sunrise to sunset in the carolinas!

Check that business out! This is the sun coming up over the ocean. It is an extremely large photo because...holy crap.

Although I was up late last night in a house full of friends, I jumped out of bed a little after 6:00. I rousted a few housemates out of bed, and we piled into Nora's sedan, heading for Folly Beach, about a half-hour away from downtown Charleston. I was on the edge of my seat with anticipation the whole time, an anticipation that grew as the first reddish glow of sunrise began to tint the sky. What if I came all this way and missed the sunrise? The forecast predicted that the sunrise wasn't until 7:17, but one could never be too certain!

Fortunately, the forecast was right on target. We pulled into a gravel lot at Folly Beach, nearly deserted at this early hour. I bolted from the car and scampered eagerly onto the sand. The Atlantic waves crashed on the shore, bold and blue. I ran madly up and down the sandy coast. Beautiful houses overlooked the shoreline behind me. I danced in place and watched as, every minute, a new shade of color overtook the sky.

At first, the sunrise formed a hazy ribbon of coral-colored clouds along the distant horizon. The waning moon was yet visible as the sky stayed a heavy lavender. Before my eyes, the sky's pinkish border rose, adding blossoms of orange to the nearly cloudless sky. The few clouds that hung above were the slightest wisps of cotton, and the sunrise made them a neon orange against the purple-blue sky. The ribbon of orange widened, and reflected off the sparkling blue waves. I danced madly in place, snapping photos and checking my watch.

At precisely 7:17, true to form, a brilliant ball of orange appeared where the water met the painted sky. It was a tiny orb, distant, and each time I blinked it loomed larger and higher in the sky until it had fully broken free from its watery home, bursting forth into new life. The sun glistened brighter than any gold can shine, more true than any flame, more perfectly round than any ball. I took off my shoes and dashed into the water. The ocean was cold, and my toes tingled as the waves lapped over my ankles. I gleefully splashed, never removing my eyes from the sky, which was now painted end to end with brilliant oranges and pinks, and huge swaths of light blue as the sun welcomed the new day.

Later, after a breakfast of improvised peanut butter-banana-coconut pancakes, I bid farewell to my friends and hit the road for North Carolina. I zigzagged across the state, idling momentarily in Columbia, the capital of South Carolina. Interstate 26 originates in Charleston, and led me straight into North Carolina. The Blue Ridge Mountains, which had certainly been awaiting my entrance from the same position the entire time, suddenly made their presence clear, looming above me as I swept down the first hill and into the state. The sun had begun to set to the west, and shot rays through the trees, casting a glorious ligh
t upon the huge, blue mountains in front of me. Trees surrounded the interstate. I opened my window, and smelled the scent of forests long forgotten. I arrived at my friend's house just as the sun was nestling behind the mountains, lending a soft orange glow to the hills around me.