No sleep tonight!

Because I love movies so much, I was excited to discover my coworker (and friend) Michelle also loves movies.  Not only that, she liked most of the ones I liked, and we had a great time seeing them together on Saturday nights.  She's also the one who got me into getting massages up in Makawau, but that's another story.

Sophia, Michelle, and I decided we wanted to make a sunrise trip up Haleakela, but I specifically wanted to go up early enough for stargazing.  Because of that, we specifically planned for a weekend as close to a new moon as possible.

We planned for May 10th, which also happened to be the release weekend for The Great Gatsby.  I was super excited because I love Leonardo DiCaprio, and I even read the book in preparation.  So we met up for the movie, which I actually really liked, but what a moody, depressing story!  After the movie we got all set up to head up the mountain.  By then it was around 1:30 am, and it took us about 2 hours to drive up the mountain.  By the time we reached the summit it was around 3:30am, and we were the only car in the parking lot.  The other two ladies were ready to take a little nap in the car, but I was only interested in climbing up to the lookout and gazing at the stars.  The summit of Haleakeala has been noted as one of the best places in the US for stargazing because of the utter isolation, and the altitude.  I found this to be true.  The view was absolutely astounding, with no city lights visible, I could see the vast expanse of the Milky Way.  Not to mention the absolute silence of being the only person at the top of my world.  Amazing!

Unfortunately my camera isn't exactly equipped to take pictures at night, so I can't take credit for this photo.  But this is pretty accurate!

After getting my fill I went back to the car for a very short cat nap.  I didn't sleep much - I mostly was attempting not to disturb Michelle and Sophia.  The parking lot gradually filled as sunrise got closer, and all three of us made our way to the lookout to watch the sun peek over the horizon.  Unfortunately it was fairly overcast, so the sunrise wasn't nearly as dramatic as on my previous trips.  It still was glorious, and the stargazing made the trip well worth it!

Very overcast.  We were actually driving in fog most of the way both up and down which made me just a little bit nervous, but it was also very exciting!

We were all perched like ants on a hillside bundled up in our various sweaters, coats, blankets, and even the occasional borrowed hotel towel.

Yes, it was pretty cold.  Good thing I had my trusty blanket!

A somewhat blurry Michelle.  Sophia was hiding from the camera!

Michelle looking out over the island.

This just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.  I love Maui!!

After several photo ops we eventually made our way back down the mountain.  After dropping the two ladies off I made it back to my bed around 6:30am having slept less than 30 minutes in my car the previous night.  Did I mention I was the driver too?  I have to say, it was totally worth it!  If you're ever in Maui and you get the chance, go up for stargazing!