Sunrise on Padre Island

Sunrise at the Beach

5:00 in the morning and I hear harp sounds. It's my iPhone alarm saying Get Up! Go to the Beach! By 5:30, I'm waiting for Charlene's big gate to slide open, and off I go. First, a stop at the ATM - I'm down to zero dollars. Then the Whataburger drive-through for a medium coffee. Then, up the ramp and to the island. It's so dark I'm wondering how the sun will rise in the next 30 minutes. Parked at the wood ramp to Bob Hall Pier, I recheck sunrise time. I'm an hour early, but eventually, the sky is less dark, I can see where the sky meets the Gulf, and the birds start finding breakfast.