Momma found a boyfriend in Kona, HI. 
Isn't she beautiful?
She did it! She faced one of her greatest fears head on, and she accomplished the goal set before her. I am so proud of her!My momma, who has never been on a plane, flew to Kona, HI with me. She was nervous, but she persevered. She worked her seek-n-find puzzle book and watched the movies on the longer legs of the trip to get through it. I offered her my window seat on a couple of the legs of the trip but she declined, tentatively watching from the middle seat of our row and admiring the scenery below us.
We had a long day on Friday, changing planes twice with long lay-overs in Dallas, TX and Los Angeles, CA. Saturday morning in Hawaii, we had a good breakfast in an open restaurant called Tante's, enjoyed the cool breeze, and watched the waves coming in off of the Pacific Ocean. We proceeded to do some sight-seeing and shopping. Later, after dinner in another open restaurant, we attended a concert featuring the native Hawaiian, John Cruz. The admission was 2 cans of food for the Hawaiian food bank. My momma thoroughly enjoyed John Cruz and purchased one of his CDs.
Sunday morning, I ran the Kona Marathon. Even though I was many miles from home, I still ran into several of my running buddies: Walt and Kendel (GA), Eugene (CT), Evelyn (IL), Art and Robin (FL), and Les (HI). I acquired 2 new running buddies during the race: first-timer, Steve (CA), and fellow Marathon Maniac, Bob (HI).
The race was uneventful. It was an out-n-back course along Kona's main street, Alii Drive. The course then turned onto the highway and followed up with a short section along the coast behind a small industrial park. It was hot, but a slight breeze was felt from the ocean. There were plenty of wonderful volunteers, plenty of restroom facilities, gel, water, and coke (the alternative to Ultima for me). There was also a long, much appreciated cut-off of 9 hours. The finisher's shirt, medal, and leis were a nice touch to my pedestrian 6:07:05 completion of a good day at my office of choice.
After the race, I hurried back to the hotel to shower, and momma and I checked out of the hotel. My times are so slow now that I don't encourage anyone to attend my races. My momma had wisely decided to rest in the hotel room until I finished. We then had lunch and did some more sight-seeing until we caught the red-eye flight back to the main land.
I think my momma had a good trip. I hope she did. I want this trip to lead to many others for her. There's a whole world outside of TN, and I want her to explore some of it.
Mahalo and Aloha.
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