Go fly a kite

Grenada has a strong affinity for flying kites.  Traditionally at Easter there is a kite flying festival/competition where young and old gather to fly kites after the Sunday worship service.  Prizes are awarded and great fun is had by all.  There is also the tradition of making a Cocoa Riggy kite, which is made from a cocoa leaf.  Building a Cocoa Riggy will be on my to-do list with the boys while we are away. Kite flying in Grenada has become such an popular pastime for the Grenadians that the government had to release a statement earlier this year prohibiting kite flying in certain areas to protect the safety of aviation.

Sitting in the shade of my 16m Crossbow

 

Kites of a different kind will become my main passion while in Grenada. My kites I will involve me, a board and the water. I am very excited to start kiteboarding and plan to kite during my free time. I have been wanting to try this sport for many years now and this is my opportunity. I feel giddy thinking about it; it brings back great memories of windsurfing in my high school/college days.  Sara has been very supportive of this as the sport does come with a heavy upfront financial investment; but after that as they say, the wind is free.

 

 



 

 

While the trade winds make for some great sailing in Grenada there do not seem to be any shops or schools in the area that focus on kiteboarding.  I am doing all my training to learn kiteboarding while I am in Ontario so I will be prepared when I arrive. I have received some help in choosing gear and would like to thank Pete, a co-worker, as I have been bending his ear quite a bit lately. Also the advice and gear I got from Bruce and his staff at Silent Sports in Thornhill, ON. 



Tuning the Bar and lines

This weekend I am heading off for some IKO lessons from Daniel and Sam Medysky at Sauble Beach on Lake Huron.
 



 Check in next week to see how the lessons went.

Sara is upping the life insurance just in case ;-)

To rent or not to rent?

Part of the preparation to go to Grenada is renting our home while we are away.  We will be doing this for a couple of reasons and while it makes us anxious to have someone else in our home; we believe the benefits far out way the risks.

The first is financial, by renting we will be able to offset some fixed costs like our mortgage and taxes.  We are hoping to rent our home furnished, with all utilities and extras included. This will save us time packing and also mean not having to pay to keep furniture in storage. Another reason is it eliminates worrying about utility connections/disconnects or the tenants paying the bills. We have always known that this trip will cost us money. It would be different if you were a single renter and decided to pack up and go, you give your notice and put your belongings in storage. It is more complicated when you are a family of four, so we know that there will be costs we can’t off set- and it is the price you pay for an adventure of a lifetime.

The second is piece of mind, knowing someone is in the house and keeping an eye on it for us.  Having said that we seem to attract every person who has a horror story of tenants from hell. We know we could come back to damage or a tenant who had no dogs when they arrived and 5 Chows and 3 ferrets when they leave. It is a risk we have to take. To offset some of the risk we are moving all of our personal items out and this puts me more at ease.  With regards to the furniture and kitchen items our tenants will be using while we are away; we are at that stage of our lives where we were thinking of replacing some of the furniture anyway now that the kids are not spilling (as much) food on it anymore- so what are a few more stains?

Since I invest in rental real estate, I already have a great team that I can lean on for advice (Butler Mortgage, Rock Star Inner Circle, and Todd O’Donnell at State Farm) to help get my home rented. Locally, Lorraine O’Quinn and the O’Quinn Team have been contacted in case they run into a client that is building a home or waiting for the right house to come on the market and need a place to stay while on the hunt. 

Getting the word out is key, and we are taking advantage of free advertising with Kijiji, and telling everyone we meet that we are looking for short term renters.  We will also take out ads in our local newspapers and post ads on community boards where we think we will hit the right type of audience.

Renting is going to cut our personal costs in half for this trip so please send some good vibes (or tenants) our way.

Check out the house on kijiji.

This could be you!

In 91 days I’m leaving my job and moving to Grenada for nine months! No, I’m not retiring- I’m about midway through my working career, married, two kids, and a mortgage.  How, you may ask, is this possible? Read on and find out.

Three months ago my intrepid wife Sara, looked at me over her laptop and said “There’s a volunteer position in Grenada, should I apply for it?” Of course the answer was yes, because in the back of my mind I thought, what will it hurt? It’s never going to happen anyway. This was an error on my part as I had forgotten that what you ask the universe for, you get.

Now some of you may be thinking, time to stop reading, this guy is way out there; but I really do believe a lot of what I happens in my life is because I have thought about what I have wanted. Sometimes it’s a small thing like a good parking spot at the grocery store (this drives my wife crazy, when tada there is the spot closest to where ever we are going), or other times it’s a big thing like this adventure were about to go on.

This adventure started when our family went to Costa Rica for a vacation in February of 2012 and thought this is where we could spend a lot more time than a week.  We came home and tried to find a way to disappear for a year. The challenge was to make it happen before our oldest went to high school in four years, but financially it seemed like an impossible timeline.

Fast forward two years. Sara and I both started small home businesses and invested in rental real estate as a way to help fund our dream of taking a year away.  I knew that our real estate investment would give me the confidence to step away for a year when an opportunity knocked.

So what was this opportunity my wife applied for? It is a volunteer position with CUSO International.  I will be going as an “accompanying spouse”.  I think the term “tag-along” is more appropriate.  CUSO is a fantastic organization that does developmental work in countries all over the world. They cover most of the costs for the volunteer and some of the costs to get there and back for the tag-alongs.

To make this once in a lifetime experience happen we are renting our own home while we are gone to offset some costs and leaning a little bit on credit. Both Sara and I are also fortunate that we can take a one year sabbatical and return to our jobs.  We met others at our volunteer training sessions that just quit their jobs and went for it.

The thing is, it is possible.  Find your own way, live a bit of your life now.  Give your children an experience they will never forget and that will shape their lives forever.  You may have to take some risks, and some people will say you’re crazy, but mostly they will wish they could do it too.

So come along on our adventure. Each family member is blogging about this trip from their own point of view. I want to blog about being a tag along, kite boarding, living in Grenada and being a dad of kids who are learning about a different way of life.