The Road To Hana
I am writing this during the last hours of our wonderful trip to the
island of Maui. Life is tough! I can hear the surf pounding the rugged, black-lava
coastline just below us. More subdued are the whispering sounds of the nearby palm trees
that shade our deck. My wife, Kathy, and I are back for our fifth trip to Hawaii but this
is the first time we have taken the winding, three hour "Road To Hana". This
area is closer to what Michener must have had in mind when he described some of the most
beautiful parts of the islands in his bestseller book titled "Hawaii".
We have been staying at the Hotel Hana-Maui in one of the Sea Cottages. These buildings were added to the complex in the early 80’s. The design is historic in nature with wooden floors, corrugated metal roofs, wrap-around porches and operable wooden shutters on windows and doors. In every direction there is a view of the ocean and occasionally we sense the sweetly fragrant blossom of the nearby plumeria trees. I remember that this was the blossom worn in the hair of the Polynesian girls in the movie, "Mutiny on the Bounty". Come on now, guys! Do you mean you didn’t notice the blossoms in their hair?
Always interested in construction ideas, I noticed, in the Wailea area, that all the lumber being used was treated with an insecticide. In one of the older neighborhoods we saw a house that was tented to allow for fumigation to rid it of termites! The only time I have ever heard of termites in Wisconsin was in connection with some of the historic parts of downtown Oshkosh. Apparently, much of the city’s downtown area was built on sawdust that was a by-product of the early lumbering days in the nineteenth century. In any case, we saw only about 3 insects of any kind the entire time on the Islands. Kind of different from Wisconsin where the state bird is the mosquito!
It’s A Small World
One of the true pleasures of being in this business is the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. The United States is such a melting pot of histories and cultures—we belong to such a mobile society. The global business style of today is responsible for much of this. Andrew Homes, so far, has built homes for people born in these different countries that we know of: Taiwan, Canada, Indonesia, Macedonia, Germany, Iran, Russia, South Korea, Venezuela, Mexico, India plus the Philippines and Puerto Rico. My wife and/or I, (she sometimes travels with my daughter while I am working) have visited 6 of these. To our 400 homeowners, if we missed your country of birth, please call us to add yours to the list.
From reading this newsletter some of you know the story of my daughter’s international marketing internship job last year in Venezuela. Just at the time she learned of the job commitment we were building a home for a couple from the very city, Valencia, where Barbara was about to spend 7 months of her life. What a rich experience for her and her lucky parents who visited her there! It’s very satisfying sometimes at a Parade of Homes event to strike up a conversation with 2 couples from say, Italy, and to be able to remark: "Oh, I loved your beautiful art museums in Rome and Florence and I’d like to visit northern Italy on my next trip there!" By the way, each of you Italian couples still has the opportunity to be our first customers from your native Italy!
Where To Build
We have just acquired a lot on Lake Butte des Morts near Oshkosh. We’d love to work with you in designing and building your own waterfront paradise here. The lot is situated high above the sand-bottom shore with walk-out basement potential. The sunset views will be spectacular!
Oshkosh Parade Of Homes
If you have never been to one of our Parade homes, NOW is the time to visit. The Oshkosh Parade of Homes will take place April 20-22, 26-29. Andrew Homes will be hosting a private showing to a select group (look for your invitation in the mail) on Thursday, April 19. We hope this private showing provides an opportunity for those of you who may be busy on the weekends of the Parade to view this spectacular home. Located on Lake Butte des Morts, the 5,715 square foot home is loaded with quality custom features. A spacious kitchen, complete with Thermador gas range and Sub Zero refrigerator, leads to a 2-story family room with a 19-foot high wall of windows. You will not want to miss the distinctive lion’s head corbels and marble tile on the fireplace in this room. Built-in shelves and other cabinetry in the den will keep the homeowner’s workspace organized. Three ceiling medallions, one marble and granite floor medallion, domed ceilings, and a circular grand staircase are other unmistakably fine features of this home…and that’s just the first floor!
Research Trip To Atlanta
Another joy of my job is the opportunity to research home ideas in some of the most beautiful parts of the country. As part of our National Homebuilders’ Convention trip to Atlanta in February, I took over 200 photos of fabulous design concepts. We toured several high-end communities there and were excited by one good idea after another. Look for our unique interpretation of some of these ideas in model homes we now have under construction, including our Parade Homes to be shown later this year in Green Bay, Appleton and Fond du Lac. You will see even more drywall detail, special stairway styles, wood trim details, different ceiling treatments, emphasis of master suite entries, new accent lighting concepts, ceramic shower layouts, decorative glass and doors… etcetera!!