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We almost missed the train, but I'm so glad we didn't. At midnight we rushed to Penn Station and made it just in time to take the train to Montauk. After a restless sleep (and getting yelled at by a train conductor because apparently we were in the wrong car) we arrived just after 4:00 am. The air was cool, but you could feel the last bits of summer holding on. (One) of my favorite parts is walking to the beach. It's nearly pitch black, but the air is salty and the waves sound intimidatingly enormous. It's incredible just how fast the sky shifts from a sparkle blanket and shooting stars to the best color show you've ever seen. The darkest blues, brightest pinks, deep purples, and deep orange.We snuggled and danced and watched a seagull find a leftover pizza. The rest of the day was full of adventure, as all the days have been since I met my sparkle partner. *

A couple of weeks ago, I took another midnight train to Montauk with a couple of gals who also decided to brave the weather. Admittedly, part of me wondered if we were crazy considering the forecast had storm clouds and lightening bolts for the entire day, but we were ready for an adventure come hell or high water; in our case I guess we meant this literally. But my little request to mother nature must have been heard (thank you!) because it did not rain from 4:00-7:00 am. It's during this time that the world begins to stir, but not enough to find a place of shelter.

When you take a midnight train (actually, 12:38-ish am) you arrive at "the end" (seriously, it's a stump) around 4:00 am. From there it's a nice, long walk to the beach. We ignored about 5-6 cabs honking and asking, "are you sure you don't need a ride - you don't even have to pay." We politely declined and explained that we were there to watch the sunrise. Normally, they'd just drive away, but considering the dense. gray. fog almost all of the cabbies surveyed the sky, our backpacks, shook their heads and drove away. It was a little crazy to arrive at the cold, dark beach at 4:45-ish am. The fog was so dense we could hardly see a thing, but the swelling sounds of crashing waves informed us how close the water was.

We did not see a sunrise, per-say, but we did see the light tilt and shift it's way from the darkest black, to purplish-orange, to a gray-blue, and eventually land on middle gray. By the time we left the beach, we realized we were soaked because the fog made it as if we were in a cloud. There was about an hour of wandering while waiting for the first diner to open, but the rest of the day was spent with dark and stormy's (oh-so-apropo), riding in the free trolly blasted with free coconut water signage (the new coffee coconut water = yum {I guess the ads worked}), a sun shower (okay, an actual rain-shower, but it didn't last that long), and discussing buddha cats and the purpose of life.

You know those days that you just. live. This was one of them and it was glorious, despite the rain.

Not pictured: Nicole getting feisty with the guy that started skateboarding on the train at 3:00 am when most people were sleeping. Everyone cheered after she yelled | Me swimming after having a couple of said, dark and stormy's | Oh, and the woman eating blueberries with chopsticks at the diner at 7:00 am. **

For the 4th, Afton and I took a midnight train to Montauk. We got there around 4:00 am.

Montauk is literally at the end.

We rushed to the beach to watch the prettiest sunrise.

Some seagulls joined us.

And we played in the sand.

And sent lots of messages to our loved ones!

Shortly after this photo, we both passed out on the beach!

And woke up to a sparkly sea!

And an amazing sky blue sky.

Eventually, we decided to explore the town by bike and saw many things!

We went back to the beach, but this time we weren't alone.

After 12 hours of blasting sun, exploring, and lots of laughing later we finally made it back to the train. Where I caught the sunset on the train. What a perfect day. :)

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I finally developed the film that had been waiting for me, and I remembered why I shouldn't neglect my film camera!It takes beautiful shots...and was the first camera I learned on!this is one of my favorite photos..**Last fall I went to Montauk.The sky was gray and it rained the entire time......but I did a lot of painting.thinking of 11:11...and healing...The sea seemed so infinite...but the actual view was much grander...I imagined a stampede of unicorns running to shore...like my favorite childhood movie, The Last Unicorn**It did clear up enough to take a walk...Have I ever told you that I love ditches?I think there are so many pretty colors...Sometimes it takes a gray day to notice them..The beach was filled with ocean treasures!I decided hang out on this big stick...Looked at the sea through a different lens..I was annoyed with all of the cars just leaving their mark...So I found my own patch of sand...And decided to leave a little piece of me...xo