Aloha! - Hello!

Aloha is a word with many meanings, including hello, goodbye, and love. It can be a noun and a verb. In talking about the Hawaiian islands, many people mention the aloha spirit, meaning people just seem to do things with kindness for others. For us moving here, from so far away, it helps that many people here do live out that aloha and are more than willing to befriend people from the mainland. Maybe it's the weather, or the vistas, but whatever it is, it's nice that people are... well, nice.

It's been about a month and a half since we've moved to Hawai'i. We've been settling into our new place and exploring our neighborhood quite a bit. There are plenty of adventures we'd like to share, but first we wanted to start with how we got here. You can read below about our road trip from Michigan to Hawai'i. And soon, we'll start adding our Hawaiian adventures to the top, like a regular blog.

Look for weekly (hopefully more frequently, but I'd like a realistic goal!) updates with your Hawaiian word of the week. We hope this is a good tool for you to keep up with the Perrys, and we'd love the comments to know how you are doing as well!

A Journey of 5,000 Miles Begins with...

A lot of stuff!

You have no idea how much stuff you own until you move. And then you still have too much, even after selling and giving so much away! I'm so thankful for Kyle's awesome packing skills since we were able to take everything that I really wanted, and then so much more. Here is a close up of the cube:

You wouldn't believe that there's 4 bookshelves, a china hutch, a dresser and a crib hidden in there!

We got an extra one "just in case."

All of that + we needed a few things to live off of before we can unload the cube...

4 large suitcases

2 rolling suitcases

2 car seats

4 backpacks

computer bag

diaper bag

snack bag

"super fun" bag (with the DVD player and $1 toys I'd been collecting)

double stroller and umbrella stroller

and lots of diapers. At least those disappeared along the way ;)

Somehow everything fit in our trusty Rendezvous, so we're ready to head out to our first stop: Saugatuck!

July 1 - Flushing to Saugatuck - 143mi

After moving all that stuff ourselves, we were excited to rest. But, instead, we started our road trip from Michigan to Hawaii the next day! Thankfully, our kids do well in the car. And the daily surprises to unwrap didn't hurt either :)


Luke is excited about watching his car movie


RaeRae doesn't seem as excited about Lilo and Stitch though


Our first stop was Zing Eat/Drink! A fabulous restaurant in Douglas owned by my cousin. They just opened up and were gearing up for the summer season. Highly recommended! Everything tasted great, but nothing was ordinary!

We loved seeing my cousins and the great food, but the kids' highlight was the frog we found outside.




It was a nice stop, but we still had more driving on our first day. Now off to Indiana!

July 1 - Saugatuck to Rensselaer - 147mi

Our first stop outside of Michigan was to see Kyle's maternal grandmother.

RaeRae is excited to see Great Grandma Steffen!

Looking through photo albums with Great Grandma

We decided to stay the night with Great Grandma so we could have breakfast with her before heading out. There is a common area with a few couches and chairs and a bathroom that becomes "private" when you pull out an accordion wall. So we made it our own for the night. Kids got to help go get the linens for our "room."

We improvised a crib for RaeRae...

and Luke crashed on one davenport while we slept on another.

We were all exhausted, but thankful to finally be on the road. Until tomorrow!

July 2 - Rensselaer to St. Louis - 283mi

Technically, we stayed in Francesville with Kyle's grandma, so we actually headed to Rensselaer this morning. Kyle's great-grandpa owned this business and it is still in the family! We stopped by to say hello to his cousin working the store that day, as well as run to the cafe next door for some non-retirement home coffee.

All of our days planned on us stopping for meals and letting the kids run around a bit before getting back in the car. The 100+ heat was not helping today. We couldn't find an indoor McPlayplace, so we ate lunch and brought our DQ ice cream bars to a nice park by a lake. Needless to say, that was a sticky, sweaty mess. And you just have to imagine it without pictures :)

Despite driving some pretty remote Google map suggested gravel roads, we arrived ahead of schedule in St. Louis. Pretty sure this is the most amazing picture ever since I caught this on my phone while we were driving.

Although his wife and kids were out of town, our good friend Hale gave us a nice tour of the city, including the Gateway Arch! Being 4th of July weekend, they were having a festival, so it was a bit busy, but made up for it by getting a bonus air show while we walked around town.

Perhaps we should've let the kids run around more in the sweltering heat if they had enough energy for a wrestling match. It wouldn't be that bad if it weren't in public. In the waiting room for the elevator to the top of the arch. Which is a pretty small, quiet space. At least RaeRae looks like she's having fun!

Ready to ride up to the top!

Luke literally shaking with excitement.

 RaeRae the daredevil is not impressed.

 Crowds listening to music and watching the air show on the lawn below.

The Mississippi was flooded, and you could see how high the water was really well from up top...

RaeRae loved being up high and didn't want to get down from the window...

 while Luke needed a little bit of encouragement to see the heights.

 Everyone gets to pose with Papa...

We had a nice meal out on the town before putting the kids to bed. Thankfully, Hale let us stay, so not only did we enjoy his company, but also his a/c and laundry services! Thanks Wills family!