; it just needs a little work. I think I'll remove the bamboo and put in something native and/or flowering. I will plant some flowers that will make it all a little more inviting and homey. I'll also put in a simple fence or dog run so I don't have to worry about Breeze.

In the back yard there is a 10,000 gallon water catchment tank (that's plenty of water for tie dyeing). The way the system works is that rainwater falls on the roof of the house and goes into the tank in the back. It is then filtered by a UV system before it comes into the house. I have a Pur water filter to put on the tap in the kitchen for my drinking water. On the roof there is a solar water heater. There is a switch to turn on the back-up electric water heater for weeks when it is cold and consistently over-cast.

What a joy it will be when I can move into my own place and have my things around me. I have not minded living with only a few items and in temporary locations, but it will be very nice to be in a place that reflects me, my history, and my favorite things.

I can hardly wait to see it with friends and family in it! Then it will really be a home. Here's a hint: There are great deals on air fares available right now.

A hui hou!