Good morning and welcome to our final blog for August 2008. For the last two weeks we have perused the North Shore of Oahu. We’ve looked at the natural beauty of this tropical paradise that featured rainbows, geckos, plumerias and a cast of thousands of macadmia nuts. For today’s Hawaiian finale we’ll take a look at why this marvelous stretch of sand is called Sunset Beach.

This dusk delight appeared in the sky on our final night at what has to be one of the most beautiful beaches on earth. What made this sunset exceptional was that after the sun hit the horizon the sky turned red (photo #6) and then shades of Linda gray. As I pondered the meaning of life in the less than chilly, crystal clear 80 degree water, I watched the sky as it once again turned red, a phenomena I don’t recall seeing before, except in a dream I had about “John From Cincinatti.” The sky glowed for at least 45 minutes and it was an incredibly beautiful way to end our North Shore excursion. I hadn’t felt inner peace and tranquility like that since I learned that “Law & Order-Criminal Intent” was being renewed for another season.

A large part of Hawaii’s spiritual draw and shelves is attributed to its unique and inspirational sunsets and the phrase, “Book em’, Dano.” Gorgeous red, orange, pink and purple hues fill the skies as the orange barrel sunshine that provided 12 hours of beach fun dips gently into the ocean, very similar to the way I sink into my pillow at night right after downing my soy milk and vegan cookies.

At sunset, more light is piercing the atmosphere than at other times during the day except during Magnum P.I. reruns. The heating process and old episodes of Hawaii Five-O during the day create large numbers of particles in the air, which are able to scatter more light. Sunsets derive their red hues because the long wavelengths are the least scattered. The combination of the unique geographical location of Hawaii, tropical temperatures, humidity levels and never having to put on a sweatshirt combine to give Hawaii its world class sunsets. Twilight is also relatively short in Hawaii. After the sun disappears, you may only have 15 or fewer minutes of residual light. That is what makes this night’s sunset so unusual.

So here’s the bottom line. I’ve experienced a few sunrises and sunsets in the islands and they are Hawaiian Tropic gorgeous. But when it comes to world class sunrises and sunsets, Santa Cruz blows this South Pacific paradise off the map. Maybe I’m being provincial but from what I’ve seen there’s no comparison. I’ve checked out the calendars, post cards and photos in many gift shops and the work of local photographers of the islands. Of course there are many mornings and evenings of incredible tropical beauty. But if you like mind-blowing colors and skies and clouds that change by the moment into even more spectacular splendor, then you’ve come to the right site as Sunrise Santa Cruz will continue to be the place to see the best of what the central coast skies of our Golden State have to offer.

That’s it for August. We’ll take Labor Day off but coming up next Wednesday we’re going to blast out the most beautiful Santa Cruz sunset of the summer. And we’ll have information about the upcoming Capitola Art & Wine Festival that yours truly will be doing next weekend. And even though the flame has been doused, we’ll have a recap about the Olympic medals you won’t want to miss. So have a fabulous holiday weekend, enjoy the sky and we’ll catch you in September. Later, Monte Ellis fans.