#41 – Watch the sun rise from the beach (Sunrise in Maine)

Part of my 101 Things in 1001 Days project. 

I woke up really early on our last morning in Maine to catch the sun rising over the water.  I’d set my alarm not really knowing what time the sun would come up, and when I woke it was so dark that I ended up having time for a long shower before the sky show.

The place where we stayed is right on the water, just a few steps from the ocean.  I found a spot on the rocks and snapped away as the sun crawled up the sky and finally broke through the clouds.

There’s something so beautiful about sitting still, and watching quietly as the world wakes up.

After a while Tim’s stepdad Dr Bob joined me with his own camera.  He’s an oil painter, and wherever we go he’s always talking about the beauty he sees in nature and the way that the light hits “just right”.  He takes a lot of reference photos for his paintings and turns them into incredible landscapes.

Since I’ve started learning how to paint he’s kind of taken me under his wing.  He speaks about art with a passion that’s infectious, and he has a way of explaining concepts gradually, over many days and conversations.  It’s like he knows that I’ll  need a day to digest what we’ve discussed before handing me the next piece of the puzzle, and there were many aha! moments for me during the weeks we chatted.

I think the rest of his family gets a bit bored with his observations of the world but I could listen to him all day.  I learned so much from him while I was there, and I think he liked having a fresh set of ears to talk to.

Liz, would you look. at. that!

I’ll forever be reminded of Dr Bob whenever I look at these photos.

This place.  Those people.  I miss them all so much.