Lucky We Live Hawaii

Most of us who have the incredible luck to live in Hawaii realize our good fortune and appreciate what we have here. When something happens to remind us – a brilliant 180-degree rainbow or seeing a humpback whale breeching a hundred yards off shore, for instance – local folks exchange looks, smile and say, “Lucky we live Hawaii”, the local expression reserved for just those occasions.

From my backyard I can look up at Haleakala, the 10,000 foot dormant volcano that dominates East Maui, the larger portion of this island. Whenever friends or relatives visit from the mainland, we make a point of taking them up to the rim of the volcano’s crater. There are other peaks around the country that are 10,000 feet high and also accessible by car, but for the most part they’re only 5 or 6,000 feet above the surrounding terrain … Pike’s Peak, for example.

But from the rim of Haleakala - by the way, it means "House of the Sun" - you can gaze down 10,000 feet to the Pacific Ocean with the peaks of West Maui in the background.

Then turn around and look down 2 or 3,000 feet into the crater.

Or turn again and there, 100 miles away, are the twin peaks of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea on the Island of Hawaii or, as we call it, the Big Island.

No doubt about it. Lucky we live Hawaii!