Cedar Key, Florida has made the short list of the places I may settle down once my traveling days are over. This park has not.
I paid a premium for a waterfront site. Because of the location of the utilities, there’s no way I can pull into the site, so the back of the Goose is on the “water.” Actually, it’s backed up to a stand of mangroves; which doesn’t matter because it’s not the Gulf. It’s some stagnant inlet. Then there’s the size and shape of the lot. I had to shoehorn the Goose into the spot. Once again, I can’t put the awning out. I don’t know if the sun sets over the water or not. The hummingbird-size mosquitoes have dibs on the view.
Enough complaining. There’s a restaurant at the park, and the food is rumored to be very good; people from Cedar Key come here to dine. Nothing on the breakfast menu is over $4.50, lunches are around $5, and dinners are $7 to $10. They make fudge, ice cream, and baked goods on site. I stocked up on groceries at WalMart, so I haven’t patronized the restaurant yet. Besides, I’m trying to eat healthy. There’s a nice clean little laundry room. The showers are clean, private and heated.
The best part is the town of Cedar Key. The sidewalk into town starts a few yards from the park. It’s about a mile to the stores and attractions, but it’s a lovely walk across bridges, past quaint little cafes and cute little cottages and bungalows with metal roofs. Just over the first bridge next to the Sundance Wash-n-go laundromat is Sandy’s fresh produce and seafood stand that sells local honey and homemade jelly.
Cedar Key’s downtown is a delightful mix of wooden-floored antique and curio shops in what were once stately homes, and little artistic interest spots and public gardens . All the necessities like a hardware store, post office, bank and grocery store are on the main street. The charming clean city park is on the beach and, hooray, it’s dog friendly. Next to the beach are kiosks that rent kayaks or offer boat trips around the little islands. Dock street has a public pier and dozens of cedar-shingled restaurants and souvenir shops. There’s a self-guided walking tour that Gracie and I plan to take.
About a half mile in the other direction is a Florida Wildlife clam hatchery and public pier with a little picnic gazebo that makes a perfect place to walk. I asked for a tour of the hatchery, and the workers were pleased to show me the gravel-sized clams, 40,000 per tray, that will be eating size in 18 months and explain the incubation process.
I was feeling shaggy, so I scheduled an appointment with a real stylist (as opposed to the salon employees at WalMart) downtown. I had to leave Gracie at home, so I asked my neighbors Ed and Marcy to keep an eye on her. She sat in the driver seat for two hours staring in the direction I left. I think devotion has crossed into obsession.
I love the people I have met on my journey. Ed and Marcy walk their little dog Jake and ride their bicycles into town. My neighbors on the other side make jewelry from sea glass to sell at art shows.
This evening I talked to a fascinating young couple from Colombia. They circled South America and are going to travel up the east coast, across Canada to Alaska and down the west coast over the next 3 ½ years. They are in a VW Kombi, a little van with a pop-up top. (www.kombianos.com). They speak only a little English and my Spanish is pathetic, so we had to wing it with hand signals and a Spanish-English dictionary, but that’s the fun of meeting people on the journey.
I'm finally becoming comfortable with being happy. I'm happy despite not having all the things I was conditioned to believe would make me happy--solid marriage to a high-earning professional, good-paying career of my own, membership in a Christian faith-based religion, close relationships with my children, big house, solid retirement fund. I have been afraid my happiness balloon would pop and I would realize I am a total failure and the letdown would be drastic. Now I realize I am doing a good job discovering the things that make me happy.
I never attained any of the things I was told would make me happy, despite a lifetime of striving, so I thought that was the reason for my unhappiness. I wonder how many women did achieve the things we were conditioned to believe would be the key to happiness, only to find they were unhappy? I wonder how you teach a child to figure out what will make her happy without conditioning her to accept your values?
Monday I put it into the Universe that I needed groceries, propane and repairs to the roof of the Goose. The propane arrived Tuesday, finally, after 10 days of requesting delivery. Wednesday park owner Lynn asked if I would like to go to the little grocery store five miles down the road. Not much selection, but enough that I can avoid packing up and driving to Perry. That afternoon I saw a man walking on the top of a fifth wheel. His name is Brette and he works for Bill, the owner of the RV. He was putting a coat of sealant on the fifth wheel. He ended up repairing the roof, putting two coats of sealant on it and replacing the bathroom and roof vents.
