We woke up before the sun. The first thing my bleary eyes noticed were the twinkling lights of Marin, the East Bay, and San Francisco. Then the blues. The blues enveloped me. So many shades: midnight, azure, beryl, cerulean, cobalt, indigo, navy, royal, sapphire, teal, turquoise, ultramarine. The dark forms of the mountains contrasting with the lighter forms of the water.

As I pulled on my running shoes, I made a mental note to go to the balcony before we headed back down the mountain, back to the Marina for Emmy to catch the ferry for the first leg of Escape from Alcatraz. By the time I had quickly dressed and brushed my teeth, the horizon was already light. I watched as within seconds the blues lightened then became recognizable greens, pinks, beiges, darkened by the shadow of morning.

As we began to scurry down the mountain, Emily turned to me and said, “I think the sunrises here are so much more beautiful than the sunsets. Maybe because I experience them so less frequently.”

I nodded my head in agreement. I want to remember the depth and the enchantment of the blues infinitely.