Christmas at the edge of the world

It cleared up enough last night for them to launch the latest Atlas V rocket from our coast (with super duper secret payload that will probably kill us all, or at least document our every move for all eternity).  So the SGH, ratdog and I headed down to the beach and caught a spectacular view of the liftoff from about 20 miles north of the site.  View enhanced by a power outage in our area, so no pesky streetlamps to invade the darkness. Quite stunning, couldn't help but be excited, easy to see why some people drink this kool-aid. (And ratdog had a worthwhile beach experience as well, since he went nose to claw with a sand flea and came out the winner.)