America's First Sunrise

by Paris Permenter & John Bigley

Daylight creeps slowly over the sea, fading an ink black sky littered with confetti stars and staining the horizon mango red. But this is not just another sunrise.

This is Point Udall, the easternmost spot in the territorial United States. Located on the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Croix, on this secluded coast the U.S. first greets the sunrise.

As dawn's rays bathe the Point in light, red Senapol cattle begin another day of grazing on nearby scrub-covered hills. On a rocky shoreline where even on the busiest days sea-grape trees far outnumber sunbathers, in the early morning hours visitors find themselves alone to enjoy the nation's earliest sunrise an hour before it reaches the mainland.

Point Udall is home to Point Udall Millennium Monument, built in 2000 to mark the spot where the first sunrise over the US of the millennium took place.

Later in the day, St. Croix promises duty-free shopping in quaint alley boutiques, fine Dutch architecture, and world-class snorkeling and diving at Buck Island Reef. But first, on a solitary stretch of beach, America's wake-up call is coming in.

For more information:

• call the USVI Dept. of Tourism, (800) 372-USVI
• visit the USVI Dept of Tourism website

Photo courtesy Flickr, taken by adamgaston