About the Lodge

Hi, Ya’ll. My name is John and I will be filling you in today because our Wordsmith is busy closing out her previous work commitments. If this is the first time you are visiting us WELCOME, if you are returning for another look, WELCOME BACK!!!
We are a small closely knit family who have lived the past 28+ years in the shadow of our Nations Capitol, Washington, D.C.. When Myrna and I were first married, nearly 31 years ago, we had a dream of opening and running a B+B in West Virginia. After a few years we figured out how much it would cost to start such an enterprise and so began the long haul.
About 8 to 9 years ago my Mother decided that she was going to live out her life in Reno, Nevada, and that she no longer wanted the cost of upkeep on her property in Hawai’i. She called me and asked if I was interested in owning the 2 acre property in Ocean View with the stipulation that I not just sell it for the money it was worth at the time. I offered to buy them from her, however her response was that she wanted to give them to me outright so she could stop paying the tax and road use fees. I relented and after almost 2 years of work they were transferred into my name.
In 2002 Myrna and I flew out to Hawai’i to visit and survey what our property looked like. We were accompanied by our friend and colleague Leslie Hale and we camped in tents on the property for 2 weeks. This visit was to cement our desire to move there and spend what is left of our lives working and playing in Hawai’i.
We are working like Beavers building a Dam in our efforts to bridge the gap between Maryland and Hawai’i, so we can come and start a new chapter in our lives. We are e-mailing with our friends there who are helping us meet new contacts and start the building process which we hope will begin some time this Fall. I will post more here as I find time, which means a little each day.
I am happy to say we have contacts for bringing Solar Power to the Lodge and that we are exploring the possibility of using Composting Toilets (which is my first choice), both for the environmental considerations as well as the humus produced. Check www.biolet.com if you are interested in seeing what a modern composting toilet looks like. We plan on having a T-1 brought in so our visitors will be able to surf the web in style and it will complement our Rustic/High Tech establishment.
Ah, my time is over and I will turn you over to the chief.
Mahalo

Our Story
By Myrna Nay

Chapter One: The Dream

For as long as we have been married, John and I have dreamed of having a small buiness of our own. At first, we thought about a Mom & Pop restaurant after stopping at a funky little cafe on the Monterey Coast. Later, we talked about a Bed & Breakfast in scenic West Virginia. Unfortunately, we didn't have the financial ability to make our dream a reality.

Well the years galloped by as we put ourselves through college and pursued careers. Before we knew it, our son Simon, was a grown man with a home of his own. We had reached a turning point in our lives. Although Washington, DC is a facinating city to live and work in, we were getting restless. Was this all there was to life?

In 1999, John's mom, Rozann Logan, asked him if he would like to have 2 acres of land on the Big Island of Hawai'i. She had bought the property many years ago with the plan of retiring there, but decided to settle in Reno NV instead. Needless to say, we enthusiastically said yes!

Now the dream resurfaced with a definite location. A lodge in Hawai'i became our early retirement goal, but we still thought our dream was 10 to 15 years away. Once we paid off our current mortgage, we could afford to move out there. We just weren't satisfied. We refinanced our mortgage to bring the years down to 5-10.

Post 9-11, the Washington, DC area changed. Not only was it spreading, creating urban sprawl from mid-Virginia to the Pennsylvania border, but it was changing in flavor too. Always colorful, with it's politics, protests and international flair, DC began to feel unsafe to us. We heard about gang shootings, serial arsonists and snipers on the nightly news. Our city went from Code Yellow to Code Orange, with city block wide security shut downs on a regular basis. As we watched the housing developments spring up where open fields and lush woodlands were before, we started to feel crowded. Traffic was horrendous!

In January 2005, it came to head. Although John was doing well dealing fossils and atiquities on E-Bay, the contract work at The Smithsonian had dried up. Trying to find a job in the environmental field was a joke! Always thinking, John noticed that houses in our area were selling quickly. We were getting a lot of mail from real estate agents wanting to sell our home for us. He decided to have it appraised, and much to our surprise, found out we could pay off our mortgage and build in Hawai'i too. This changed our prospects tremendously!

