What greeted me instead was something very different. It was warm-- no it was actually hot. I would say about 90+f, but it was not bright and blinding as it usually is on hot days. It was uniquely pleasant actually! I believe it was the first time I have ever felt such high temps and thought, "Hey, I like this!" Normally the sun is so harsh to my skin and eyes that I run for cover within a few minutes. I always thought the heat was unbearable, but without the sun it was a different thing entirely. Interesting, to discover this at 43.
Driving to work later the sky was a dozen different paintings. While passing through Santa Rosa I started getting these gushes of liquid golden light pouring in my rear-view mirror, flooding my car with an apricot haze.
Later as I descended the grade from Petaluma to Novato the sun lighting up the clouds was breathtaking. Every color of pink and gold and violet you could imagine was there in glowing vibrancy. I kept wanting to pull over but I was just barely going to make it to work on time so I didn't. Instead I grabbed my trusty mini camera and snapped these pics out the window.
