Monday, March 29, 2010

Living In a Basket Ball Court

You might be thinking that the title is a typo. Living in a basket ball court??? Did I mean, living near, next to, close by, on top of a basket ball court? Nooooo, I really meant what I said. Living in a basket ball court.

Isn't there a movie about someone living in an airport? Tom Hanks, right? Well, this is even more interesting, because it isn't temporary. It's permanent.

So here's the deal. I had to relocate my living arrangements for about 10 days because my hosts had an invasion by relatives from the mainland. Another family from church kindly invited me to stay with them, so I packed my bag and hit the road, always ready for the next new adventure. My hostess gave me only a wee bit of info about her house. Second floor is "so many square feet of open loft". Okay, I thought, this should be interesting.

When I arrived, it took me a few seconds to process what I was seeing. A basket ball hoop! A wood floor with a goal line! O MY GOSH!!, you live in a basket ball court. Maybe only a half court, but a real bb court, nonetheless.

As the reality of it hit me, I began looking around. Sure enough, there was the scoreboard. And right below it, to the left, a bank of lockers. This was getting more and more interesting.


And to top it all off, there was the water fountain still attached to the wall.

"This is what it looked like when we bought the place", my hostess told me. She went on to explain that it had, indeed, been used as a half court bb court. When the original owners decided to sell, the first new owner converted it into a home, using the entire bb court as the upstairs of the home. It now contains the kitchen and the living room, along with several other living spaces based on my hostess' eclectic decorating style.

This home is on the windward side of the island. Much rain creates a green and lush environment , and when looking out the windows there is a real feeling of being in a tropical forest in old Hawaii.

This other house is the only one that is so close, as it belongs to the original owner of the bb court. Looking past the two structures you can see the Pali Overlook. When on the overlook, the view out across the bay is spectacular, that is, if you can defy the winds and stand upright long enough to see the view. Hopefully, before I return to my original abode, I'll be able to get a similar shot with blue sky. Stay tuned.

As one would expect in a home this large, there is at least one large wall on which they project movies. (no little 15 inch screen for this family) On two occasions we've watched movies--in my opinion it rivals any theater experience I've had.

But wait!!! What's one of the best things about going to a theater to see a flick? The popcorn, right? Well, they have that one covered too. They have their own popcorn machine. My hostess made popcorn one night and words cannot express how wonderful it was. Movie theater popcorn, move over...make room for the good stuff !

So if you're ever in Hawaii and you want to to out to see a movie, let me know. I'll put you in touch with my friend, and if you're lucky she'll invite you over. She might even make some popcorn for you. You'll never think about a movie theater the same way again.

3 comments:

Bridget said...

what a crazy cool house!
how long were you in the home before you realized "photo opportunity!!!"
your winter escape sounds like one great adventure after another.
the second to the last is so beautiful, another side of hawaii.
great job!

Anonymous said...

I so agree with Bridget!! and the shot looking out of the window into that lush foliage..oh my...beautiful. The whole situation is just delightful...You have been so blessed.. Jean

trishalyn said...

DITTO TO THE ABOVE!!!!

Wow, Linda...being "kicked out" sure offered you an extraordinary opportunity and adventure...you should submit your photos and story to a magazine!!!!! :-)