Hawaii Anniversary Trip Recap - October 2015

We're knee-deep in boxes right now (this weekend was the big move!) It feels like our 90-day closing just flew by. Partly because we took an 18-day vacation to Hawaii in the middle of October to celebrate our 10-year anniversary. Yes, in the midst of buying and selling houses, canine dental surgery, and fiscal year-end work responsibilities, we took off for nearly 3 weeks. In our defense this trip has been planned for a very long time, but it was a pretty hectic fall regardless.

So let me tell you about our vacation because, honestly, who doesn't want to think about a tropical island getaway when the weather outside is frightful dreary?

This was our third time to Hawaii - honeymoon and 5-year anniversary before - so we knew what we liked and what we didn't. We chose to stay in private residences rather than hotels, and made a point to eat at restaurants we'd never been to before (except Honolulu Burger, to which we will always return).

We started out on Kauai, renting a cottage across from Baby Beach in Kapaa.

The first time in Hawaii we only spent 3 days on Kauai (on misguided advice) and soon realized there was way too much to see and do in such a short time. This time we stayed for a week. I think both of us agree that we would have been content to just spend our entire vacation there - we have found our happy place. Kauai is so laid back - not like Oahu's North Shore surfer culture, but more like a small town. It just fit us.

We biked, hiked, went sightseeing, and laughed at the rooster next door (we named him Milo) who crowed at 2am, 4am, 6am, and 3pm every day. He was covering all his bases. He and his family would hang out on our lawn in the afternoon and we'd feed them crackers.

The highlight of our vacation was when we took two dogs from the Kauai Humane Society out for a "field trip". You sign out the dogs, pay a deposit (in case you don't come back), and then you can take them hiking or to the beach - wherever dogs are allowed. They wear these cute, little "adopt me" vests so that the public knows they're available for adoption.

We signed out "Ethan", a lab/pitbull mix, and "Cassidy", a hound mix. They were best friends and bunkmates. We planned to take them hiking up Sleeping Giant - we wanted to make sure they got a good workout before they had to go back to their kennel. Ethan chewed on my arm the whole way there (the only way to keep him from chewing on everything else in the car), while Cassidy stared out the window and chilled. But she was just fooling us because as soon as Tom opened the back door to get them out she took off at full speed. It was a terrifying 10 minute sprint up the road - Tom being dragged by Ethan, me running in flip flops - finally cornering her in someone's backyard. It's always the quiet ones.

 

 

Once everyone was back under control we had a fantastic hike up the mountain. These were two really good dogs. They walked nicely together, let me take hundreds of pictures of them, and let me smother them with hugs and kisses. After the hike we still had time to kill before their curfew so we took them to the beach for a walk along the pathway.

 

 

 

 
They both fell asleep on the way back to the shelter. I think they had a good day. I fell madly in love with Ethan. Madly. Unfortunately, pitbulls and pitbull mixes are banned in Ontario so we couldn't bring him home. I'll admit I cried when we dropped them off, and a couple of times during the week. I've kept in contact and they are both living it up on the mainland - Ethan has been adopted and Cassidy is with a foster family. I'm sure Chloe was happy that we didn't bring home another dog - she (pretends she) doesn't even like Sasha.

So what can top that? Nothing can, but I still have lots to share with you.

We went for a doors-off helicopter tour across the island and up the Na Pali coast with Jack Harter Helicopters. I was really looking forward to this tour - until they gave us our seating assignments. They position you on the helicopter according to weight so that the machine stays balanced. I was the lightest (by just 1 pound!) so I was squished into the tiny middle seat between the pilot and another passenger who had done the tour just the day before. I had no view except the instrument panel and the front windshield.

 

 
I did manage to get a couple of good pictures by hanging my arm way over but I was pretty disappointed. I guess I should have eaten a bigger breakfast.

We drove around the entire island throughout the week. Staying halfway up the coast made it easy to go north one day and south the next.

