How I spent weeks in Hawaii without the cost of a resort

Think Hawaii, especially Maui, and dollars can leave your wallet as quickly as birds in flight. It's an expensive location although no one will deny its beauty and desirability as a vacation destination. It's called paradise for a reason.

So, how did I manage to spend time there and get to take in the sights without overloading my credit card?

Back in the fall I had no intention of visiting Hawaii until I met a woman on my Russia trip who was searching for a house sitter for the winter while she was away. I was all ears when she mentioned that she had no houseplants and pets to manage. She cautiously told me that she lived Up Country, and not in the tourist areas along the beaches. It would be cooler when the sun went down and very quiet. If I could handle being eight miles from a supermarket, then she thought that it would work for me. (Insert laughter here. That sounds like my ususal circumstances).

Somehow it felt like an opportunity not to be missed. Everything checked out after doing a little research, too.

Using the Kula residence as a launching point, my husband and I toured around the island at our leisure. We lived like the locals, shopped and engaged with some of the friendliest people in the world.

Would I house sit in another location? Good question. It would depend upon the situation.

The view across the road from our home.