Confession:it didn't really happen like I said

Everything I write here is true. Well. Almost everything.

I have a confession.

A few months ago I wrote a blog about road tripping on Maui, and I included a story about taking a drive up to the top of Haleakala for sunrise. I posted some pretty pictures, and a warm and fuzzy, fun-for-the-whole family story to go along with them. There was a slight problem, however. My life - as you well know from reading this blog - is not full of pretty pictures and wholesome activities. 

It won't surprise you to hear that I didn't actually make that trip.
At least, not the way I described it here.

For many people, watching sunrise at 10,000 feet overlooking the Pacific Ocean is a dream come true. I was really hoping my first time would be life-changing like that. But as with many of life's firsts (ahem) it was not nearly as fantastic as I expected. And I was on deadline. So I cobbled together a post about the trip, using an ideal scenario and a friend's photos. Because my photos - and my experience - were not what I wanted to share with you. When your life regularly does not go as planned, it can be very frustrating. And just once, I wanted to tell you about an experience that didn't go straight to hell.


 The trip up Haleakala *can* be amazing and beautiful, and I didn't want to discourage anyone from doing it.
However.
The trip to the summit of Haleakala can also suck big, hairy goat balls.

Today I was clearing photos off my phone, and I found some pictures of the trip. Photos I did not use. Because they suck. But because everything else I want to write these days is emo and weepy and whyyyyy are they taking this baby away from meeee, I decided to just bring it all back home. This is my life. This is what happens when I try to do something amazing and beautiful..


First of all, traveling to 10,000 feet elevation, even in Hawaii, is a crap-shoot weather-wise. And trust me, the weather can (and will) shoot crap all over you if it feels like it. 

Case in point:

Can you see that? The outside temp? THIRTY FOUR DEGREES.

And I would be willing to accept the freezing temperatures for a gorgeous sunrise. I would have stood huddled between all of the families in their flip flops and shorts, with their lips turning blue and their teeth chattering, even though they were wrapped in the comforter they snagged off their hotel bed.

I would have stood there and sucked it up for the gorgeous view.

But.

Visibility was limited.

So we headed back down the mountain, bitterly disappointed.
Some people were more bitter than others.

I felt terrible, seeing my exhausted family sitting in the backseat, bleary eyed, at 6:40 in the morning, for absolutely no fucking reason whatsoever. And then I slammed on the brakes and scared the crap out of everyone. 

Road hazard.

We went and got breakfast, because what else does one do at 7am? I felt like everyone needed some syrup and bacon to lighten the mood. Nectar of the gods and all that.

And then I went home and wrote about a road trip that I did not take. At least, not yet.

I say "not yet" because I tried it again a few weeks ago - for sunset this time, because I am never getting up at 4am ever, ever again.

At first, I thought we were in for a repeat performance - complete with almost running into a bunch of cows. But then we broke though the clouds, and came out into dazzling sunshine, and that limited visibility at 5,000 feet became a white fluffy blanket we were  looking down on, as the sun blazed it's way towards the horizon.

Redemption.

This whole experience was a reminder to me that while things do not ever seem to go as I planned, sometimes the results are even better. I am holding on to that thought these days - it's going to see me through some rough times ahead.