Waipahu, HI

Yesterday, I went outside in my little fenced in courtyard to water my plants and tend to my little garden. LO AND BEHOLD! One of my orchids bloomed and had been obscure from sight...hiding behind another for who knows...possibly a day or two? I immediately scooped it up and rushed it inside the house to show Gary...and Shadow (lol...she really is interested in all we do) and snap the shot of a once a year bloom.

With soft form and shape

Bloom colors spoke in volumes

A whisper ... lest be late

The wonder of floral hue

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Have a wonderful Sunday....and an even better week!

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EDIT: After a question in a comment about what did Shadow think I thought to share with you all the wonder of the fauna with flora :) :) When I caught this shot I also noticed that maybe there was some smell. I took a deep whiff and lo and behold my sensors were working! I have no idea what happened when I sniffed yesterday.

Moral: If you stop to smell the flowers and there is no smell....try try again ....lol!

WHAT A FAMILY VACATION! I have been on a plane before, but for some reason for this vacation my body just didn't enjoy the plane ride, the car ride, and being up on top of Mauna Kea. I have never experienced motion sickness like this before. Once I got off the plane and got my composure back I was fine. My family and I enjoyed the views, the beaches, the hotels, and the wonderful majestic mountains. It is so different from the island of Oahu. If you would like to experience the beauty of untouched land, with spectacular views of the ocean, and lava, the Big Island would be the best place to visit. It was a relaxing vacation just seeing God's beautiful creations. We had spent a week in Kona and we didn't get to enjoy Hilo town. We took pleasure in visiting different hotels like the Hilton Waikoloa where we got to see dolphins, waterfalls, took a ride on a boat and their tram which takes you around the property, and we walked across a bridge. The drive to the top of Mauna Kea to see snow was an adventure. Driving through Saddle road was a little scary if you are not familiar with the road, I would not suggest anyone to drive through that especially if there is fog. It got colder as we got higher atop the mountain. We had 2 bags of chips in the car and the higher we drove the bag of chips got bigger. By the time we reached the top one of the bags of chips popped open. There was a visitor center that we stopped at before reaching the top and didn't notice a sign with warnings on them. If we read it before driving up, I don't think that I would have freaked out the way I did when I felt like I was ready to pass out. I felt dizzy, and had a hard time breathing. Well as the warning sign states as you go higher you might feel these symptoms due to the altitude. Lesson learned, but it was the hard way. I'm just glad that I was okay by the time we went back down. We look forward to going back, and hopefully I don't suffer from motion sickness again.

The amazing youngsters from Hawaii are the 2008 Little League World Series Champions!

How could they top the amazing game on Saturday where they entered the last inning down 5-1 to lake Charles, Louisiana. The Hawaii team then put on a hitting clinic with a six run rally to win 7-5. I was jumping out of my chair cheering. It was better than watching the Olympics.

Well they found a way top that by beating Mexico 12-3 in the final game. Good pitching and great hitting made the difference for them in the series.

There were many great moments in the series. The one we will all remember was in the game against Mill Creek, Washington when Lolani Akau pinch hit a home run. What made this amazing was he got hit by a pitch in the opening game and had a fracture in his elbow. He will have stories to tell his grandchildren about that amazing home run.

We are all so proud of the team for not only winning but by showing wonderful sportsmanship throughout the tournament and representing Hawaii so proudly.

Congratulations to the team, the coaches and the parents for doing such a wonderful job of preparing these terrific young men.

**For those who didn't know our Hawaii team from Ewa Beach won the Little League World Series in 2005.

It's kind of hard to get a clear video while driving along (and driving) in a neighborhood....unless someone else is driving. Then again, you get a side view of the neighborhood if someone else is driving and you're the passenger. Maybe I just need to get a car with a sun roof so I can stand up and take a video. Then again, I think that's illegal.

Click It Or Ticket!  The Honolulu Police Department commercials scream....stressing that everyone needs to be buckled in the car for their safety or else you get a hefty ticket.

So....Baby You Can Drive My Car is the theme of my Waikele Neighborhood Video. I didn't talk (except at the end) and just listened to my music (Man on the Moon) while driving to pick up a client. (I was not going to embarrass myself and sing for you all ....like I usually do...with my windows up so I don't cause an accident for people passing by lol)

 

Anyway, the Waikele neighborhood is across the highway from Waipio Gentry and about 10 minutes from Mililani Town and started building in 1991 with only TWO townhouse complexes. It has grown to 9 single family and 12 townhome communities.

