The cadence of vacation is so warmly predictable. It looks similar every day, with perhaps a little variation depending on the weather. The days start with a quiet rise and meet-up for the coffee-goers. If we’re sleepy, we doze on the couches as the sun rises. We meander to clean out our mugs, hop in the car, or else walk, to get our coffees. After that', it’s a few hours of adventure. A walk to the water to see the inlet? A drive to the island driftwood salvage company? A competition to who can find the saltiest looking dog going for a walk with its owner? A peek at the ships at Viking Village? All of it is fair game. And each day we manage to do it a little bit.

But nothing beats the morning view of the inlet. You could turn on the TV to check the weather, or just look outside. Cotton candy pink skies and blues usually are followed by a clear day and fair winds. A sunrise obscured by clouds and humid, moisture-caked windows tend to signal a steambath ahead.

And another indicator of the morning is the traffic that quietly buzzes in the inlet. Small private fishing boats, sailboats, or the commercial fishing boats based out of Barnegat Light. The charter boats make an early start too. Across the inlet, fishermen park their campers and Jeeps and make way toward the bulkheads, to fish off the rocks. The crickets keep chirping, but the seagulls are mostly still nested in their scrubby pine tree homes.

Morning is the most serene time on the island; it is the time before the coffee shops open, before the buzz of the day, before the sun burns overhead. Morning is easy on the eyes. It is best seen at the inlet. :)

ciao xoxo!