Day #1 and #2 Hawaii to Yellowstone

My pilot cousin, Arnold flew back from Pago Pago and drove his mother and us to Honolulu International Airport at 7:30 PM. Our flight left at 10:00 PM. All our plans to bring my mother's wheelchair went out the window when we saw how much luggage we had and how much space the rental minivan would allot us.

Mom wore the puffy ski jacket we bought her last year onto the airplane because it took up too much room in the luggage. It was hot on the way to the airport, but she was the only comfortable person on the United flight because they had that cabin way, way too cold!!! She still said her nose was cold.

Our daughter, Tiffany and granddaughter, KC flew in from Chicago to join us at the connecting layover in Denver, Colorado.


We landed in Billings, Montana, picked up and packed our rental Kia minivan and drove to Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park.

When we got to the Mammoth Hotel, Tiffany and Art went in to register us while I waited in the car with my mom, aunt and KC.

Suddenly the side door slid open and a young man with a jacket and ski hat stuck his head in saying some pleasantry like, "How are you all enjoying your trip so far?"

I was so shocked that I stared at this rather forward person and said in my teacher voice, "May I help you?"

My mother and aunt were taken aback too. We thought he might have been some staff personnel telling us to move the van.

The handsome, though slightly disheveled man looked startled, shocked and perhaps disbelieving.

"Mom!" my exasperated son said.

"Oh my gosh, Jon? Jon!?!??" Everybody was now yelling at the same time. My mother was now realizing who it was and we could hardly believe it! Jon had driven 16 hours all the way from Albuquerque, NM to surprise us at Yellowstone. He'd camped in the FREEZING park, checked out places that would be convenient for his grandmother and grand-aunt to see and then waited over an hour for us to arrive.

He then left us to surprise his sister and father.

Don't they write stories about mothers who recognize the children they lost when they were younger and could recognize them after decades apart? Elephants know where their babies are all the time, right? Aren't penguins able to recognize their young out of millions of other babies on the frozen tundra?

Sigh...

And Tiffany? She tells me she recognized her brother instantly.

Sigh...