Always a close-knit family, we immediately thought of our son. Maybe Simon and his girlfriend Gretchen would consider going with us. Over dinner with them, we talked and planned. It had snowed recently and the roads were still icey. The cold was causing my arthritic joints to ache in sympathy with Simon's fibromyalgic knees. The time was now and the plan started to crystalize. Simon was also looking for a change. Unfulfilled in his job, he wanted to branch out on his own professionally. Both the family business aspects and the ever warm climate appealed to him. As for Gretchen, she said, "Let's see. Living with the person I love. Working in my chosen field with people I really like. All this in paradise? Sounds like a no-brainer to me!"

Next we wanted to get my mother, Yoshie, on board. If she didn't come with us, none of us would feel right about going! Even though she is in good health and active, she is getting older and we want to take care of her. Although I had mentioned wanting to take her with us when we went to Hawai'i, it was always a casual conversation. We asked her over for dinner and presented the family business proposal to her, which was firming up rapidly. Not only did she say yes, she talked about how she always thought family businesses were a good idea. The closeness and trust is already there. You all work together towards a common goal. When we mentioned that it was a little bit of a stretch, she captured it perfectly by saying, "You know, sometimes you see a perfect plum on a tree, but you can't quite reach it. That is when you have to jump!"

Wow! Talk about exciting times. When we get together, which is frequently, we can't seem to speak fast enough. The ideas fly back and forth. All of the friends and co-workers we tell are excited for us and overwhelmingly supportive. We have volunteers for free labor and room reservations already.

Oftimes, it is difficult to stay focused on daily activites with so much to think about. My heart is full these days with all my life-long dreams coming true. Although we will miss our friends here in Washington, DC, I am sure they will be our guests when the lodge opens. To work for and with my family everyday. To be able to create good food and a comfortable environment for our guests. To be able to write all the stories of Bela Luna and it's brave adventurers, that are in bits and pieces and in my head. This is what I have always wanted.

The most wonderful part of all is my mother's reaction. Always working and on the go, retirement, at 75, came hard for her. It worried us to watch her grow frail and tired. Yoshie talked about how all her friends were either dead or in nursing homes. She stopped going to Japan each year, saying it was too physically stressful. For the first time in her life, she didn't have a schedule to keep and something to do each day. I was sadly watching her grow old. I almost cried when I saw her reaction to our proposal for a family business. Excitement caused years to come off her face in front of my eyes! She doesn't take naps in the afternoon thses days, she is too busy packing and planning. My mother calls regularly with lists of useful tips and suggestions. John, Simon, Gretchen and I almost dance with glee to see Yoshie so revitalized. She has stated that her goal is to keep house for herself until she is at least 93, like her mother did. As I said, my heart is full of joy.

Chapter 2
The Plan
By Myrna Nay

Now that we had decided to make the move to Hawai’i, we had to have a game plan. How to sell three houses in Maryland and re-locate six people, four cats and three vehicles to the Big Island? Needless to say, it was a logistical challenge.

Six people? The observant would say they only counted five people when reading "The Dream"?. Who is the sixth? Allan Bensimon, a long time family friend, has joined the NayStation team. He was looking for a change now that both his parents have passed away and as an only child, he no longer had any strong ties in the Washington, DC area. It seemed provident that he join the big move and we offered him room and board to help us build. With an $800 dollar a month inheritance to give him spending money, he said that would be fine.

After hours of discussion, many meetings, and a lot of research via phone and internet, the plan evolved. We couldn’t all go out there right away. A campsite is not the place for pampered indoor cats or an eighty year old woman. We couldn’t take Yoshie and the kitties out to Hawai’i until there was a building to move them into.

Therefore, it was decided that John, Simon and Allan would go build the lodge, while Gretchen and I stayed in Maryland with Yoshie and the cats. We would continue to work and stockpile funds until the first building was up. This would also give Simon the opportunity to start marketing his business right away. Although none of us liked the idea of being apart for so long, it seemed the most practical approach.

Simon was the first to sell his house and quit his job. His friend Sam, the real estate agent who had helped him purchase his home in the first place, was interested in buying the house to use as a rental for now and to occupy later herself. This was quickly accomplished, allowing Simon access to badly needed "liquid funds"? to start the ball rolling in Hawai’i. It also enabled him to focus entirely on the move. Sam’s ongoing support of Simon and Gretchen is phenomenal! The house was sold to her and the funds transferred to Simon while they were still packing and painting, even though she was not able to rent it out yet. Sam and her husband Harry, are graciously hosting Gretchen and her two cats, Onyx and Pandora, until it is time for the rest of us to go.

