30 x 30: #9 – Get up solely to see the sunrise and watch the sunset on the same day

I love the sunrise, but I rarely get up JUST to see the sunrise, so I knew this would go on my list from the beginning. There’s something so peaceful about the sunrise and when you think about how there are so many more people who see the sunset than the sunrise, it’s a bit of a treat to see one.

As soon as I found out I was going to spend three days in Acadia I knew that it would be an excellent place to see the sunrise and I was NOT wrong! After we were up there, I found out that Acadia, and specifically Cadillac Mountain, is, according to them, the first place the sun hits on the east coast and it certainly felt like it. Although we were freezing (it was in the 40s), it was definitely worth getting up and if you’re EVER up there you should check it out.

Check out this panorama below of sunrise:

The only drawback of seeing the sunrise in Acadia, is the sheer number of people. I really wanted to have time to myself while the sun was coming up, but there were so many people! Thankfully, I did get a few minutes after the sun rose to stand and enjoy the peacefulness of the mountain top and the beauty of the sunrise.

What I added, to make this more of a challenge and not just about enjoying the sunrise was to see the sunset on the same day. I knew that I wanted to make it a full day to focus and plan around my 30 x 30, let’s call it a day of contemplation, but the idea behind it was vague. Unfortunately, that afternoon and evening were rather overcast:

I’m still impressed with the panorama I took and again it was about being somewhere and taking the time to appreciate the sunset, whether it was there or not. It was still nice to have a few minutes of solitude and quiet to wrap up the end of my day, and the plus side is the following night as I drove us back toward Boston there was a stunning sunset: