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.
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