The last time we were there we discovered Polihale Beach on the final day and only had the chance to stay for a half hour or so before the sun went down. This time we spent an afternoon there and had the whole beach - miles and miles - to ourselves. It was crazy windy that day - every nook and cranny ended up with sand in it. The waves were too high to swim in safely, but it was magical watching them pound against the Na Pali coastline.

After Kauai we flew to Molokai. Molokai is a tiny island that doesn't see as much tourist activity as the other islands - and they like it that way. There are no traffic lights, no big box stores or chain restaurants, just locally owned businesses and miles of rolling hills.

We stayed at a condo about 13 miles from town. Our view was of Maui in one direction and Lanai in the other. It was really beautiful.

 

We went snorkeling on Thanksgiving and ate our lunch on Murphy's Beach (20 Mile Beach). The water is very shallow and there is coral for miles. We followed fish around with the GoPro; we even saw a few eels.

 

 After a post-lunch nap we drove the twisty scenic road to Halawa Valley and back.

Molokai is most known for being the location of a former leprosy colony (Hansen's Disease) beginning in the 19th century. The sick were shipped to the Kalaupapa Peninsula and left to survive on their own. Father Damien, a Catholic priest, came to help them - building houses, arranging medical services, and administering the faith. He succumbed to the disease himself many years later. The peninsula is still inhabited today by a few former patients who have chosen to stay. We didn't have an opportunity to tour the town, but did drive to the lookout and got a sense of the isolation they experienced. Read here for a more in-depth history of the area and Father Damien.

 

While we were on the island there was a huge outrigger canoe race taking place, the Molokai Hoe. People come from all over the world to participate in the race from Molokai to Oahu, a minimum 5 hour journey through gigantic ocean waves. We were driving around on the west side of the island the day before the race and stumbled onto the starting point. I'm so glad we did - the sight of hundreds of outriggers ready to go was amazing. We didn't see the actual race - you had to be up and on the road by 4am to get there in time - but we did watch a bit on-line.

From Molokai we flew to Oahu for the final 5 days of our vacation. Straight from the airport we drove to the aforementioned Honolulu Burger for lunch. Huge burgers on sweet rolls and a mountain of garlic fries.

We had booked a cottage up in the hills east of Waikiki this time (Hawaii Kai). The owners have built the cottage up above their house, and it has a stunning view across Hawaii Kai to the ocean, and over to Koko Head Mountain. This cottage was amazing. Lots of windows, a huge deck with a hot tub, and did I mention the view?

The owners had a little dog named Mochi who would come visit and make herself at home. I came out of the bathroom one day and she was laying on her back on the living room rug, waiting to have her tummy rubbed. If you were sitting on the couch on the deck, she would hop up and snuggle in beside you. Then when she was bored she would run back down the steps to her house. Loved her.

We drove all the way around Oahu, but we've been there twice before so we just hit our favourite spots. The last time we were there we rented a cottage on the North Shore, so we went back to revisit the area.

 

Sadly, Hale'iwa (the main town) has changed a lot in 5 years - it's become more commercialized and touristy. We only stayed long enough for lunch - at Opal Thai. This restaurant is famous and the food was so, so good. Opel, the owner, does a little shtick getting you to name your favourite Thai dishes, then he takes the menus away from you and brings what he thinks you'll like. He was right though, we loved everything.

We always hike Diamond Head Trail when we're on Oahu, but this time we also hiked Koko Head Crater Trail. Diamond Head has plenty of switchbacks, handrails, and safety fencing.

 

This trail is completely different. It's an old railway line that goes straight up the mountain, nearly vertical at the top. No handrails, just wide open. I'm so glad I punished myself with hours on the Stairmaster before the trip, because this hike was hard.

