(originally written 7/8/8)
I went down to OC, NJ with very few goals. After all, what is the point of setting goals on vacation if you can’t achieve them? My goals were few yet achievable. In no particular order; see and commit the sunrise to digital, call 2 key old friends still making a living out of the physical music biz, go under the Atlantic Ocean and meet up with my old friend, hero and inspiration George Stone. This post is all about me and the sun. You know, that big red/orange planet in the sky? Fuck this shit, I am half in the bag, buzzogging my literal guts out..
I checked before we went don, and sunrise was generally 5:20 AM or so. So if you think sunrise actually happens at 5:20 or so, you would be wrong. Please let my experience guide you so as to not make any future mistake. Because sunrise over the Atlantic is truly a thing of beauty.
I can tell you of my only real sunrise witnessed. I am pretty sure it is in May of 05. I was in Long Beach Island. I somehow managed to get up early and go down to the beach. I was totally unprepared. So there I am, all dressed in black, with no chair. It totally looked like I slept there. Black hat, black sweatshirt, black jeans-I was only missing the requisite bottle of Thunderbird.
Here’s a tip for those of you who want to witness a true sunrise. Look at the time of the sun rise, and add a half hour. And by add a half hour, I mean tack on an additional half hour to your trip to the beach to watch the sunrise. For argument’s sake, let’s say the sun is scheduled to rise at 5:23 AM. It’s not like at 5:22 its total darkness. Come 5:23 the show begins. Absolutely not.
Newsflash; the sun’s rays break the horizon well before the actual sunrise. This is from dumb experience. I somehow managed to get up early enough while the Long Beach Island (LBI) beach was bathed in relative darkness. Again, motard that I am, I was totally unprepared. No camera, no chair, no looking like I actually had a place to stay. I remember walking onto that beach. There were fisherman already casting their bait out to the waves. I really don’t think there were 5 humans on the beach that I could see.
I sat, my ass on a towel on the cold beach. Just waiting. It was relatively dark. As the minutes crept on, I saw a vivid orange crack the horizon. The sun was not up yet, but the rays were breaching the horizon. It was a slow motion movie right ahead of me. Slowly, I saw more orange over the horizon. Not a full sun yet, it probably wasn’t close to sunrise yet, but the show was on.
The top of a circle became apparent over the horizon. It didn’t make a difference to the waves crashing, the birds flying, the fishermen fishing. I guess this was a regular drill (Duh). Doesn’t matter to me, this is frigging awesome. The sky grows brighter. I can see more of the beach. The sun is halfway over the horizon. I have never seen a more orange sky. It feels so personal. Like the sun is rising for only me.
The beach is almost now totally lit. The sun just needs the bottom part to crest the horizon, and I guess the sunrise is complete. Eventually, it happens. It looks like the sun has emerged from the ocean. The fishermen could care less; I guess they are locals and are somehow used to this scene. Me, I can’t get enough. There are few clouds over the horizon, but the sunrise comes through unobscured.
I sit in my hobo like state, thinking this shit is awesome. It is. It’s the first true sunrise I have seen in my life, and it is easily worth all the hassle. A few years back, at a beach house we lucked into for Memorial Day weekend, we got close. We partied the first night we got there. A few brave souls were up at sunrise, so we decided to go down to the beach. At this point, some of us were up past 24 hours. We got to the beach well after the sun was up. As I type this, the disposable camera we took to document this week sits under a cover of dust to my left. I would hope there are some killer pictures in there from 6 years ago.
Flash to present day. I know how the drill goes. I need at least a half hour before sun rise. My wife T is surprisingly cool for the concept of catching a sunrise. We skip the first morning, and if you read the Vacationing w/ Kids post, you know how that turned out. The second morning, we caught a bit of a break, as this was the morning the father of the 4 girls was sleeping in the living room right outside our room. We had made a deal to wake each other up at 4:30; him so he could leave, us so we could see the sunrise.
A quick look outside revealed a strong ribbon of clouds right at the horizon. Fuck this shit I thought, we have all week to get up at 4-fucking-30-Am to catch a sunrise. My ass is going back to bed. The second attempt reveals the same damn result; clear skies every where except the damn horizon. I make the call to go the fuck back to bed. Still plenty of time. But I am getting tired of getting up every morning at 4:30 and walking out the deck to make a call. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I would love to catch a sunrise. But it looks like the sun rises a bit to the north, and the clouds obscure it.
Weather comes into play, and I take Wednesday off for the better Thursday. At this point, I am beat to shit, so I give up the ghost. I don’t get to see that Atlantic Ocean sunrise. My mother in law swears she was up and caught the sunrise, so we shall see. And you would think my battle against the sun ends here. I am not typing this much to tell you that. So we go on.
I don’t tan well. This is a lesson I learn in my current j*b. My face has had sunburn. And let’s face it, I can’t afford to get any more ugly to be with my hottie wife. I really do have a redneck at this point. A real deal, farmer, NASCAR redneck. I try to fight it. Use sunscreen on my face and neck, and reapply. Yea, cough, pussy. I am just preventing the eventual onset of ‘more ugly’. Really, at times I worry about what I am exposed to, and what I am breathing in. No point in getting the beach house if I can’t enjoy it.
When I get to the beach, I make the decision to go for it all. I go shirtless. Now, please don’t feign to be impressed. This is not a Chippendale’s dancer going topless, this is a 210 pound blob going without a shirt. But I figure I have arrived at the point to do so. I am married, so she is stuck with me and fuck everyone else. I bravely expose my torso flesh to the ravages of the sun.
Not that I am looking for product placement, but we use Coppertone the whole week and get no real burns. So if anyone who reads this awesome blog that happens to work for Coppertone, and wants to reward me for praising their fine product, please get in touch with me. My ample belly flesh doesn’t burn. I don’t get burned on my shoulders, and I don’t get the dreaded raccoon eyes. We use the 50 lotion on our faces, and the 30 sprays everywhere else. Happily, planes don’t crash from the sun reflecting off my pasty Irish flesh. I can go into the ocean. I can stay on the beach. I can go to the boards, and even my toes don’t get burned. Ah, yes, it looks like I will escape with no real skin damage.
Enter Friday’ the last morning we will be there. It’s cloudy and overcast. We’re leaving tomorrow, and what the fuck. My wife and I slap 15 on our faces, and head down the beach to get those abandoned pier shots I want. Except, on the way down, the sun comes out. Big time. Sure, I have a cap & shades on. Surely, no damaging rays can get through. T wears a jacket with a hood, and on the way back up, she puts it up. She looks like a movie star trying to avoid attention. Not only is she beautiful (Hi, honey, thanks for reading! Love ya! Extra exclamation points!!!) but she is smart. Go figure, on the last real morning we are there, I get fucking sunburned. Right on my already redneck.
I mean to the point there is a dull pain when I put the seatbelt on. Goddamn it, I was almost outta here with no real damage. Ugh, I might as well shave a 3 in my head.
In the end, it’s a minor price to pay (for now). Just one rash of sunburn on my shoulders will hopefully lead to no permanent damage. Sucks that I didn’t catch a sunrise. I wholeheartedly endorse Coppertone. Except it takes a bit to wash off. After a few applications, it is almost like a snake peeling off your skin in the shower. It’s not quite as cool as peeling off Elmer’s Glue off your fingers in 5th grade art class. Think more along the lines of a snake shedding its skin.
Awright kids, it’s 2:25 in the morning, and I am out of rum. Peace out, yo, & I hope you enjoyed this post.
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