i drive 20 miles, each way, between berkeley and mill valley every day. this is a particularly showy night on I-80 — click on the photo for some more typical views of my commute.

though the costs are high (in time as well as money and environmental impact), i have come to love my drive across the richmond bridge. in the mornings, it’s usually foggy in berkeley, but i drive a little ways north to the bridge and the sun is out, sparkling on the water, and the city is wrapped in fog, the marin headlands poking out of the clouds, and there’s a spot where i can see the golden gate, bay and richmond bridges all at the same time. on the way home, i can watch the fog rolling back in in solid banks, running under the golden gate bridge, across the bay, and piling up against the berkeley hills. it’s never the same twice.

when i lived in chicago, i cherished my morning runs along lake michigan. there are endless combinations of sun and clouds, wind and water — so that the lake would never be the same twice and if i didn’t get up for my morning run, i’d never know what the lake looked like that day.

i miss that morning check-in with lake michigan still. but i discovered that my drive over the richmond bridge in some way fills that same spot. i never know if the city will be sharply visible, or wrapped in fog, if the water will be glassy and grey, or stormy and green with white caps, or the same blue as the sky with sun sparkling on it. this is small compensation for all the sunrises over lake michigan that i’m missing, but i’ll take it.