We drove for hours on end along the twisting, curving road. It was nearing midnight, and everything outside my passenger side window was black. Only when we gradually rounded a curve and our headlights cut through the dark was I able to see trees on either side of the road. The hum of the engine and the soft tune coming from the radio began to lull me to sleep.
I opened my eyes and had to shield my face from the piercingly radiant sun shining through the window. Once my eyes adjusted, all I saw around me was blue and red. The sky was picturesquely blue, spotted with a few fading white clouds. The red of the San Francisco Bay Bridge set against the darker water beneath made me believe for a minute that I was looking at a life-sized painting. The bay beneath us was just one shade darker than that of the sky. It sparkled as the sun hit it at all different angles, looking like glitter was being thrown down from the sky. The scene in front of me gradually disappeared as we continued across the bridge and onto a road that stretched as far as I could see.

I wasn’t sleeping; just pretending so that I wouldn’t have to make an effort at conversation. Only when I felt the car come to a slow and a gradual stop did I open my eyes. Once I heard the driver’s side door open and eventually close, I concluded that it was safe to wake up. I reluctantly forced myself away from the relaxing music being fed into my ear, only pulling out my right headphone, not quite yet wanting to escape my haven. I glanced at the digital clock in the truck; 7:22. Perfect timing.
I hopped out of the car and headed to the bed of the truck to watch the sun set. We were on another long road, stretching straight in both directions until the sky began to blend into the gravel. On opposite sides of the road were green, empty fields being illuminated into a light yellow color as the sun lowered in the sky. I had the urge to pull out my phone and snap a picture, but I realized it wasn’t worth it. It would never be the same. Some things cannot be captured without the human eye. There’s nothing like experiencing these types of things in person. Nothing compares to it. So I took a picture in my head, squeezing my eyes hard until they burned, making sure this moment was sealed there.