Day 17: Fun in the sun

Despite being more of a night-owl, I really like seeing the sun rise. This causes problems in the summer :-) So far this year I haven't been tempted out of bed by too many sunrises. The only other memorable one was back in January when I drove all the way out to SFU. Since then I've been content to watch the sunrise from home. However, this morning promised to be clear and I had already decided to take the day off work so I figured that today would be a good day to catch sunrise. I wanted to see the sun come up behind the city skyline so decided that somewhere along the waterfront between Jericho and Locarno Beaches would do the trick.

I checked the time the sun was due to rise and set my alarm. I got up just before 6am and almost didn't go out as the temperature was only about 3 C (prairie folk can laugh now). I didn't fancy the idea of being cold down by the water. But I told myself it would be worth it, grabbed the camera, hat and gloves and headed on down. I went out onto the pier by Jericho Sailing Club, which was covered in a light frost. Looking around me I could see the sand was also frosty.

And so I spent the next three-quarters of an hour admiring the golden sky behind the city, and the blue then pink sky to the west. The wind was calm, and though it was cool I didn't feel cold. A group of people were fishing for crabs off the pier, loading up their traps and casting them into the shallow water. I took pictures of the city, of the mountains, of the water, generally keeping my sights occupied until I saw the first light on the tips of the Tetrahedron Peaks. I snapped a few in that direction and turned back to the city. I noticed a strange halo more or less directly over the Shangri-La tower, and within seconds the sun peeked over the Golden Ears ridge and lit up everything around me. I'm guessing it was a pollen corona since all the cherry trees are in bloom.

With the sun up, it was time for me to head home for some breakfast. But I took one last shot as the sun cleared the tops of the Vancouver high-rises and saw crepuscular rays where the buildings were casting shadows. It looked like a golden orb had been perched on top of Vancouver. And I decided that was my photo for today.

Other photos from this morning are on Flickr.

Golden sunrise over Vancouver