STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Always a great place to welcome the morning sun is the Franklin D. Roosevelt Boardwalk at South Beach. As I was waiting in my car on this very chilly morning for the sun to rise, a van full of people came and climbed the walkway to the waterfront. It was a group of about a dozen Old Order Amish from Western, NY, near Lake Chautauqua, 70 miles south of Buffalo, NY.

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Amish revelers from Western, NY, take to the boardwalk at South Beach to view the sunrise. (Photo courtesy of William Lucas)

The Amish in this group lives in the Panama, Clymer, Sherman, N.Y. settlement. Their driver William Lucas, who has spent 40 years with them, toured them around New York City, including their stay at the Hilton Garden Inn on Staten Island and promised them a sunrise looking over the ocean, and a glorious one it was.

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Up at the crack of dawn at South Beach these Amish revelers from Western, NY, just south of Buffalo climbed the dunes to see the sunrise. (Staten Island Advance/ Jan Somma-Hammel)

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Friend, photographer and driver with the Amish group, William Lucas. (Staten Island Advance/ Jan Somma-Hammel)

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