On the Sunny Side

On the last morning of our cruise we had to be up early in order to get dressed and eat breakfast before they started emptying the ship at 8am. After a week of sleeping in under cool, cozy covers I was not eager to get up with the alarm. In fact, I am never eager to get up with an alarm clock. My body is quite happy to naturally come alive around 9ish and ease into the day long after the sun has come up. Alas, life and work do not allow me to do that, since I regularly have to get up at 5:30am. I see a lot of sunrises, but only under protest.


So, last Saturday morning was no different. I pulled myself out of bed, slipped on some clothes and headed to breakfast with my feet hit the floor happy in the morning husband. He almost always bounces out of bed like Tigger, which annoys me to no end. I figured I might as well take my camera with me in case the sunrise was pretty, and I was not disappointed. When we hit the top deck, the eastern skies were somewhat golden, and I was suddenly wide awake in recognition of the opportunity that lay before me. Hubby went to the restaurant, and I dashed to the balcony rails to start shooting. I ran all over the upper part of the boat, looking for the right angles and ran into a middle aged Asian man doing the same thing. With our cameras clicking away, we danced around each other, strangers on the same mission. We exchanged the occasional shout of, "Ooh, look over here!" and "Check out this angle!" I never got his name. I kind of wish I had because it would have been fun to share our best shot with each other later. I would have sent him this one.

And after I had exhausted every opportunity I could to capture the sun sliding up the side of that New Orleans river bank, I leaned over the rail and tried to soak in every detail about that moment. One last look without the lens so I could fully appreciate the sounds and smells. The colors and the movement of the boats slipping through the water made me think of a Train song, and I let that roll through my head for a minute or so. And then I slipped back down the steps in search of my husband, begrudgingly grateful for having yet another sunrise forced upon me.