Aloha mai kākou, Keili here!
Mahalo nui loa to all our ʻohana, friends, and community both here in Hawaiʻi and back home in California for supporting and following us on this journey!
And a special thanks to you, reader, for sticking around through the highs and lows, the spelling errors and just plain mistakes that we have made along da way. I am so glad that Dana told us to make a Substack almost a year ago. It has allowed us to build up a trove of our progress which we (and other ethnomads) can look back on and remember how lost we once were and all the ʻike we have been blessed with!
PC: Noel Kenny
I took pride in the way Chris and I could dock the boat this week compared to our first attempt in docking in Mission Bay a year and a half ago.
We are back home!
On July 6th Chris, Kalani and I pushed off from our slip in Mission Bay with a beautiful send-off by mentors, parents, and friends. 22 nights and 23 days later we made landfall in Kaneohe around 12:30PM. There was a beautiful ceremony, prayer, and loving embraces with relieved family members. I barely took two steps off the waʻa and found myself with cheese burgers, fresh banana bread, and a Modelo in hand with a big fat smile on my face. I looked to my sides and found an equally satisfied crew on either side of me stuck firmly in some long over due hugs.
Amongst the chaos, we were blessed with the ultimate welcome home. I am still amazed at the beautiful and supportive community that has helped us and continues to push us all towards our dreams. Somehow, with us having little contact with the outside world, they were able to coordinate and connect us with a place to stay, a safe place for ʻAʻā to be, and a welcome home that none of us will forget.
How was it?
Reflecting back on the trip has been a bit difficult, I think because I am still digesting + adjusting to life on land… but watching videos that we took along the way reminds me of all the emotions felt. Chris has been working day and night to put together a video (his first vlog) that I think can express our passage much better than I ever could in words here.
*warning you may get sea sick watching this footage*
One lesson that stuck out to me throughout the journey is that despite challenges - we still had a LOT to be grateful for at all times. The feeling of being capable to take on any challenges that came our way (and really not having a choice in the matter) is a mindset I will carry for the rest of my life.
Let me quickly leave you with a quote by a badass female adventurer who understood that you need very little to live a happy life with few regrets.
“The only real security is not insurance or money or a job, not a house and furniture paid for, or a retirement fund, and never is it another person. It is the skill and humor and courage within, the ability to build your own fires and find your own peace”
-Audrey Sutherland
