hawaii- march 22nd

march 22nd day 1 we are finally here! after being told over thanksgiving that kristin's mom would be taking us all to the big island of hawai'i (which, in the native language means "sanctuary from snowdrifts and cold winds), our daily countdown has finally come to its' conclusion! kristin, molly and i met janet and lisa at the airport in denver mid-morning on saturday morning for our direct flight to kona, hi. as a result of some wise booking strategy by janet and a fairly empty plane, kristin and i had the luxury of a seat between us for molly- which made our lives- and the lives of everyone around us, most likely- far more enjoyable for the flight over. truth be told, molly was a trooper- she read, colored with crayons she's just starting to enjoy playing with, took a good nap, and was- for the most part- one heck of a traveler. we arrived in kona at about 7:30 pm on "our watches" but due to the time change, it was only 3:30 island time. kristin couldnt get over her joy for the warmth, the humidity, the fresh flowers in bloom everywhere, etc. and literally melted in tom's front yard, which seemed to concern her daughter just a bit. after a while, though, she caught on and also enjoyed exploring this new thing she wasn't quite sure of that we refer to as "grass." grandma spent some time introducing molly to the yard, and all the incredible flowers, the lawn, etc. after a while, we all showered the flight off, and got ready for a bbq at a ranch which is managed by one of thomas's (our gracious host and "tour guide" for the week) close friends. immediately, we were exposed to the different climatic zones on the island- having left thomas's house at about 80 degrees, and bbqing about 5 or 6 thousand feet higher at 45 or 50 degrees- which only felt "cold" to the locals. the ranch was beautiful, and we look forward to coming back in a few days and spending some time exploring the area on horses.