Meanwhile, Allan moved in with John and I, not only to conserve his money, but to assist with the "sprucing up"? of our house to make it more marketable. The months of June and July were a whirlwind of painting, repairing and packing. I joked about how our house looked better now than it ever did while we were living there. New paint and floor coverings can create a bright, fresh look that appeals to home buyers.

We filled a 45-foot long shipping container, wall-to-wall, ceiling-to floor, with the furnishings from Simon and Gretchen’s house,and John and my house. We even packed a full-sized Ford pickup truck in there! It took ten days and a lot of sweat, bruises and cursing, but we got it done and on it’s way.

Next, we moved me and our two cats, Lester and Tina, into my mother’s house with the pile of boxes and furniture that just wouldn’t fit into the container. We finalized the sale of our house and John left on a plane to Hawai’i with his prized orchids in his carry-on luggage. The saga of the orchids is another story unto itself. They are currently in quarantine until the end of September. Meanwhile, Simon and Allan drove the new Toyota pickup truck out to Long Beach, CA to put in on a ship going to the islands. They flew out from California and arrived in Hawai’i five days after John.

The frustrations, roadblocks and snafus we encountered during this endeavor were numerous. Some days, we felt that Murphy (you know him, he’s the guy who like to see things go wrong) was out there gunning for us. The deposit check for Thad, our project coordinator, got lost in the mail, leading him to think his preliminary work was for naught as he started to throw away our file in anger. A torn groin muscle landed John in the Emergency Room for a day and put him out of commission for a week just when the labor was most intensive. Allan’s funds were frozen in probate court after his mother passed away. The brake line ripped loose while the truck was being loaded for shipping pouring fluid out on the floor of the container. I could go on, but I would rather focus on the positive results we have achieved thus far. With the help and support of wonderful friends, we have completed what I refer to as Phase One. I would especially like to thank the Hoffman family for donating their time and labor when they could have been doing many more fun things than loading furniture in 100 degree weather.

The days are long for those of us waiting in Maryland and filled with hard work for those already in Hawai’i. We all miss each other very much and talk on the phone constantly. Phase Two is building the lodge so we can all be together. The team works towards this goal everyday.

Chapter 3
The Long Hard Winter and Our Spring of Renewal
By Myrna Nay

I know it has been a long time since I have added to our saga. I wanted to wait until our spirits were high again so I could write on a positive note. If I had written in early January, it would have sounded very depressed.

Everything started out just fine. They guys got set up in Hawai’i and those of us still in Maryland settled into new routines. T-Mobile’s family and friends plan got a daily workout by all.

If you have been following the construction pictorial sequence on this website, you will know that we started out in August with the bulldozers and created the driveways and pads. Then the footers were placed and the frames for the concrete piers were built.

The problems started at the end of September. The first sets of building plans were rejected and we had to fire the draftsperson. Then our carpenter proved unwilling to work cohesively with us so he had to be replaced. Meanwhile we had resubmitted our building plans but the rapid growth in our area had backed up the process immensely. We started the LONG wait. We could not continue building until the plans were approved and the concrete base structure was inspected. Each week our hopes went up that this would be the week that the inspector would get to our papers in his stack. Each Friday our spirits flagged because he didn’t call. A week before Christmas, our project coordinator decided he wanted to work on other projects and quit. John had to take over the permitting process as an “owner-builder” with little notice.

Needless to say, it was a very lonely holiday season. We did have a brief respite in early November when Gretchen and I flew out to spend a fun filled 5 days with the boys. It had become apparent that we were not going to be able to be together until spring, so we splurged on tickets and hopped on a plane. It was well worth the expense for the emotional recharge the visit provided us all.

During the months of waiting, time was not wasted. The gardens, rock walls and paths were created and the grounds look beautiful. As our family gardener, John is heard to exclaim frequently and happily “Just add water and everything grows here!” Our guests will have a wide variety of beautiful flowers to enjoy year round.

Finally, on January 17th, three and a half months later, our plans were approved. Joyous dancing was taking place coast to coast that day! We could build again! Hammers were flying and the guys were making visible progress daily. Gretchen and I watched the website avidly.

Meanwhile, I finished up my 17 year profession in medical staffing and turned my attention to the myriad of tasks needed to help my mother pack up and sell her historic house in Takoma Park. I also shopped for furnishings for the lodge and made arrangements for the next shipping container. This was a lot more complicated than the first one because my mother’s house was on a highway and we could not park the container in front of it. John came back to Maryland in mid-February to load furniture, tools, household goods and our Mercedes-Benz into the shipping container. Simon went back to get Gretchen and their cats directly afterwards.

