I had to move this post, sorry! You can check it out on my exclusively ballpark themed blog here!!

It’s never easy, especially when one is on vacation, to get out of bed early enough to see a sunrise on the beach. But some things are worth fighting sleep to witness.

I try to make a point to see at least one sunrise each time we go to Wildwood. It’s a special thing to me to walk on the white sand in near darkness to see the day begin, as difficult as it can be to pull myself from under the covers after an evening of boardwalking and ice cream.

Generally the sun emerges from the horizon somewhere between 5:30 and 6:30 AM, depending on the time of year. Before the sun comes up, the beach is quiet and often cool, possibly requiring a jacket or long pants. Gulls are plentiful in search of bird sustenance, making tiny claw prints along the wet surface near the water, occasionally speeding up their pace away from cold waves that no doubt surprise them.

The Wildwood beach pre-sunrise.

The Wildwood beach is uncharacteristically almost devoid of humans at this time of day, but it’s not quite deserted. Every square quarter mile or so of beach has one or two folks there to see the sunrise too. Joggers looking for the runner’s high without the sunburn eschew their mattresses to stomp on the walkways near the beach. It’s a good time to take a four-legged friend for a walk on nearby paths, as some do.

Often there will be a hardy fisherman, pants rolled up and feet in what must be extremely cold water. I’ve often wondered what sort of marine life they manage to hook when there aren’t legs everywhere scaring fish away. Or if maybe the fisherman doesn’t care what he catches, and that the important thing to him is just to channel his inner Hemingway.

The emerging sun, with the lit clouds above it. Well worth getting out of bed.

Because of the shape of the island, the sun doesn’t appear directly in front of the beach. The island curves to the south and west, so facing the water, the sun appears on the left. Coming from the boardwalk, the farther north on the beach one goes, the better the view.

Just before God’s lamp shows itself on the horizon, you can see the day becoming gradually brighter. Even better, if there are a few clouds just above the horizon where the sun is, the bottom edges of them will be brilliantly lit, as if they were a warm-up act for the incredible show. The cloud edges become increasingly brighter, and then suddenly, the center of our solar system pops up.

The day has begun. Make the most of it.

For the bright round fireball to be completely above the horizon and in its full glory reflecting on the water takes just seconds, in stark contrast to the sun’s apparent stillness any other time we grab a look to gauge its location.

It’s awe-inspiring and humbling at the same time, and gives one a saddening sense of how quickly this day will be a memory. But somehow, its regularity and orderliness is comforting, too, as if to say that there will always be a new day, a new opportunity, a chance to make the future better.

Wildwood is known for crowded beaches, crowded boardwalks, noisy amusements and a recorded voice repeatedly clearing the way for the iconic tram car.

Yet in the midst all of that, it provides some of its most memorable, spectacular moments in the quiet solitude of a sunrise on the beach.

One of the nicer things about a vacation in Wildwood is the potential for exercise that is actually enjoyable…walking or running on the boardwalk or beach, swimming or boogie boarding in the ocean, or riding bicycles on the lengthy Wildwood boardwalk in the morning. Not that stupid exercise that we force ourselves through at the gym full of people that seem to live there.

This is the shop in front of the 1900 building, one of the better ones on the Wildwood boards.

Throughout the Wildwood boardwalk, but mostly at the northern and southern ends, there are small shops that rent bicycles to vacationing riders in the morning. Riding a bike on the boardwalk is permitted until 11:00 AM most mornings, and most bike rental shops open at 6:00 AM. Bicycles cost in the range of $6-7 per hour, with surrey bikes going for quite a bit more, usually around $25 per hour.

Usually the family takes an hour. Especially with four of us now, since the surrey bicycles are much more expensive. An hour is usually plenty, so try that first before you go for more.

I’ve found that I can start at the north end of the boardwalk, ride all the way to the southern end, and then ride on the bicycle path in front of the motels in Wildwood Crest to the Admiral Motel—a beautiful part of town to be in early in the morning—and make it back with a few minutes to spare. Or I can head in the opposite direction, through North Wildwood where most folks are walking their dogs. If I hustle, I can do both.

Take a break. It’s the beach.

Early in the morning, the earlier the better, the Wildwood boardwalk has a whole different air about it. Most of the arcades, piers, prize booths and pizza joints are closed, and the entertainment area that just hours before was relentlessly assaulting your senses is peaceful and inviting, with the sound of the waves not far away. People are riding, walking or jogging, and there’s actually room to get around without the crowds and the tram car constantly making their presence known. The most prominent sound of all is the echo of loose boards rattling from the weight of bicycles.

You get a nice overview of all of the stores and eateries on the boardwalk without wearing yourself out walking. There are a few places with coffee and breakfast sandwiches too (although not premium coffee so much). The boardwalk does start to get busier and tougher to navigate around 9:30 or so, so it’s good to get out there earlier if you can.

“I’ll take one of everything please.”

And of course, you can stop at Fractured Prune for the most amazing donuts in the Wildwoods. Go ahead, you’ll be bicycling it off.

You don’t have to stay on the boardwalk of course. Wildwood Crest in particular is a perfectly nice and quiet atmosphere to two-wheel around, and there are plenty of bicycle lanes along the beach front to make things safer. As you get further from the boardwalk, it gets morning quiet and beautifully peaceful, and you can explore the other side of the island, which has a nice little bay of its own.

