Where's the sun?

To start with , here is a little data I need to share to get us all on the same page:

Summer solstice, Minneapolis
Sunrise: 5:26 am
Sunset: 9:03 pm

Winter solstice, Minneapolis
Sunrise: 7:48 am
Sunset: 4:34 pm

Summer solstice, Honolulu
Sunrise: 5:50 am
Sunset: 7:15 pm

Winter solstice, Honolulu
Sunrise: 7:05 am
Sunset: 5:55 pm

Now, granted, Hawaii doesn't observe Daylight Savings Time but the differences in amount of daylight are stark. I hadn't even thought about the latitude issue until I got to Hawaii and was alarmed at how early the sun was setting. I was ready for bed by 7:30 pm each night. (The sun was setting here in HI around 6:30, nearly an hour later than it was in MN before I left.) I mentioned it to another MN ex patriot a couple weeks ago and she theorized the following:

When it's warm (80+ degrees) in MN, the days are long. Really long. And the sun doesn't set until late. When my MN-timed body comes to a climate that is 80+ degrees, it expects there to be an similar amount of light. After all, it's summer right? But no. We're much further south here, and that isn't the case. If it was 30 degrees outside, my body would be okay with the sun setting before supper, but since it's not getting cold here I'm perpetually stuck in summer.

I think she nailed it on the head. I've been here for more than a month, and it's only now that I'm getting used to the the "short" days of "summer". So it's not like you can come home from work at 5:00 and hit the beach with a couple hours of daylight left.

I don't really have a point here. It's more of a Public Service Announcement. A "Let's Learn About Hawaii" entry. I'm all about sharing the knowledge.

I'm not even sure how Daylight Savings Time fits into this analysis, but I'm pretty sure it would involve math. And, well, that's not going to happen.