Above the clouds Part II

Here's a couple of more shots from the top of Haleakala Volcano on Maui.

 

I found this on the web today and it got me to thinking about Hawai'i. (It doesn't really take much you know)

 

6 Reasons Hawaii Will Ruin Your Life

Maybe you've only been to Hawaii once. Maybe you come every year. Or maybe you come any chance you can get.

Regardless of your time spent in Hawaii, this list serves as a warning. And those of you who have ever left the Honolulu International Airport with tears in your eyes and that stinging, lump feeling in your throat, you'll understand why.

Because falling in love with Hawaii isn't easy. In fact, it turns your whole world upside down.

Below, the 6 reasons you should never fall in love with Hawaii if you ever want a chance at a normal life anywhere else:

1. Home will never feel like home again
Your own bed will never be as comfy as that lazy Sunday afternoon, dozing off in the sand at Papailoa Beach. And your favorite morning coffee spot? It's got nothing on your acai bowl breakfast ritual that left you rejuvenated and ready for your next waterfall hike.

2. Who needs a career path?
Spend enough time around dramatic cliffs, awe-inspiring valleys and scary powerful waves and your career goals will suddenly seem so insignificant. Who wants a fancy job title anyway? It's not that you've lost your motivation or drive to be successful; it's just that your definition of success has changed. Your goals have less to do with money and more to do with beating your best time up a crater and learning how to do a headstand on a paddleboard.

3. And work ethic? Forget about it.
It's your first day back at work after a few weeks on the islands. You look around at the co-workers who you once thought were so interesting and diverse and the buzzing office that once made you giddy with excitement ... and you let out a deep sigh. You spend the rest of your days dreaming about the wonderfully eccentric surf bums you met, the most refreshing cocktail you've ever tasted at a pau hana on the beach, and the uncontrollable urge to applaud the sun just for setting.

4. You will stop appreciating the beauty of your own city.

Sure, at one point you may have appreciated those city lights but now they just seem like a distraction from all the stars in the sky. And all those tall buildings? When compared to the green mountains in your memory, they seem pretty pathetic, not to mention depressing. By the way, where are all the trees? We should definitely be planting a lot more trees here...

5. Your Hawaii stories have stopped being charming and are now just annoying

(I know Tex can relate to this. LOL)
Your first few stories about those spontaneous fire dancers at sunset or that 3 a.m. hike up the "Stairway To Heaven" will be fun to hear, but when every sentence starts with, "Well, in Hawaii..." all of your friends will be rolling their eyes. Soon, you'll find that you have less in common with your friends and more in common with those drifters sitting on the sidewalk.

And yes, your neighbors are tired of hearing you play the same songs over and over again on your ukulele.

6. Eventually (after you've finally made the big move), your family and friends will hate you
Well, not really. They'll think you hate them. They'll say that you have abandoned them for a care-free breezy life in Hawaii and they'll always refer to you as "the free spirit that ran away to the islands."

But you won't really care. After all, you've fallen in love with Hawaii, which means it will still be worth it, every day, when you look out to the horizon during the "golden hour" and watch the sky change a thousand different colors. "Yes," you'll say to yourself then, "I am so very lucky to live Hawaii."