How to Escape from Paradise during a Pandemic, Part 1

When this is the view from your porch, few people understand why you would leave...

But, the snapshot is never the whole story, is it?  (I'm looking at you, Instagram.)

As many of you already know, we moved to the Big Island of Hawaii in January 2019 with the ultimate goal of me restarting the little eco-snorkel company I had run briefly in Key West way back in 2008.  We had debated between the Big Island versus Maui, as the best island for us... and, in the end (after finally taking a trip to Maui this February), I think we chose poorly.  :(

 Oh, Maui-- the whales!  the turtles!

 Turn up your volume to hear the whale mating party... and maybe look away from my shaky camera work!

But, Maui might not have done us any better, since the entire state of Hawaii has clamped down on the number of new ocean recreational tour operator permits it is issuing.  As in, down to ZERO.   No new permits.  Still, before the pandemic hit, we were thinking of just moving one island over, to try again on Maui, since it felt like a better fit and there were guided beach snorkel companies I could have at least worked for...

But, then the pandemic hit.

Quickly, in late March, we were both furloughed, when the state temporarily revoked all the ocean recreation tour operators' permits.  The governor also issued a stay-at-home order, plus a 14-day mandatory quarantine for arriving visitors, and Hawaii began its march into a deep recession (possibly depression) that is going to persist for quite a while.

Maui suddenly dropped off the list of possible options we could explore.  Hawaii has taken the lead in unemployment claims in the U.S., with about 35% of workers unemployed across the state.  The entire tourism industry is at a standstill, and the forecast is pretty bleak about when things might get back to normal:

So, we have decided it's time to call it quits on the Hawaii experiment, and come on home to Florida.  You would think we could just book the flights, ship the cars and the stuff, and be back in no time.  Ah, but not in a pandemic!

We had a grand new plan of shipping all the stuff via air cargo-- so much easier and cost-effective than any other option!  That plan vaporized, as Hawaii's 14-day mandatory visitor quarantine has forced airlines to scale down flight schedules, leaving the Big Island, Maui, and Kauai with NO flights to the mainland through the end of May!

So, fine.  No air cargo option.  We sat and fretted on that for a couple days, before I started exploring other shipping options.  There is just no way we are going to take 19 checked boxes on the plane again, like we did on the way here.

In the end, UPS is going to be our unlikely savior!  I set up a shipping account with them, and it looks like we will be able to ship the bulk of our stuff (without breaking the bank completely) right to Diana and Mike's front porch.  The best part is that we can ship as we get things boxed, so we don't even have to do it all in one giant load.

So, that is how we will get the stuff moved back to Florida.  The cars will go via Matson container ship, from Hilo to the West Coast... but then we'll have to fly back from Florida to drive them the rest of the way.  Yes, we are doing that.  It is worth around $2K per vehicle for us to do it, rather than ship them overland to Florida!  And you know we love a road trip!  ;)

So, the only puzzle piece left in the move is how to get ourselves and the cats from the Big Island to Florida.  And, ah, there's the rub...

Up Next: How to Escape from Paradise during a Pandemic, Part 2