Usually they don’t have the fence there. Don’t sweat that.

The only caution I would mention is to be aware of the breeze and which direction it’s flowing.

I remember renting a bicycle in Long Beach Island many years ago. We were staying in Barnegat Light, in the northern part of the large island, and I was listening to a Beatles compilation cassette I had made.

I figured I would ride as far as I could while one side played, and then turn back for the second side. I made it as far as Beach Haven, the southernmost part of the island, and then learned that the wind had been blowing at my back the whole time. Oops. The ride back took twice as long, and I was sick of the Beatles by the middle of it.

So if you’re intent on only paying for an hour, be certain you can move in the other direction just as fast.

Get used to these once you have a couple of little ones.

Riding a bicycle on the boardwalk early in the morning is one of my favorite pastimes in the Wildwoods, and it’s great exercise too, building up the appetite for breakfast at Adam’s, Pompeo’s or Uncle Bill’s. If there’s a better way to start a day at the Jersey Shore I can’t think of it.

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Mrs. Wildwoods Guy is afflicted with celiac disease, which makes eating out a tricky proposition anywhere. And nowhere is this more evident than in our favorite vacation spot. Wildwood is not littered with restaurant chains that need the PR of offering a gluten-free menu, for which I am still thankful.

A cheesesteak pizza. Looks pretty good. Sigh.

But on the boardwalk it’s tough—dozens of mom-and-pop pizza shops with delicious looking pizzas in the window, many of whom don’t even understand what gluten is. There’s also fried foods galore—who thought of the idea of fried Oreos?—but if anything breaded is cooked in the same vat as the fries, my wife can’t eat it.

So out of respect for my wife, I don’t eat pizza when we’re in Wildwood (sigh). For boardwalk eats I try to get something she wouldn’t like anyway, and thank

fully with her undiscriminating palate that list is pretty large. We usually stay in hotels that have kitchenettes and grills so we can do our own cooking, and that isn’t a bad thing and saves some money.

But anyway, as a public service to celiacs, I’m going to share where we have had success eating gluten-free items in the Wildwoods. Hopefully this will be of help to you celiacs out there.

– Alumni Grill – The Alumni has a college sub shop motif about it, even though Wildwood isn’t what one would call a college town. They have a good variety of sandwiches and wraps, and while they don’t have gluten-free breads they do have some interesting salads and a selection of appetizers that are all gluten-free.

Their fries are also gluten-free. It’s not five-star dining, but their food is certainly good and price-wise very reasonable.

– Westy’s Irish Pub – I like going to Westy’s, because they can handle gluten-free items and my wife doesn’t mind my eating their outstanding French onion soup. Westy’s has indoor and outdoor dining, both of which excel in atmosphere; it’s like eating on a boardwalk outside and you have a great view of the northern coast of North Wildwood. And their food is very good, great chicken cheesesteak sandwiches and good salads among other things. We haven’t yet had a bad meal there.

– Juan Pablo’s Margarita Bar – Juan Pablo’s is the best Mexican food we’ve had in Wildwood thus far, even though there isn’t much competition. Generally my wife can order almost anything; the tacos and chips are made of corn and not flour so she’s okay with that. The rice and beans I believe are also gluten-free, so with the chips and the portions there’s no question the wife can have a filling meal if she wants. Juan Pablo’s is on the pricey side, but their food—including their burger—is excellent, and it’s another place where we’ve always had good luck.

The easy-to-find Curley’s gluten-free fries.

– Curley’s Fries – thankfully the folks that make the best fries in the Wildwoods don’t cook anything else in their oil vats, so my wife can munch on them with impunity. This is a life-saver, because there isn’t much else she can have on the boardwalk, but Curley’s are really all one needs anyway. I’ve written about Curley’s in another piece, so you can learn more there when I publish that one!

– Hassles – Hassles is an ice cream joint in North Wildwood with sundaes named for Sesame Street characters. The kid-sized sundaes are more than big enough for us—and my wife usually orders the Kermit The Frog, a bowl of mint chocolate chip with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Since mint chocolate chip is her favorite flavor anyway, this works out well for us after an evening on the boards.

– Maui’s Dog House – OK, we haven’t tried this one yet but I’m told that they have gluten-free items even though their online menu doesn’t reflect that. Will update when the wife and I try it.

We’ve also been able to eat without much trouble at Adam’s Restaurant, the Rusty Rudder buffet which isn’t bad for breakfast, and the Red Oak buffet which isn’t great for dinner. Here are some other joints where we’ve been able to eat without issue:

Piro’s
Pompeo’s
Marie Nicole’s
Vegas Diner
Mr. D’s Pizza (cheesesteak without the roll)

If you’re a celiac-afflicted type that is vacationing in Wildwood, it might not be a bad idea to bring gluten-free buns and/or ice cream cones with you—places like Stewart’s on the boardwalk will sell you a gluten-free dog without the bun and most ice cream shops will gladly fill a cone that you give them.

I’ll update this as I come up with more items, and if you’ve got anything to share with us on the subject, by all means pass it on…we could use some new options ourselves!