The only things I wake up early for: hiking, traveling, and, apparently, hot air balloons.

Though, we may have been a bit overzealous with waking up at around 4:30am to make it in time for the sunrise hot air balloon launching at the Adirondack Balloon Festival, but getting there early (which may be an understatement) at around 5:30 a.m. did result in the best parking spots we've probably ever had at the event and time enough for a quick benefit buffet breakfast.
The real fun, however, started when the sun finally started to creep out of bed.

The hot air balloon operators brought out their equipment and you could see multiple people in their baskets lighting the fires that would eventually inflate the larger-than-life balloons.
Due to weather conditions and a passing storm, the winds were not quite cooperative for a massive launch but a few did go up while some were still inflated on the ground to give the crowd a good show.
I learned: an average hot air balloon can have about 2.5 tons of air in it and that a hot air balloon Spider Pig is probably the most awesome thing ever.

The Adirondack Balloon Festival, I was told, is one of the last fests in the country that still do not charge an entry fee. There are a ton of vendors, but you might want to get there early (like pre-dawn) to get a good parking spot or you'll be stuck in a pretty-darn-long line of cars.

Despite not being a morning person myself, it really is kinda worth it to check out at least once. And you can see more photos of the fest here and of Spider Pig here.