Not many worthwhile, enjoyable motivations exist for extracting yourself from bed long before the dawn. Watching one of the first sunrises in the U.S., though, is ample reason to get your day going while it’s still nighttime. Mornings in Maine find dozens of people poising themselves on the top of Cadillac Mountain to experience this sunrise, visible over Frenchman Bay on the northeastern-most tip of the country.
Our drive to the top at times seemed to be a pall-mall race against other cars, like-minded people ensuring they didn’t wake up in the middle of the night for nothing. These were people intent on seeing the event. October through March, sunrise lovers can spot the absolute first moment of the day’s sun from this mountain peak. This was August and the sun was positioned to show some other location the very first light of the day, but Cadillac Mountain was next in line to receive the rays. The temperature was not much higher than freezing, with wind gusts lowering the air to seriously frigid and blowing us around until we found a buffer behind a boulder. We wrapped ourselves in blankets and waited.
Finally, peering above the stone-filled waters, the first glimpse of orange. Sensing our anticipation, the sky started to come to life slowly, the sun enjoying drawing out its appearance. We stayed until it completed its debut and the orange turned to yellow. Then we joined the rest of the sunrise seekers in making our way down the mountain, devoid of the desperation the trip to the top seemed to hold.
Watching a country’s first sunrise is a unique experience to put under your belt. I’m not sure that I’m interested enough in sunrises, though, that I’d ever again, just to see one, risk getting frostbitten during the summer.
Sabina Lohr finds that home is not where the heart is, and a good chunk of her life revolves around plotting her next trip, or traveling. She has a Bachelor of Arts with a major in German which, like many liberal arts degrees, has gotten her nowhere except overseas to study. Unlike so many other travelers, she has never kept track of the number of countries she’s traveled to but knows her continent count stands at only three. The other four are calling.
Last 5 posts by Sabina Lohr
- The Jaws Bridge of Martha's Vineyard - September 5th, 2009
- Newport, Still Echoing with the Roaring Twenties - August 19th, 2009
- An Island's Island, Chappaquiddick - August 5th, 2009
