One of the things I enjoy most about being in Hawaii is the easy ability to rise early and enjoy the morning, starting with a beautiful ocean sunrise. Traveling to Hawaii from home, heading back 4 time zones, makes this easy to do - it allows me to feel like I've slept in when it's only 6 am. I am not normally an eager early morning riser. I hate the feeling of grogginess that usually greets my efforts to peel the mattress off my back in the morning - especially if it's dark outside.
Hawaii's position on the globe allows sunrise to usually occur between 6 and 6:30 am, most of the year. No cold, dark and dreary winter morning alarms buzzing here. People can actually rise with the sun in time for normal work schedules, or begin a full day enjoying fun in the sun. To me, the ability to watch a beautiful sun rise over the ocean without feeling groggy or sleep deprived is just fantastic.
Depending on which side of the island you are on, you can either enjoy the sunrise or the sunset from your hotel (or both if you move around a bit). I have more often than not found myself, happily, to be on the sunrise side. The sunrise, or east side, is also the windward side of the Hawaiian islands, or the side which gets most of the wind and weather first. This causes the sunrise, or windward side, of the island to usually be greener than the sunset or leeward side. Being able to enjoy the beauty of a sunrise in a greener, more lush area is a nice bonus.
I do also greatly enjoy sunsets, and this event can also be colorful and magical. But there seems to be something special with a Hawaiian ocean
sunrise: the dawning of a new day coming forth before much of the world has stirred, bestowing a hushed sense of wonder to those few who are up to enjoy it. At sunset, there is a lot of daylight activity that is beginning to slow down, with levels of movement and noise being significantly higher than in the quiet moments just before sunrise.
As far as taking pictures goes, I have found that the coolness of the night seems to often leave some clouds on the ocean horizon, which always adds to the beauty of sun near the water. These picturesare some I recently took while visiting Kaua'i in August 2013. You can read about this trip in 3 parts, following these links:
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