James Boyd
A super sunset and a super moon
B. J. and I love to stroll on beaches under a full moon. We have been on beaches under full moons from Hawaii to Naples, Italy. It is a wonderful feeling and we love it. Perhaps the only feeling that equals being on a beautiful beach under a full moon is being on a Caribbean cruise under a full moon.
A special full moon was occurring on March 19—the “super moon”. Not only would the moon be full, it would be especially big and bright. The so-called “super moon” occurs when a new or full moon is in its closest orbit to our planet. Saturday, the moon would be 356,577 kilometers away, the closest it has been in 18 years.
“The moon will be a little closer than it was last year, 1/4000 of a percent closer,” Gordon Johnston, planetary program executive for NASA, told FoxNews.com. “The distance between the Earth and the moon changes a lot in its orbit. Really, the only change is that it appears bigger when it is close. This coming full moon will be the brightest of the year.”
B. J., I, and our friend Betty who wanted to see the rare event too would be on the St. Simons Beach on Saturday night to observe the “super moon”.
Saturday was a beautiful day on St. Simons—a great day for walking around the village and pier; it was nice convertible weather, too. We saddled Big Red, who was feeling frisky from a fresh bath, let his top back and reined him toward Betty’s place in Deer Run Villas. Betty had been anxious for a ride on Big Red.
Betty was waiting for us ready to ride at 5:30pm. She slid into Big Red’s saddle and we headed to Pier Village and Mullet Bay for a super dinner before the super moon. We Chit chatted about this and that over dinner, ran up on Susan and Dwain Sellers from Baxley, and had fun with them for a few minutes.
The sun was dropping low in the west when we finished eating. We strolled around the village a little and ran up on Beau and Roberta Taylor who was there to see the super moon, too.
Just before sunset, we ambled onto the pier for a picture taking session of the awesome sunset; it was beautiful. I guess the sun knew that the super moon would be displaying its grandeur soon so it put on a great show for us as it silhouetted the Sidney Lanier Bridge. Betty had brought her camera too so we “snapped” the sun as it disappeared beneath the horizon.
The super moon had not appeared yet so we sauntered around the park as we eagerly awaited its arrival. Betty, one of our Weight Watcher mentors, gave me a demonstration on how to “power walk” to lose weight. I think B. J. had put her up to it.
Suddenly, Betty exclaimed, “There it is! I see it!”
With cameras ready, we all scrambled for a better view as the amazing phenomenon began presenting itself. At first, the super moon was somewhat reddish in color; it was big and gorgeous. We maneuvered for the best positions to take pictures.
As the night grew darker, the super moon shined brighter. It was huge and magnificent. We were spellbound by its brilliance. Betty, a longtime island resident and former schoolteacher at St. Simons Elementary knew a place that there would be fewer lights and that we could get a better view. We mounted Big Red and nudged him to the place, pulled him up to a hitching rail and dismounted.
A full moon over the ocean is a marvel anytime but the glow of the super moon outdid anything we had ever seen. We just stood there entranced by the magic. The radiant moonbeams reflected off the rippling sea as if it were a billion tiny mirrors.
“We may get an even better view from the East Beach,” I suggested. We straddled Big Red and wound our way back onto the street that went to the East Beach. Even though it was high tide, there were hundreds of people there to see the marvelous spectacle. It would be a night we would never forget.
Later, after returning Betty to her home in Deer Run Villas, B. J. said, “Hey, I know that it is a little chilly tonight but let Big Red’s top down so we can ride around the island some under this incredible super moon.”
I let Big Red’s top back and the chill of the night went away under the warm joy of the glowing super moon as Big Red rode us gently along.
We were there with Big Red under the splendid super moon on St. Simons.
Oh, by the way, we were up early on Sunday morning the view the super moon from our driveway; it seemed as if it had gained in majesty.
“The moon will be a little closer than it was last year, 1/4000 of a percent closer,” Gordon Johnston, planetary program executive for NASA, told FoxNews.com. “The distance between the Earth and the moon changes a lot in its orbit. Really, the only change is that it appears bigger when it is close. This coming full moon will be the brightest of the year.”
B. J., I, and our friend Betty who wanted to see the rare event too would be on the St. Simons Beach on Saturday night to observe the “super moon”.
Saturday was a beautiful day on St. Simons—a great day for walking around the village and pier; it was nice convertible weather, too. We saddled Big Red, who was feeling frisky from a fresh bath, let his top back and reined him toward Betty’s place in Deer Run Villas. Betty had been anxious for a ride on Big Red.
Betty was waiting for us ready to ride at 5:30pm. She slid into Big Red’s saddle and we headed to Pier Village and Mullet Bay for a super dinner before the super moon. We Chit chatted about this and that over dinner, ran up on Susan and Dwain Sellers from Baxley, and had fun with them for a few minutes.
The sun was dropping low in the west when we finished eating. We strolled around the village a little and ran up on Beau and Roberta Taylor who was there to see the super moon, too.
Just before sunset, we ambled onto the pier for a picture taking session of the awesome sunset; it was beautiful. I guess the sun knew that the super moon would be displaying its grandeur soon so it put on a great show for us as it silhouetted the Sidney Lanier Bridge. Betty had brought her camera too so we “snapped” the sun as it disappeared beneath the horizon.
The super moon had not appeared yet so we sauntered around the park as we eagerly awaited its arrival. Betty, one of our Weight Watcher mentors, gave me a demonstration on how to “power walk” to lose weight. I think B. J. had put her up to it.
Suddenly, Betty exclaimed, “There it is! I see it!”
With cameras ready, we all scrambled for a better view as the amazing phenomenon began presenting itself. At first, the super moon was somewhat reddish in color; it was big and gorgeous. We maneuvered for the best positions to take pictures.
As the night grew darker, the super moon shined brighter. It was huge and magnificent. We were spellbound by its brilliance. Betty, a longtime island resident and former schoolteacher at St. Simons Elementary knew a place that there would be fewer lights and that we could get a better view. We mounted Big Red and nudged him to the place, pulled him up to a hitching rail and dismounted.
A full moon over the ocean is a marvel anytime but the glow of the super moon outdid anything we had ever seen. We just stood there entranced by the magic. The radiant moonbeams reflected off the rippling sea as if it were a billion tiny mirrors.
“We may get an even better view from the East Beach,” I suggested. We straddled Big Red and wound our way back onto the street that went to the East Beach. Even though it was high tide, there were hundreds of people there to see the marvelous spectacle. It would be a night we would never forget.
Later, after returning Betty to her home in Deer Run Villas, B. J. said, “Hey, I know that it is a little chilly tonight but let Big Red’s top down so we can ride around the island some under this incredible super moon.”
I let Big Red’s top back and the chill of the night went away under the warm joy of the glowing super moon as Big Red rode us gently along.
We were there with Big Red under the splendid super moon on St. Simons.
Oh, by the way, we were up early on Sunday morning the view the super moon from our driveway; it seemed as if it had gained in majesty.
Trackbacks
Trackback specific URI for this entry
No Trackbacks