We have had several weeks of stunning sunsets here in Southern California. I live up a hill from my hometown of Laguna Beach, and a couple blocks from a city park, called Alta Laguna Park. At about 1,000 feet above sea level, it’s one of the best sunset viewing spots in the area. My husband and I walk our dog, Jenny, over there to catch the sunsets. Here are a few recent shots from my Iphone.
You can almost tell when they are going to be amazing. All you need is a varied cloud cover, and the light from the setting sun blasts up and illuminates them. The view from this park looks southwest and over the hills and town, and out toward Catalina Island (on the right). There’s another small island just to the south, called San Clemente, and you only see that on super clear days.
This shot (and several others, including that first one) were taken when the marine layer (fog) was starting to roll in. But it didn’t block the illuminated clouds in the distance. Quite a phenomenon when this all happens at the same time. You can see the ocean right above the hill tops, reflecting the orange light.
This was the same view but taken several hours before sunset. It was a very moody day and the air was still and the clouds made it feel like dusk almost all day.
This is just a shot with some of those pink, orange and yellow clouds looking like flames.
So what’s the point? Well, lots of people like to visit our tourist town in summer (and are often shocked that it’s soggy and cold from the fog–especially during June gloom.) But a great time to visit is winter, especially December, if you want to miss the crowds and catch some of these sunsets.
And here’s a shot of our sweet dog, Jenny, who accompanies us to watch the sunsets. And she could usually care less. But I still think she’s still really cute!
