Watching people watching sunsets

I suppose that you've noticed I seem to enjoy photographing 3 things - sunsets, Mt. Rishiri, and the sea.  I can't help it! I try to tell myself that I've taken enough pictures of these subjects, but then I will be captivated by the beauty of one, two, or all three of them and wind up taking another picture. It's a good thing we live in a digital world! No, not so I can delete whatever I don't want - that never works!  If I were taking pictures with regular film, I would have no money! Also, I wouldn't be able to show my little darlings to you! Some people have grandchildren, I have sunsets.  On my ferry ride home from Rebun tonight, I discovered that I like another subject as well...

...people enjoying sunsets!  Well, I think it's different enough from my usual subjects to count!

I was sitting outside on my way home this evening.  This was partly due to the fact that I was riding on the ferry that is a little fragrant inside and partly due to the fact that it was a gorgeous afternoon.  I found a nice little spot in the second row of seats and settled in for the ride home.  It was a little chilly, so I put on the best jacket known to mankind.  Let me tell you about this jacket!  It has been invaluable (which seems like it should mean not valuable, but whatever) for a Southerner migrating northward.  It's some kind of Land's End three in one thing, and the shell alone is perfect for this time of year on the ferry.  It also keeps the rain off pretty well, which is something to be said in and of itself!  But, I digress! The ferry pulled away from the dock (by the way, the ferry song drives me crazy as it is always getting stuck in my head) and as we drove (steamed?) out from under the shadow of the mountains of Rebun, the sun came streaming across the deck of the ferry. Ahhhh. The sun was rather bright in my face, so I put on my sunglasses, even though I seem to be the only person here who wears sunglasses.  It was still pretty bright, so I shut my eyes, snuggled into my jacket and shifted into neutral. A while later, the sun was not so strong, so I opened my eyes again. There were the beginnings of a beautiful sunset.

The sunset slowly began to move from peach to pink as the sun descended toward Rebun. At some point an alarm (or tour guide) must have gone off in the main cabin, because all of a sudden people were everywhere! It was actually really fun to watch everyone watching the sunset.  I wondered if it was their first trip to this area, and if it would be their only trip. If so, they certainly picked a good day! Not like whoever picked September 3rd!

As the sun sank slowly into the west, the lonesome cowboy - wait, wrong story!  It was pretty amazing, because it was one of those sunsets where you just see the sun drop into the horizon. As the last sliver disappeared, some people applauded. I thought that was fun. It was pretty awesome to see. Soon after, the deck was sparsely populated again. Actually, if you ever happen to see a sunset up here...hmm...stick around for a little while after the sun sets and you will see the most amazing colors.  That's when I took the first picture, which was a poor imitation of the real thing.

Oh, one more thing...

...this was the view from my hotel room this morning!!! Sigh. I love my mountain...and my sea...and my sunsets...