☀️ Sun Seeker

Find your closest warm-weather escape.

Sun Seeker is a web application that helps you discover the nearest warm-weather destinations based on your current location and desired temperature. Whether you're looking to escape a chilly rainy day or planning a quick road trip to the sun, Sun Seeker calculates the closest cities currently meeting or exceeding your target temperature.

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✨ Features

• Flexible Origin Input: Use browser geolocation to automatically detect your coordinates, or enter any 5-digit US Zip Code.
• Interactive Temperature Slider: Choose your ideal target temperature (between 60°F and 100°F) with a dynamic, color-coded range slider.
• Smart Proximity Search:
  • Calculates the great-circle distance (via the Haversine formula) from your origin to ~100 curated destinations across the Western United States.
  • Sorts destinations by distance and queries real-time weather conditions sequentially to find your top 10 closest warm escapes while respecting API rate limits.
• Live Weather Details: Displays current temperature, weather conditions, weather icons, and distance in miles for every matching destination.
• One-Click Navigation: Jump straight to any recommended destination on Google Maps.

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🛠️ Tech Stack

• Frontend: HTML5, CSS3 (custom glassmorphism design & responsive grid), Vanilla JavaScript
• Backend: Node.js, Express (^5.2.1)
• External APIs:
  • OpenWeatherMap Current Weather API
  • OpenWeatherMap Geocoding API

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🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18+ recommended)
• An API key from OpenWeatherMap

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/daconrad/sun-seeker.git
cd sun-seeker

2. Install Dependencies

npm install

3. Configure Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the root directory and add your OpenWeatherMap API key:

OPENWEATHER_API_KEY=your_openweathermap_api_key_here
PORT=3000

4. Start the Application

npm start

The server will start at http://localhost:3000. Open this URL in your browser to start searching for warm destinations!

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📂 Project Structure

sun-seeker/
├── destinations.json    # Curated list of ~100 Western US destinations with coordinates
├── package.json         # Project metadata, scripts, and dependencies
├── server.js            # Express server, distance calculator, and OpenWeather API proxy
└── public/              # Static frontend assets
    ├── index.html       # Main application layout and destination card template
    ├── main.js          # Frontend state, geolocation handling, and API integration
    └── style.css        # Custom styling, animations, and responsive layout

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🔌 API Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/geocode?zip={zip}	Resolves a 5-digit US Zip Code into latitude and longitude coordinates.
POST	/api/destinations	Accepts { originLat, originLon, targetTemp } and returns up to 10 closest destinations meeting the target temperature.