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LAURANCE:Yes. My wife and I, my wife would have been here today but one of my <br />daughters has been ill and she was taking care of her. But, we have 4 grown daughters and we <br />have 3 grandchildren. And with 4 grown daughters, I hope to have more than a dozen <br />grandchildren before this is all over. And, one of the- the reason why Im building this home, <br />you all saw it this morning, its a big home and Ive been fortunate to be able to afford to do <br />things like that. And, I have a- I want a big home because I want my kids and their spouses and <br />especially my grandchildren to come to Kona and spend lots of time here and have- we have a <br />very close family. We spend many holidays together and birthdays; and its- thats a big house <br />but it will be full when theyre all there. And so, thats why Im- Im doing it; and this is the <br />place weve been dreaming about building the house. <br />VITOUSEK:Okay, so Mr. Laurance, when did you- when did buy this property? Well, <br />let me just back up. You, you came and looked at the other properties in Hawai¡i, is that right? <br />LAURANCE:IlookedatplacesallovertheHawaiianIslandsandwanderedintoKona <br />one day and said, wow, this is it. And so I started renting homes here. I rented homes in Kona <br />Bay Estates especially because I looked at the resort areas and it wasnt- didnt fit our style. <br />And, I looked other- I just, we looked everywhere and this was a place where it could be close to <br />the water. My grandchildren- Im- pardon the digression, but for me my warmest childhood <br />memory is time with my grandfather; and I cant explain how much that meant to me. And I <br />want that same sort of relationship with my grandchildren; and Ive worked very hard to do that. <br />And my grand- my eldest grandson and I we go fishing together, we go swimming together, so <br />when we saw this place in Kona Bay Estates and there was an empty lot avail-. We stayed here a <br />couple of times, and then an empty lot- a lot came available, someone was selling. So I bought <br />this lot 3 or 4 years ago. <br />VITOUSEK:Okay, and so when you bought the lot did you, did you realize that- that it <br />was, you know, in- that public access ran over the lot and that there would be a lot of „ a lot of <br />people around? Is that something you understood? <br />LAURANCE:Not only did I understand it having renting homes down there, I had <br />experienced it myself. There are always people fishing out there. But actually it encourages me <br />because that means the fish are biting, or theyd be somewhere else. No and- the people walk by <br />on the wall, Ive stayed down there for weeks at a time and people walk by all hours of the day <br />and night; and its okay. I mean its- theres lots of people use that place, and my family uses it, <br />and other people use, and lots of public access. I have no problem with that. We were joking <br />about who owns that land. Well, I pay the taxes on it but the public really owns it, €cause I cant <br />use it and they can. And, its okay, its okay. Its Hawai¡i and thats, you should do. Thats fair <br />and reasonable; and I have no problems with any of that. So I was, but I was very much aware <br />of these things when I bought the lot. Its okay. <br />VITOUSEK:And so you were aware- where was your understanding as to where the <br />shoreline was at the time you bought the lot? <br />LAURANCE:Well, I asked specifically at the time when I was buying the lot, I looked, I <br />talked to local builders, local architects. There were pools being put in, in that area. The <br />21 <br /> <br />