Today is the last day of Daylight Savings Time for 2022. The trouble with the tail end of DST is that sunrise is really late – 7:24 this morning, It been really sucking on workdays for the past few weeks; I normally get up at 7 on days that I work from home, and 6:30 on days that I go into the office, and I hate having to get up in the dark.
This morning though, I figured… If I get up a little after six, I can be over at Castle Island before 7 and be there before the sun comes up. I did not set an alarm; if I blew the wake time I figured no big deal, but in fact I did wake up around six, and hauled myself out of bed and onto the road.
It was still dark on the Expressway, but by the time I passed Carson Beach, there was a faint glow on the eastern horizon. I pulled into the parking lot at Castle Island about ten before 7 and and it was still pretty dark, with the lights of the mainland still quite visible.
I walked around the fort, and headed for the harbor side. The sun was actually going to rise behind Long Island. A fishing boat passed by, and flocks of birds flowed by.
I spent some time in front of the fort, and just before the sun started to show, decided to head over to the fishing pier. I didn’t get there quite in time, but I did catch the edge of the sun clearing the island. As the sun started to become visible, I noticed a ship way out to sea. After a couple of moments, I realized it was coming into the harbor, and getting noticeably closer. You could tell it was following a channel, as first it was headed one way then it turned, and then swept past me.
Once the sun was up, I walked back, past the fort to the parking lot. There were a fair number of people up and about; after all, it was nearly 8 am. The rising sun bathed the fort and the trees in a golden light.