Hale Sweet Hale Part I

At a coffee yesterday for our neighborhood, our conversations ebbed and flowed, but one thing kept popping back into my brain....three months have gone by in our litte humble hale. It seems like I ranted forever ago about moving into this house as we struggled to manage living in the Navy Lodge for a month and a half. I remember blogging how excited we were and how lucky we felt to be offered this new hale (home in Hawaiian) and I posted a picture or two for you to see.

What I haven't done is really shown you where we live. At times, this can be the best place and at the worst of times, we feel lucky to be surrounded by a good neighborhood full of friendly military faces and kiddos zooming around on bikes that form the posse' of friends for HS. The bridge leading onto Ford Island is my refuge. This side of the island is very crowded, but that bridge leads me home, to a quieter, less rowdy, and certainly what we now consider "hale sweet hale".

Let's first take a look at where our hale is located, at the very tip of historic Ford Island. You can't hear that name without remembering that during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Ford Island was the epicenter of the Japanese kamikaze missions. Battleship row lined the left hand side and more lined the right. Catalina's made up the planes that were using the airfield located down the center of the tiny island (now since left to the historic society). Our housing community, Ford Island Landing, is so new, that it is almost impossible to find a picture of the island. Below, you'll see a yellow spot. That is the approximate location of our place.



A few other little tidbits about the island (gathered from Wikipedia):

Ford Island is obviously...tiny. Officially, we can boast that we live on 1.83 km² (0.707 sq mi) of land. The ancient Hawaiians once called this island Mokuumeume—the isle of attraction until is recieved it's current name in honour of a Doctor from Boston (how fitting for a family in love with Ba-ston). Dr. Seth Ford practiced at the Hawaiian Insane Asylum (also fitting for a crazy like me) and the Marine Hospital. In 1964, the island was registerd as a National Historic Landmark and in 1976 was listed on the National Resgister of Historic Places. (Now's when you say "ooooohhhhhhhh"). If you are a big movie nut, In Harm's Way, Tora!, Tora!, Tora!, and Pearl Harbor were all filmed using bits and pieces of Ford Island. Finally, one of my favorite little known facts, the Army purchased this little piece of land for a mere $236,000during World War I. This amazes me since that amount may get you a home on the mainland, but that price won't get you even a trashed cottage on Oahu!

OK...now you've got the jist of Ford Island, or Mokumeume (try saying that three times!). Now onto our hale.

Ford Island Landing is a community designated for 01-03 for the majority of the housing. However, 04-06 occupy a small half circle of homes right near the water. Lucky we are...we are now in what Forest City, the company owning and operating the housing for the navy, refers to as the "new marquee senior officer community on the south shores of historic Ford Island." ("aaaaaahhhhhh" you say). Yes, HH reminds me almost daily that he has indeed finally made it to a newer level in the officer world. Yep, I would say so judging from where our home is located, and the mere fact that it is brand spanking new. If you are accustomed to living in something more than 2,000 square feet, then you are going to laugh when I say we feel happy that our house is a nice 3bdrm, stand alone, with a two car garage and side yard. Sounds awesome...now is where you'll die laughing since remember, we really feel like we've "moved up in the world". Take a look at our floorplan:



Yes, your eyes are sending the correct information to your brain. Our little hale is only 1771 square feet. It may not be as big we dream our future house will be, but what it lacks for in size, it makes up for in how happy we are to call it our home. The location can't be beat and our neighbors are just to sweet. Our street's namesake is for a type of aircraft that once new the pavement here better than our little troopers who now run, bike, and play daily on the tarmac that these great planes once landed on.



Next blog, I'll share the inside views of the house and give you a glimpse into what our neighborhood looks like.