Maui

This is a picture of the sunrise from the top of Haleakala Volcano on Maui. It was so nice up there, but a little bit chilly by Hawaii standards.

It's really something to see. I don't feel any deep emotions about it, except to try and appreciate the beauty of nature for a few minutes. It reminds me of the other great sunrises I've seen -- from atop Mount Fuji, at Stone Mountain, in Philmont, Arizona.

I liked this sunrise because it was right on schedule at 6:51 a.m., and the sun came up exactly where I expected it to. Sometimes, the sun rises in different parts of the sky from where the lights over the horizon first appear in the still-dark hours. The cloud cover in the Haleakala crater below gave the illusion that this was just another plateau instead of a couple of miles up on a mountain on one of the best islands on Earth.

It's good to take a break from poker and take in the sights and the moments that are much more important to real life. Even when poker's popularity begins to wane, there will still be many fresh fish in the sea.

After the sunrise, Daniel and I went to the beach and did a little snorkeling. The water is very clear, and you can get right up close to the tropical fish. If you feed them frozen peas, several of them will swarm around to get their food. It's a lot of fun. Daniel wrote about it in this post.

Now back to Honolulu! It might not be as stunning as Maui, but it's pretty damn cool.