The beach is different every day, and sunrise also.

September 29-30, 1999

Sunrise over Kaaawa, Hawaii
(for a few more early sunrise pics, click here)

It's very quiet before dawn on the back streets of Kaaawa. Since early 1996, we've been up before dawn every day for an hour walk down to the beach and back. Our route takes us out from our house, over to the corner, then left to the Kaaawa Fire Station, up the road behind the fire station, then back down to the highway, and eventually down along the beach for nearly a mile, checking for beach glass and enjoying the ever-changing waves and sand while waiting for the sun to rise.
Be sure not to miss the sounds of the surf (below).

It has become a quiet daily ritual, an essential part of our day.

As soon as I started this web site back in September 1999, it was natural to start sharing images of sunrise from the beach in Kaaawa. This was the first set of photos. At that time, we were getting the subtle changes that signal the arrival of Hawaii's "rainy season" and, shortly, winter.

Winter means surf on our side of the island. Tides are higher, and our walks on the beach get to be more of an "adventure" as waves sweep higher on the sand. But we were still just on the edge of the winter season which, with its later sunrises, increases our odds of beginning the day with a green flash. We saw four green flashes during the first two weeks of October, 1999.

To hear the sound of the ocean, click here	Most mornings the first footprints on the beach are ours.

After sunrise we walk home. We often think about it as a let-down from the beauty of the beach, but when you look up the incredible mounains are right there, rising in steep cliffs. This photo was taken within a block of our house.