The sunrise wave and coffee

I've been on vacation for the past week, and had the opportunity to do some touristy things here in Juno Beach.  Marybeth and I have been walk/running for the past couple months and I've been clicking off numerous photo's using my cell phone camera at the dawn.  This time off from working and a lull in training has allowed me time to take the nicer camera and tripod out to capture some "better" pictures.

My first photo session on Thursday was great... I setup on the Juno Beach Pier and captured some great photo's of the Dawn (see below)

Juno Beach Pier

With some success under my belt, I was now more motivated to set the alarm and capture Friday's sunrise too.  

On Friday morning I had the coffee ready, the camera and tripod near the door, and plans for a quick 5 minute drive to Loggerhead Park to catch the sunrise.  Arriving with time to spare I set out across the narrow beach towards the waterline.    I traveled light carrying just the camera, tripod and my coffee.   After opening the tripod and sinking it into the sand I set about placing the camera and setting up for the shot.  Immediately I noticed that the battery that I had placed in the camera wasn't working.  I was checking the battery when out of the corner of my eye I noticed a large wave rolling towards shore.   My immediate dilemma was three fold:  I'm going to get wet,  camera/tripod was going into ocean, and I hadn't had my coffee yet.  

I really had only one choice, and saved the camera while trying to run backwards from the approaching wave.  I was partially successful and the camera didn't get a salt water bath but my shoes  where now ankle deep (with my feet still in them).  About this time I noticed that my coffee cup was rolling down the shoreline being carried by the retreating wave.   I planted the tripod on drier ground and ran back towards the ocean in an attempt to rescue my favorite travel mug.

At this point it has become one of those cosmic setups with God having a good laugh at my expense. I was running towards the water chasing my coffee, I was slogging in a $120 pair of now wet running shoes (which I needed to wear on Saturday for a 10 mile race),  I had left the camera and tripod behind, and was now chasing a $10 aluminum hiking bottle that was surfing it's way into the ocean.    Sanity prevailed and I assumed that my shoes were wet enough already.   I stood their watching as my untouched coffee (with cream) permanently sealed in an aluminum water bottle started on it's long journey to Nova Scotia.    

If anybody on the Atlantic seaboard finds a black aluminum (it has an Oracle logo) with red plastic top water bottle on the surf feel free free to email me, I'd be curious to see if it's ever found.