I peer out into the vast Atlantic Ocean as the moon peers back at me, slightly above the horizon, over an infinite mass of water.

I pause for a moment, hesitating with a camera in my right hand and yearning to stop the time and stay a while in my transfixed posture, just peering out.

The date is May 8, 2017, around 4:48 in the late afternoon. I am in Miami, Florida, sitting at the end of a long, sun-worn pier. The stretched, sin-worn beach is to my left, and a weathered, sun-worn port is to my right. The sun here is strong, and it has worn all that surrounds me.

I came to this meditative state after my father and I wandered down the beach in search of something to satisfy our minor hunger. Soaking in the burning sun and dipping in the bubbling ocean left its mark on us.

After this photo, and along another stroll, we meet a local couple at a local seafood restaurant while enjoying some local music in a local seaside community (yes, we felt like locals).

The local couple kindly invites us for a glass of wine and hors d’oeuvre aboard their docked vessel. We agree enthusiastically to the invitation and watch as the water stills over the swaying boat and the sun lowers in the sky, softening from yellow to orange to red, a sight I will never not be mesmerized by.

We sit comfortably on the edge of the stern for some time more, sipping palatable red wine, munching on crackers, and gently swaying as the small tide gently cradles the boat.

In the distance, my eye catches sight of the moon again as it rises higher in the sky, like a child who is becoming less shy with time.

The owner of the boat asks if we want to go out on the water before the sun fully dips her head below the endless sea. We agree again enthusiastically, and head out into the waves before dusk, peering out.