One of my favorite annual events is what we refer to a Sunrise Sunset. From the time I was in high school, I said I wanted to watch the sunrise over the Atlantic and then set over the Gulf in the same day; but it wasn’t until we created our first 13 in 13 list did this become a reality. In 2013 sunrise was in Miami on South Beach and sunset was on the pier in Naples. In 2014 we started the day on the beach at Canaveral National Seashore and watched the sunset on Clearwater Beach.
Yesterday, barely meeting the end of the year deadline, we started the morning on St. Augustine Beach. While many are complaining about the unusual December heat, 69° at 6:30 is nearly perfect for a walk on the beach.
The mist from a foggy morning didn’t seem very promising, but by sunrise at 7:20, the orange sky made for a spectacular sunrise.
The morning was too beautiful to just jump in the car and drive across the state without a walk on the beach.
Followed by a walk through the old city looking for the obelisks with stops at other must see sights.
Next stop Gainesville for a snack and a sneak peak of the 352 Walls exhibit and a sculpture called Luna (named after our sometimes dog?) Then back in the car and on to Cedar Key.
A 3:30 arrival meant plenty of time to walk around town scouting out our sunset viewing location and even time for Tony’s world famous clam chowder.
What looked like a perfect sunset changed to golden glow as the sun descended behind a thick layer of clouds. However, the cotton candy clouds that followed were worth the wait.
On the way home we were already planning for Sunrise Sunset 2016.