Once you make it about halfway, across the railroad tie bridge (with a huge beehive on it), and the trail starts to get steeper, you have to stop for breath every 10-20 steps. And these aren't stair steps, they are 12 inch+ steps. Poor Tom was still recovering from a chest cold and had a hard time with it. But we both made it to the top. It's a 360 degree view of Honolulu, the ocean, and the northeast side of the island. Just breathtaking. The climb down was just as tough. You had to go sideways to keep from tipping forward, and you had to remember to keep switching sides to give your leg muscles a break. As achy as I was the next day, I loved it and can't wait to do it again someday.

The days just flew by, but we were starting to get homesick for the dogs, so it was nice to pack up for home. We've now visited 4 Hawaiian islands and have decided that Kauai is the place we want to return to as often as we can. We even have the daydream of retiring there in the future.

But for now it's back to reality - moving boxes, 9-5, and 6 months of winter every year.

Recessed Toilet Paper Holder (aka working with small spaces)

I've had some requests for more information on the recessed toilet paper holder we designed and installed in our ensuite bathroom, so I thought I'd try and put together a little tutorial rather than emailing everyone individually.

Back when we renovated our bathroom, we had to decide where the new toilet paper holder was going to go. Now that we had a sliding glass shower door we couldn't hang it beside the toilet like it was before. There were three options - 1) attach it to the side of the vanity, 2) have a free-standing holder on the floor, or 3) attach it to the wall across from the toilet.

The first choice was shot down because it was too close to the toilet and I didn't want holes drilled into the vanity anyway. The second choice didn't have a chance because Tom hates those holders that stand on the floor. Not to mention that it would be in the way whenever we were entering or exiting the shower. So that left mounting it across from the toilet. Tom was concerned that we would still bump into it since it would stick out from the wall and the room isn't that large anyway, so he decided he would build a box and inset it into the wall.

First we had to choose a toilet paper holder so that we would know how much space we needed for the holder and roll together. We wanted a holder that swung out a bit to accommodate any sized roll, and one that let you "reload" from one side. Once we had that we could build the box around it.

Below is a simple drawing of the dimensions of our box. You could of course modify it to suit your own needs. We used 1x6 boards, so the face of the box is 3/4" thick, but the rest of the board has been cut down behind to be slightly thinner. This gives a nice overhang around the edge that can be caulked so that it looks like a built-in.

Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of the box while it was being built and before I painted it. I have no idea why not. So I'll try to describe what was done to the best of my ability. Tom took a 1x6 board and using the table saw cut away part of the board, leaving a 3/4" inch lip along one side. Like this:

He cut the board down to 4" wide (the width of a roll of toilet paper) and then into 4 pieces - 2 at 16" long and 2 at 8" long. When you fit the pieces together to form a box you can see that a notch needs to be cut out at each end of the 16" boards so that they meet up with the 8" boards correctly, giving a frame around the entire box. Tom accidentally cut the notch a little too low so that the wood behind isn't flush, but the pieces do meet on the inside where it's important. The 4 boards were screwed together and the joints visible on the front were puttied.

A spare piece of 1x6 was cut down to 1x4x8 for the shelf in the middle. We used the toilet paper holder and a roll of toilet paper to determine the spacing above and below the shelf. The final step in construction was to add a back onto the box using a piece of plywood.

Once it was all puttied and sanded, I painted the inside and all around the outer frame with two coats of white primer and 3 coats of white semi-gloss paint to match the baseboards and trim. There was no need to paint the outside of the box as it wouldn't be visible once installed.

Now for the installation. You'll  need to determine where you want the unit to be. We centered it between the edge of the shower tile and the door frame at a height that was comfortable to reach when you're doing your business.

Tom held the box against the wall and traced the outline with a pencil, then cut out the drywall with a straight edge and utility knife, and made sure the box would slide through the opening. Make very sure you are only cutting the drywall and not through any electrical wiring or boxes! Also, if wiring needs to be re-routed, please make sure a qualified electrician does that for you.

We had wiring behind the wall that led to the lightswitch on the other side, but there was enough excess wire that we were able to push it up out of the way and secure it to the studs without having to alter anything.

