Pre-dawn stars seem bigger?

A couple of years ago in early October I spent a weekend away from the city at a retreat far from light pollution and I saw the amazing night sky. When I saw the pre-dawn sky between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m. the stars looked bigger than they did the previous evening. Another way to put it is that the pre-dawn sky seemed closer. The weather was cloudless throughout. No, I was not on drugs. I haven't found any explanation by googling, and nobody I've talked to knows either. Anyone here know?