I arrived here truly exhausted with months worth of building To Do’s that had been shelved in order to handle other priorities.  Unfortunately, knocking those To Do’s off is what these last two weeks have been all about (a lot of computer and phone time).  It’s not the most appealing end of my work, but it has also been a bit of a blessing.

While taking care of the items I mentioned, I have had the time to catch up with family, catch up on sleep and make the contacts necessary to pull off a whole lot of shooting in the coming weeks.  It is a usual transition, and one I make every few months when I go to a new area with new people, but the biggest adjustment this time around has been getting used to the heat.

            Unseasonal weather tends to follow me wherever I go, so it is no big surprise that the normally very comfortable Trade Winds stopped upon my Hawaiian arrival and still haven’t quite made their comeback.  Hot, still and muggy, my first thought was, “Oh man, what have I gotten myself into.”

            That probably sounds ridiculous to most people, but I am just used to higher latitude (and higher altitude) weather patterns.  I am also used to seasons, and my body was already gearing up for winter.

            In no way am I complaining, just explaining the adjustment.

            Otherwise, life on my brother’s sailboat is pretty nice.  I have my own bunk, but choose to sleep and work up on deck.  In a way, it is like taking a step back to my childhood spent camping and exploring on a 33 ft Chris Craft.

            I had a bunk in that boat too, but always slept out in the cockpit because it just felt better to be outside.  That coupled with the sounds of the water against the boat and the associated rocking is just too nice.

I am also really enjoying the fact that I do not have to worry about finding somewhere to park the van every night.  That is one aspect of the routine that has been nice to get a break from, but it has also given me a heightened sense for picking out other folks doing the same thing.  Knowing the van dweller’s approach, I have noticed a huge amount of people out here who are apparently very successful at it.

I just can’t get over how blatantly obvious some folks are with it here:  sleeping with the doors open, windows down and feet hanging out in the breeze.  I understand it is too hot to do it any other way, but I know I would be given the full shake-down if I tried to pull that off in random parking lots on the mainland.  Ah well, more power to them.

On the van dwelling note, I have also been interviewed for a two part series on a new website devoted to people who live and work unconventionally (www.livecollarfree.com).  It is a great new website and has already connected me with a few other people who have chosen a similar life.