I finished reading Defy Gravity by Caroline Myss. It left me with a lot to think about, which is the mark of a good book for me. One of the things she said is that living in the past is like living in a cemetery consulting corpses. I love imagery like that. When I start ruminating on my past, I tell myself aloud, “Get out of the graveyard.” I’m reading Wishes Fulfilled: Mastering the Art of Manifesting by Wayne Dyer. I’m now very aware of my “I am” statements, and I stopped watching late night television, since slipping into sleep downloads the conscious mind into the subconscious. .
The weather has been fabulous and it’s spring break, so Keaton Beach is a little more lively. Lynn took her grandson Talan and Gracie and me down to the beach in the golf cart and Talan and Gracie cavorted in the waves (what “No Dogs on Beach” sign?) . After sniffing a golf cart in which the marina mascot, Crockett, had been riding, Gracie got over her fear.
Gracie had never been comfortable around large dogs, but since the pitbull attack, she has a major meltdown when she even sees a large dog. I think it’s because the dog attack came out of nowhere. Getting her over this may be a challenge. It’s like PTSD.
The marina is a quaint little store with a wrap around porch from which we sip coffee and watch a giant winch lower boats into the canal. They stock a few supplies and, of course, I have taken it as my personal mission to support the local economy as I travel, so I had to buy a “Salt Life” t-shirt. And I have had to have several take out dinners from the Keaton Beach Hot Dog Stand and Restaurant to support the local economy.
We leave here Tuesday for Cedar Key where I have reservations for a month. It’s 60 miles to the WalMart in Chiefland for a major stock-up trip and 30 miles from the WalMart to Cedar Key. I treated us to a water-front site, since the cost of the park is quite reasonable.
Every evening we go out to the deck with whatever campers are in residence and watch the sunset over the water. The beauty of the Gulf never fails to amaze me.
It was six months ago today that I began my new adventure. Every experience in my life has prepared me for this time in my life, like pieces in a giant puzzle that has taken 60 years to assemble. The lesson from childhood was that I had to be self-sufficient because no man would ever take care of me, and both failed marriages were graduate courses in self-sufficiency. I have no doubt I can take care of myself. I was an only child; I am not lonely being alone. Six months ago, stripped of my job, my marriage, and my house, I was free to leave. I felt like everything was falling apart, but it was really coming together. In A Deep Breath of Life, Alan Cohen says the bad we experience serves as fertilizer for the good that comes later. I like that visualization.
Sometimes the Universe has to beat me over the head before I get the message. First, I stumbled upon a deserted RV park with no distractions. Then the weather has kept me inside except for brief breaks to walk Gracie. Then I discovered that the light above the computer, which I thought was broken, operates from another switch, and is the brightest light in the Goose. Then my favorite email writing newsletter had a feature on the editorial needs of Family Motor Coaching. So I started gathering Writer's Guidelines from the RV lifetstyle magazines--Family Motor Home Coaching, Motorhome, Trailer Life, Highways, MotorHome. I found a website and ordered 35 mm slide film and dusted off my old camera. Don't ask me why, but magazines insist on transparencies. I was a freelance writer for about 15 years, writing mostly for the motorcycle industry (check out www.writer-sharon-kay.com) and the Universe is letting me know it’s time to start writing for publication.
Gracie and I were walking last Saturday when she was attacked by a pitbull. Thankfully, two men heard me screaming and came running and beat the dog off. Gracie has a bite mark on her shoulder which bled copiously. I am so angry at the negligent owner who let a vicious dog run loose, so grateful to the men who helped us, and guilty that I could not protect my gentle Gracie. She was a little stiff Saturday night but seems fine now. Wednesday the park owner gave us a ride in her golf cart to do laundry. Gracie was really scared. I tried to point out that all the dogs here ride around in golf carts, but she’s not buying it.
I ran out of E&J brandy and got tired of white wine, but discovered Seagrams Escapes Margarita Wine Coolers. Makes the rain a lot more tolerable.
I’m reading A Deep Breath of Life, Defy Gravity:Healing Beyond the Bounds of Reason by Caroline Myss, and The Power of Intention by Dr. Wayne Dyer. I watched The Lincoln Lawyer and Slum Dog Millionaire since I got here. I have worked out four days a week every week since I started this journey. Lee reminded me how much I enjoy yoga, so I added yoga, either with The Prozac Lady with the soft hypnotic voice on Full Body Workout on the BYU channel, or a Rodney Yee DVD a couple times a week. I meditate every day. Taking the time for self care is luxurious.
