If you are sending commercial packets, then there won't be any problem with sending seeds to Hawaii. If these are non-commercial seeds, then it might be best if you had them inspected by your state agricultural office before sending them. Otherwise the post office may end up confiscating the seeds. Postage to Hawaii is the same as any other state. Packages get expensive if you use any method other than the post office, though. Lettuce grows well here and we even have a few varieties which are almost a specialty. "Manoa" type lettuce is lovely. The easiest way to get seeds for it is to order it from the University of Hawaii: http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/seed/seeds.asp#lettuce

Thanks for giving the links to these threads. So far it looks like people are having a pretty neutral experience with it (maybe a little more negative than postive), but it doesnt seem to really protect the plant more than 2-3 degrees (which is the temp a much cheaper cover can efficently keep). Maybe they will come out with a more improved one in the near future but I dont plan on ordering freeze proof until I hear some more positive comments. Good luck!

By the way, my decision to replace the entire a/c system is due in part to these factors: 1. Outside condenser broke down and it's 24 years old and uses R22 freon which is now being phased out in favor of R410A refrigerant. I didn't want to get a replacement R22 unit and I prefer to switch to R410A. 2. Evap coils are 24-years old and full of R22. Can't be cleaned because they have too many curves in the copper tubes, so they have to be replaced. 3. Existing lineset is full of R22 freon and the oils that go into the liquid. Many installers prefer to flush the existing lineset, but I got a lot of advise on this board to replace the lineset with a new one. This way you don't have to worry about the flush being done right. At minimum, I wanted to replace the evap coils, lineset, and outside condenser. Unfortunately, my existing gas furnace was installed upright in the attic and the evap coils are about 5 feet from the gas furnace. Even though the gas furnace works fine, I decided to get a variable speed high efficiency motor gas furnace to get the best possible SEER-15 with the new matched evap coils and new outside a/c unit. So, I'm getting a complete new system with new ducts, new lineset, new gas furnace, new coils, and new a/c condenser. If parts of my existing ductwork weren't original from the early 1950s and I wasn't using R22, I would have only replaced the broken outside condenser. It would only have cost me about $2000 to do this. I would have been happy with SEER-13.

There was a very good article in our travel section of the newspaper today about a place at Fort Meyers, Florida. It was Sanibel Island. I don't know where you live but anyone with children would love it there. If you live near there it's very inexpensive and geared towards children. Here is a link that might be useful: Sanibel Island