I don’t know about you, but I am definitely not a morning person. I find it a lot easier to stay up late and then sleep in than to get myself up early in the morning and still function like a normal human being. The few times that I have woken up early in the past were for early morning airport runs, or for school or work.
That is until last year. One day one of my housemates and I got to talking about how beautiful the beach is and how it would be amazing to get up early so that we could go to the beach and watch the sunrise. Me being the adventurous, spontaneous person that I am, forgot momentarily my difficulty in waking up early and jumped at the opportunity. Although I did regret this when my alarm went off very early on the chosen morning, I still got up and trudged downstairs to make myself a caramel latte to take with me.
There is something so unique about driving along almost empty roads while it is still dark that awakens my adventurous spirit, and I quickly found myself getting more alert and warming up to the adventure.
By the time we got to our chosen beach, about 45 minutes away, the sun had already started to peek above the horizon. We made our way to the sand and settled in to watch the show. Although the sunrise wasn’t the most spectacular one that I have seen, it was definitely a lovely experience, with the light breeze, the constant crashing of waves on the shore and the company of a good friend. After the sun had well and truly risen we started to tune into the growling of our stomachs so we sought out somewhere for breakfast before heading home. We arrived home by 10am with the rest of the day ahead of us.
We repeated this trip multiple times throughout the year, mostly just the two of us, though we did take a group one time, which was another lovely morning that included sunrise, breakfast and then some spontaneous exploring and climbing around on rocks – something that I am always up for.
My friend moved interstate this year and I have missed our sunrise adventures, particularly in this time when going 6 km from home is a novelty. I would wake up before dawn again in a heartbeat if it meant that I could go to the beach and enjoy a sunrise.
The Barefoot Adventurer 