A story from my life

The clock flashed 2:30am as I turned my alarm off. “Why am I getting up so early?” I wondered. It was August 9, 2007, just 5 days after my wedding, and I was in Hawaiian paradise on my honeymoon with my husband, Matt. We were getting ready to head off on another adventure early that Thursday morning. We dragged ourselves out of bed, packed up our winter coats and some snacks, and hopped in the car for our 2 hour drive across the island of Maui to the volcano Haleakala. We were going to watch the sunrise from above the clouds.

We drove through the early hours of the morning up the steep, winding road to reach the top of the 10,000 foot high volcano. Due to the high altitude and the early hour, it was very cold when we got out of our car. The stars and the moon were still shining bright in the dark sky, and there was a faint trace of orange light on the horizon. Everything was very still and quiet. As we sat and watched the sky slowly get brighter and brighter, we began to see all of the puffy white clouds below us. It felt very strange to be above the clouds but the view was breathtaking.


Finally, after much anticipation, the very tips of the clouds began to glow. As the sun peeked out from behind the clouds it shone brightly into my eyes and filled the air with warmth. We sat and watched the sun rise higher in the sky and light up everything around us. As the sun shone down on us, we could see down into the volcanic crater, the island of Maui below us, the Big island of Hawaii off in the distance, and the beautiful Pacific Ocean surrounding us. It was an amazing experience unlike anything I had ever seen or done before. It is a special memory with my husband that I will treasure for the rest of my life.