Once the wiring was clear we had to determine how to attach the box securely. Since the spacing between studs is 12" and the box is only ~9" wide, we had to shim up the studs on both sides until they met the box. We just layered scrap pieces of wood, screwing them into the studs and then into each other until we had the right width. The box was then put in place and screwed into the shims from the inside using countersunk screws.

The last step was to attach the toilet roll holder to the underside of the shelf. The holder is mounted slightly forward of center so that there is enough clearance when the arm swings up to put a new roll on. A double roll will stick out slightly at the front when it's new.

I also puttied and painted the screw holes, and caulked the seams between the frame and the wall. You don't have to caulk the seams, but I like how it gives the project a finished look, and makes it seem like an original part of the room.

The toilet roll holder we chose was the Moen Preston model in brushed nickel.

Most of my favourite projects are designs that we came up with ourselves, and this one is near the top of the list. When you're working in small spaces you have to improvise sometimes. This solution for toilet paper supplies in a tiny ensuite bathroom really makes use of an otherwise unused space.

House News - Out In The Sticks Y'All

Wow, Fall has completely gotten away from me. It was early September one minute and then suddenly - boom! - it's mid-November.

Sooooo, all of the repairs and updates we were doing to the house at the end of August/beginning of September were because.....we're moving! We've bought a house out in the sticks - about 20 minutes from where we are now.

Here's the story - every week or so we would casually look around on Realtor.ca, just seeing what was out there. We've been wanting to move out of town for a long time, where we could have an acre or two for the dogs to run around on, and where Tom could have some space to play with his cars. The only thing holding us back was the price tag. Real estate prices are just out of control here. We could never find anything we liked that wasn't either far out of our budget or needed an enormous amount of work to be liveable.

We talked about it and decided that if we really wanted to move this year we would have to raise our upper spending limit. So we picked out 4 houses to look at that ranged from an acre to 27 acres and went on a tour one Sunday with our agent. We fell in love with the second house we looked at - a 3-bedroom raised bungalow on 15 acres. And the crazy thing was that it was within our budget - our original budget. I think it was meant to be.

My favourite feature is the deck - it runs the entire width of the house, so we'll be able to have multiple seating areas - covered and uncovered. We plan to install French doors off of the master bedroom (far right) and change up the sliders on the left to French doors as well. Eventually we may have a walk-out from the basement to the backyard.

Tom's excited because the property already has a concrete pad poured, ready for a shop to be built. We're going to extend the backyard lawn further out - closer to the shop - and plant a row of trees (cedar?) along the back edge to soften the view of the shop a bit. It will be part auto shop, with two bays and a hoist, and part woodworking shop, with room to get our DIY on. We're going to build it tall enough that we'll be able to have a loft above part of it for storage.

The property goes back another 3000 feet from the shop - there is a trail through the woods and several clearings.  I can't wait to take the dogs for walks back there. They love tromping through the forest, smelling the new smells and chasing each other. We even found a tree fort!

The house itself is in great shape - nothing needs to be done right away so we'll be able to take our time and plan our projects. I have so many ideas though. The basement is unfinished - I'm looking forward to having a blank slate to work with. I'll post photos of the inside once the current owner's belongings are no longer there.

It's on a nice, quiet road, just a few minutes from the highway. I'll have about a 30 minute drive to work, and we're only 20 minutes from the grocery store. It's going to be strange being back out in the country again, but it only took us a year or two of living in town to realize that we aren't urban people.

Once we finalized the offer on the new house, it was a mad scramble to get our house ready for market. Not that there was a lot that had to be done, we just wanted to present the best package we could. We have an awesome real estate agent - I can't believe the photos and the brochure she produced. It made our place look like a show home. We held off offers for a week, had over 50 showings (!), and ended up with eight offers. Madness. This was so different than our last selling experience where we listed for two months and only had two offers.

As soon as I take a break from packing (3 weeks to go!) I'll post a current house tour - it's amazing to look back on all of the changes we've made over the past six years.