4:00 am I woke up around 4 am on a Friday morning, dragged myself out of bed to eat breakfast before I decided to go to the lake to watch the sun peak over the waters edge.
4:30 am After falling back asleep before I could even manage to get out of my warm and cozy bed, I decided the sunrise can wait and fell back asleep for another 30 minutes or so.
5:20 am I finally found the motivation to move out of my bed. I got dressed and walked down the stairs of my empty dorm and started walking towards the L. I waited at the L stop for about 10 minutes before the first train was to arrive. The temperature was around 58 degrees with a wind chill of about 5 mph.
5:48 am I mosey off at the Lake stop on the train and start walking. I walked about 2 miles to get to the harbor. It was chilly. There was construction going on while I walked to the harbor, it took me a little off course than what I had planned to do.
6:00 am I made it to the harbor and walked a little to find the perfect spot to film the sunrise. I pulled out my handy-dandy tripod and setup for the greatest filming experience ever. There were a few people sitting along the edge where I was. They wore silk robes with heels and flats. They were doing a photo shoot. I thought it was too early for that.
6:37 am I am starting to get my camera set up for filming. I put it on the time lapse setting and hope for the best. I check periodically to make sure it is captioning what I want it to. There are seagulls flying and standing in the frame. I can see them in the bottom corner.
7:30 am I leave the cold and barren lake front with my camera in hand. I am very hungry at this point. I decide to investigate a place to eat. I walk from the lake front and down a couple blocks to find WildBerry, a nice and clean place to eat. It wasn’t that busy when I got there, it was quite loud with people talking, about 60db.
8:00 am I ordered Nutella Crepes. They were quite satisfying, especially for an early morning, these were perfect. I ended up eating only one and a half of the three crepes put on my plate. I was starving but I some how became full after a few bites. I asked for a to-go container so I could consume these crepes at a later time.
8:30 am I have now left the restaurant and start heading towards the Lake Station on the L to head back towards Fullerton to continue my journey. The train was on time and it didn’t take me that long to get back to Fullerton.
9:00 am I get back to Fullerton and start walking East towards the zoo. It’s a long walk but it starts to get warmer, about 70 degrees now. On my walk i notice a little area on the side. It looks to be a sacred garden or something. I walk in to find out it is a lily pool.
9:45 am I walk around the lily pool and took in the scent of fresh dew on the grass and the smell of leaves falling. I find a petite waterfall on my right as walk in. It has leaves stuck in its grasp on the rocks that have fallen from the trees.
9:59 am I continue down the curving of the gravel path that leads me around this mysterious lily pool. As I walk around the path I find a bungalow. I walk towards the front of the bungalow and look behind me to see a couple sitting, massaging each others shoulders. I am concerned and a little frightened. I quicken my pace to get away from the romantic, yet creepy, experience happening behind me.
10:15 am As I continue down the gravel path I find a circular sitting place where one could have a meeting. The rocks are placed in a way where there is a spot in the middle for a possible sacrifice. Depending on the day.
10:30 am I walk around the rest of the lily pond. Noticing yellow flowers on my right and white flowers on my left. The white flowers appeared to be Queen Anne’s Lace but I wasn’t sure. As I walked around the lily pool, I made it back to the front where I saw frogs sitting on lily pads. I thought it was just a thing that happened in movies.
11:00 am I decide to leave this lovely pool and head back towards the lake, but this time down Fullerton. I walk about half a mile towards the lake and end up walking through a tunnel.
This tunnel look as if it was abandoned and neglected like me. I felt connected to it. Even with the two lights out I could see myself in the tunnel. I walk through the dark abyss examining the walls. They are covered in spiders, I panic and try to walk a little faster. All of the sudden a bicyclist comes out of no where and screams “ONYOURLEFT!!!!!!!” Without warning I gasp and rush to the side as he whips past me. His screams were confusing because he was on my right, yet he yelled “ONYOURLEFT!!!!!!!” I continue walking until I find a staircase on my left. I continue up the stairs and across the bridge to get to the lake. Once I get to the lake I walk for a few minutes to get to a spot where I can sit down and relax for a little while.
11:45 am After I made it to the lake I made my way to the edge of the waters to take pictures of the waves crashing on the pole. The temperature has dropped a few degrees since being at the lake. The waves crashing is a very relaxing sound, there are not many people around me. The waves peaked at around 95 db.
12:15 pm I notice a seagull sitting on a post. Again, I thought this was only a thing I saw in movies. I photographed it.
It was perched on the edge of the post. Giving me a look. The waves continued to crash along the post and the long divider between the lake. The wind was whipping through my jacket, I felt the goose bumps go up my arm, the hair standing up on the back of my neck, making me shudder.
12:45 pm I shifted my spot to a different place on the edge. I walked towards a different part of the divider to get a picture of the entire lake and the “DANGER SUBMERGED ROCK” sign written in red to grab the attention of the passer by. The yellow ladder going into the lake stood out against the dark and erie feeling the lake was radiating off itself. I watched as the waves continued to swallow the divider. The wind began to pick up again as the waves started to become more and more aggressive.
1:00 pm I walk around the edge of the lake to check out the submerged rocks. I find some that are only partially submerged. They have waves crashing against them, taking little pieces off of them slowly changing the shape of the rock. Over time it will probably be a different shape. I take a picture to capture the wave crashing against the rock.
1:10 pm I walk towards the small set of stairs that are at the edge of the path for people to walk upon. They are crashing onto the path leaving it soaked halfway up it. The possibility of it hitting someone running past entertained me and also worried me about someone slipping into the lake. This picture is one of my favorites because it captures the details of the waves. It shows how delicate they can be while also showing the long period of destruction that waves can do to it.
1:25 pm I start to make my way back to Fullerton so I can head home to my dorm. I walk down the path and past police officers standing by the Divi bike station. I start walking past an area where I hear music being played. I go off the path to check out what is going on. On my desire path I see a rabbit.
I take a picture of the rabbit. I think to myself I probably stunned it with the flash. I started to feel bad, but it just ran after I got a little to close for its comfort. After I see the rabbit I head home and rest for the rest of the day in my dorm.
The red line is my first endeavor going to the lake for the sunrise and then also heading back. It is hard to see but i have also included where I stopped for breakfast. The teal line is my second trip of the day to the lily pool and down to the lake to capture the waves and back.