Following is the Waikele Market Report for townhouses and single family homes for the last six months to present:

Waikele- Townhomes	# Active	# In Escrow	# Sold	DOM	Average Sales $
2 bdrm	29	12	34	40	$285,000 to $515,000
3 bdrm	6	3	2	59	$412,500 to $543,000
Waikele- Single Family	# Active	# In Escrow	# Sold	DOM	Average Sales $
3 bdrm/2.5 ba (1300-1475 sq.ft)	10	3	14	63	$530,000 to $815,000
4 bdrm/3 ba (1500-2000 sq.ft.)	7	0	7	58	$590,000 to $830,000

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It's not easy moving across the Pacific Ocean and purchasing your Hawaii Home;

let alone to a totally different "world" of people.

But you can do it with a little effort, motivation and a great Realtor®!

If you're Relocating to Hawaii (regardless if it's near future or just wanting to be proactive for the future) contact me to get started with your search for Hawaii Homes for Sale.

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Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman is a Realtor-Associate with Century 21 Liberty Homes in Mililani, Hawaii. With a sharp understanding that a listening ear is the key to a client's needs she serves the island of Oahu (Honolulu County) and all Hawaii Military Relocating to Hawaii, Hawaii Retirees, Hawaii Job Transfers and Hawaii Residents. Website: www.hawaiihomesmarket.com

© 2008 Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman, All rights reserved.

Relocating to Hawaii? Military Relocations & PCS'ing to Hawaii? It's not as easy moving to an island out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The articles I have written will give you a better idea of the neighorhoods, culture and housing situation and following are a couple of other articles that you may find useful as well.

The Art of Hawaii Relocations

*Across the Ocean to Paradise: Military Relocations Hawaii*

In Waipio Gentry, Oahu, Hawaii we have a population of a little over 11,000 residents. Though I work in Mililani I now reside in Waipio Gentry which is immediately south of Mililani and immediately east of Waikele.

Besides all the Waipio Gentry residential homes & condos and the industrial/commercial areas we also have a huge Costco Store, Car sales and several strip malls and a shopping center to serve our community.

Across Kamehameha Highway is the Patsy Mink Central Oahu Regional Park which was renamed last August 2007 for the late civil rights councilwoman Patsy Mink who passed away in 2002. This huge 269 acre park has walking paths, 20 court tennis center, 4 youth baseball diamonds, 4 regulation sized baseball diamonds, 4 diamond softball complex and the Veteran's Memorial Aquatic Center.

Personally? We run around the park once in awhile) with our poochie or else we go there for picnics. A couple of years ago we had a 2nd Year Birthday party for the program I volunteered for and you can have huge holiday barbeques if you like.

Directions to the Central Oahu Park:

Take H-1 to H-2 freeway west bound towards Wahiawa
Exit 2 at Ka Uka Blvd.
Turn left at the first traffic light after exiting.
Stay on Ka Uka Blvd. until you reach Kamehameha Hwy.
Go straight through the traffic light into park.

The market in Hawaii differs by neighborhood...and that is a fact. In Hawaii Relocations: The Mililani Community on Oahu, Hawaii I showed you the market stats since December of last year until present. It showed quite a bit of inventory although the days on the market and prices did not fluctuate a lot.

In Waipio Gentry the following statistics for single family dwellings and condo/townhouses differ a little more from the Mililani area as this community is quite a bit smaller for one thing. For another the building stopped many years ago so there are less single family homes for sale.

Single Family
	# Active 6 mos.	# In Escrow 6 mos	# Sold Last 6 mos/ 1 mo	DOM 6 mos / 1 mo	Average Sale $ 6 mos / 1 mo
Waipio Gentry	7	2	20 / 4	60 / 56	$594,850 /$579,250
Condos
	# Active	# In Escrow	# Sold Last 6 mos /1 mo.	DOM 6 mos / 1 mo	Average Sales Price 6 mos / 1 mo
Waipio Gentry	25	10	51 / 8	48 / 98	$274, 014 /$257,125

It's not easy moving across the Pacific Ocean let alone to a totally different "world" of people but you can do it with effort, motivation and a great Realtor®!

More Hawaii Relocation info:

• The Cost of Living Factor in Considering A Hawaii Relocation
• Oahu and Surrounding Neighborhood Search: Relocations Hawaii

Giving you the Spirit of Aloha in the Hawaii Real Estate Industry!

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Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman is a Realtor-Associate with Century 21 Liberty Homes in Mililani, Hawaii. With a sharp understanding that a listening ear is the key to a client's needs she serves the island of Oahu (Honolulu County) and all Hawaii Military Relocating to Hawaii, Hawaii Retirees, Hawaii Job Transfers and Hawaii Residents. Website: www.hawaiihomesmarket.com