Whenever I go to Hawaii, one of my favorite things to do is watch the sunset.
There is something to be said about a beach sunset, even in Los Angeles.
After all, one of the city’s longest boulevards is named “Sunset.” If you travel the length of Sunset Boulevard as it winds through the hills from downtown Los Angeles west to Malibu, you will end up (eventually) at an good place to watch the sun drop down into Santa Monica Bay.
Of course, it takes just the right combination of factors to make a really good sunset.
Whenever I go to Hawaii, one of my favorite things to do is watch the sunset.
There is something to be said about a beach sunset, even in Los Angeles.
After all, one of the city’s longest boulevards is named “Sunset.” If you travel the length of Sunset Boulevard as it winds through the hills from downtown Los Angeles west to Malibu, you will end up (eventually) at an good place to watch the sun drop down into Santa Monica Bay.
Of course, it takes just the right combination of factors to make a really good sunset.
Personally, I feel that ocean sunsets are better than sunsets over the land, but that ocean has to be in the right spot.
A couple of years ago on Kauai, our hotel was near Kapa’a, which is a lovely small town with some nice beaches and good restaurants. But all the beaches in Kapa’a face east, which makes for a pretty sunrise, but no sunsets.
For a good sunset, you need a south or west-facing beach. (Because of weather and geography, the southern and western sides of the Hawaiian islands tend to get less rain than the north shore, which is another advantage, assuming you like sunny beaches.)
Surprisingly, clouds are also quite important. Of course, too many clouds can mean a dark and dreary sunset, with the sunlight barely peeking through. But a completely clear sunset can be boring, as well.
Even without a few clouds, you’ll still get the orange sun shimmering and shining on the water. You’ll have silver rays of light bouncing across the waves to the beach. But clouds add a lot to the picture.
A few clouds hanging in the air during sunset provide contrast. They give the sunlight something extra to reflect off. They can add color to the scene. And after the sun has dropped down out of sight, the clouds continue to glow pink in the aftermath.
If that sounds like a lot to say about sunsets — well, it probably is. But a good trip takes preparation and planning, so why not make the sunset view part of your plans?
Of course, a good hotel can make a huge difference.
For example, our hotel this month was the Hapuna Prince, north of Kailua-Kona and beyond Waikoloa, on the Big Island.
Those in charge of the hotel were smart enough to have live music and entertainment at the pool bar most evenings during the sunset hours so people could listen to music and have a drink while they watched the sun go down.
And it wasn’t just any music, but it included a lot of the mellow slack-key guitar,which is one of Hawaii’s trademarks. Good music can add to a good sunset.
Often, the difference between a good beach hotel and a great beach hotel stay are the little things, such as the activities that the hotel offers. On this count, the Hapuna Prince gained points by paying attention to this detail. I would gladly return for a few more sunsets.
James Fujita is a former GVN news editor. He works as a copy editor for the Visalia Times-Delta in California’s Central Valley. Fujita can be contacted at jim61773@yahoo.com