Taking cats (or any other pet) to Hawai’i is a challenge all unto itself. If you ever decide to try it, read the website carefully! You must have a record of two rabies vaccinations with the most recent done MORE than 90 days before arriving in the islands. Your cat must be microchipped and then have their blood drawn. The blood must be sent to a special laboratory in Kansas. If the rabies antibody titer comes back positive, you must then wait another 120 days to take them to Hawai’i. You must also have a health certificate including a flea and tick treatment done no more than 10 days before arriving. Sound complicated? It is and it ends up costing about $1000 per cat. Boy we must love those furry little critters! This doesn’t even go into the airline kennel requirements and the mile long walk with luggage at the Honolulu airport to pick them up from the animal quarantine office.

Did I mention rain? We were told than this area of the big island is very dry and gets an average of only 14 inches of rain per year. Most of this rain happens in December and January. Well this year, it didn’t rain in the winter. It waited until 3 weeks after we got our permit and started to rain every day. This went on for 8 weeks. The day would start out sunny but by noon the clouds rolled in. It was a constant battle against the moisture. Painting was done early and somedays it would get a chance to dry and somedays it would wash away into the ground and we would have to repaint. A fortune has been spent on tarps trying to keep lumber and our possessions dry. We have already received over 30 inches of rain this year and have been know to yell obscenities at the sky as the water would start to fall.

All in all, we are doing well now since we are together here in Hawai’i. Yoshie initially went on to Japan, after a week stop over to see everybody, to attend her sister’s funeral. She is currently house-sitting for a friend of ours, just four blocks down the street. The roof is going up and we can start to see light at the end of the tunnel. The weather has decided cooperate with some nice sunny days. The winds make working on the roof a hazard at times but we have tangible progress daily. We are all healthy, tanned and doing well. We are blessed with two dedicated workers. One is Archie, our carpenter and building mentor, and the other is JR, our gentle giant muscle man. We will soon be living in our first house build by our hands with our blood, sweat and tears (Literally!).
Life is good.

Chapter 4
Progress and Changes
By Myrna Nay

Like all large projects in life, this one is taking longer and costing more than originally anticipated. Electrical wiring alone costs three times a much as it did a year ago! Lumber, drywall, plumbing, etc. – has all gone up over the past 12 months due to a local building boom and gas price increases worldwide. We have also discovered that most companies do not consider Hawai’i a part of the United States. Even the Federal Credit Union required international paperwork for a wire transfer of funds. We now understand why some people here feel this state (and Alaska) is treated like a “step child”. Getting supplies shipped from the mainland has been a real challenge.
Despite many obstacles, we are very near completion. We have passed our septic, plumbing, electric, solar and framing inspections. Each of these inspections were preceded by nervous anticipation and followed by joyous celebration. We are working on drywall now and only have flooring to go afterwards. We are now hoping to have Thanksgiving dinner in our new home!
Yoshie continues to live in a rental house nearby and has purchased a new car since nothing is in walking distance when you live in a rural community. She is enjoying all the Japanese food that is readily available here in Hawai’i. We all continue to be in good health due to clean air and water, pure foods, hard work and country living.
As you see by the website pictures, progress is going well. Unfortunately changes have happened too. Our beautiful laughing dog, Loki, died recently and we created a cairn for her remains. We were all shocked and heart broken to loose her cheerful companionship. The even bigger change is Simon and Gretchen’s decision to return to the mainland. The Big Island does not have the employment opportunities Simon desires. Being an independent contractor to many small businesses has not proved to be to his liking. They also miss the amenities offered by big city living. Gretchen has already returned to the Pittsburgh area and Simon will be leaving at the end of October. This has been emotionally difficult for all of us but they are keeping their two acres of land in anticipation of returning in the future. This has caused us to rapidly reassign duties but with team work, all things are possible. We shall miss them immensely and will look forward to yearly visits.
December 19th, 2006 Allan decided to leave our team and has moved on to other places, we wish him well. This means that John and I must fill all of the jobs here. We are working 7 days a week to get to the finish line.
Watch for Chapter 5 which will be titled “The Grand Opening”!

Chapter Five: A Spring Update
By Myrna Nay

Although I had hoped that this chapter would be titled the grand opening, we are not quite done. I wanted to give an update for those of you that are following the NayStation saga.

It is spring on the Big Island and everything is blooming. We are tickled pink to see our fruit trees coming alive with blossoms and fruit! We are going to have plums, apples, peaches, nectarines and figs at the very least this year. This is truely a gardener's paradise.

With only John and I left, the work goes a little slower but we make progress every day. Happily, we were able to move ourselves and the cats into the house at the beginning of the year, therefore, we are sleeping much more comfortably theses days. This experience has done much to remind me of what is really important in life. Good health, someone to love, hot showers, hot meals, a soft dry bed under a roof...the basics. It may sound silly but sometimes we lose sight of these things in our quest for careers and bigger and better material possessions. I find I do not miss the big city at all and experience great pleasure in celebrating our daily accomplishments.

We do have some new additions to the NayStation team. Ginger is now the family baby. After our dearly loved dog Loki died, Mele, the surviving dog went into a deep depression. She didn't want to eat, play or be petted. We were very concerned. Meanwhile, our friend and neighbor, Patrick, started to work with us 2-3 days a week since he has experience with drywall, tiling and flooring (our current areas of building). Patrick and his partner, Wendy have several dogs including a son and daughter of Mele's. Patrick started to bring Ginger (one of Mele's daughters - she has had 3 litters and her children are well loved in many homes in Ocean View) with him during the day. It was just what the doctor ordered! Ginger came to stay permanently and they are now the dynamic duo. Mele again lives up to her name which means merry in Hawaiian. You can see pictures of our girls on the website under The Staff.

Speaking of the website.... Our hosting server company was attacked by a trojan horse virus (you will have to ask John or Simon if you want techie details) and we have had rebuild from scratch. We hope you like the new look and apologize for being off line for so long. No, we were not overrun by lava!

As far as building progress is concerned, we can really see the end now. All 5 bathrooms are complete - drywall, flooring, paint, trim, fixtures, lights, etc. 3 of the 5 bedrooms and the laundry room are finished. The tiling in the 2 showers is finished. We would like to complement Patrick for how great they look. The kitchen! My dream kitchen is growing before my eyes. John seems to have a previously undiscovered talent for tiling. The counters he is creating are just gorgeous! Make sure you take a look at the pictures. I am so excited to see a kitchen that looks like something out of a magasine and I can't wait to cook in it!

We really are on the downhill slide to completion. I know I have said this before but we will finish one of these days. The plumber comes back next week for his final part and we shall have hot and cold running water inside! My mother laughs at me when I say I look forward to washing dishes with hot water in a sink, inside. The drywall is done so the rest of the rooms will be completed quickly with a final mudding and paint. After all the other larger challenges we have faced, floor installation is a breeze! Add about a mile of trim and we will be ready for final inspection.

Don't give up on us. We haven't and we don't regret the move either. The NayStation will be a success and the Ocean View community is looking forward to our opening in the next few months.

Chapter Six: The Adventure Begins
By Myrna Nay

Aloha from the now complete and operating NayStation! I apologize for being so tardy in writing this last chapter but life is very busy here in Hawai’i. As you may note from the website, we finally finished this past November, just before Thanksgiving. And what a heartfelt Thanksgiving it was! After 2 years and four months, our dream house is open for business. We had a wonderful housewarming/blessing with our friends and family on December 9th. Due to my mother’s kind generosity, Simon and Gretchen were able to attend. They were so instrumental making the plan a reality, it was only fitting they have the chance to see it complete and join in the celebration. Smiles and tears abounded during a very moving moment, as Reverend Teves gave his blessing, the sky chose the same moment to give us rain in an additional blessing.
In August, when the cash flow was dribbling to a halt, John suggested we try selling baked goods at the Saturday Farmer’s Market here in Ocean View. The idea was a HUGE hit and I am now affectionately called “The Cookie Lady” by my many loyal customers. Every week, I sell breads and cookies, and have expanded to special order cakes and pies. This venture has provided a natural segue into our private dinner club which is slated to open March 15th. The people now know I can cook and are happily anticipating even more gastronomic delights to comes. The Bed & Breakfast has already had it’s first guests and we are scheduled to host a small wedding in the beginning of March – how fun! As my mother said when we passed our last inspection, “Now the adventure begins!.”
We want to thank you for your support and good wishes through this challenging time in our lives. There were many moments of despair as well as joy. Knowing that all of you were out there rooting for us helped more than you can ever know. Please come visit us and experience The NayStation for yourself.