Easter in Cedar Key

     At five o’clock Sunday morning I was wondering about my sanity as I hit the snooze button and snuggled for the last few minutes with Dylan and Gracie. Gracie and I hiked a mile in the dark to the nondenominational Easter sunrise service on the public beach in Cedar Key. The weather was just chilly enough that hot coffee was welcome. There were about 100 people, some in Easter finery but most shivering in shorts and sandals. The sun rose majestically just as we sang “Christ the Lord is Risen Today.” The pastor’s brief, uplifting sermon compared the sun rising to the son rising. It was a beautiful spiritual experience.
    To add to the magic, on the way home as we passed over the Back Bayou Bridge, we spotted flamingoes high stepping in the low tide marsh below. The cotton candy pink of their feathers is a color not normally found in nature.
     Gracie and I completed the self-guided walking tour of downtown Cedar Key, checking out all 53 locations, in two days. The architecture and history are interesting. There are burial mounds on the tour from the Seminole Indians that were here until they were removed by the government. There are a couple residences and commercial buildings still standing made from “tabby,” clam shell concrete. The Victorian influence came in when the railroad still ran into Cedar Key. The gingerbread edging on the formal porches looks jarringly out of place in a beach town. Most of those large residences are now bed and breakfasts. The mill building downtown was from the time when all the cedar for Faber and Eagle pencils came from Cedar Key. When the cedar gave out, commercial fishing was the main industry. Then net fishing was banned in 1995, and although commercial clamming is still big business, tourism is the future. There’s a huge art festival here the end of April that I’m thinking of extending my stay long enough to enjoy.
    The homemade ice cream and fudge at the café here in the park are absolutely scrumptious. I have to remind myself I cannot taste test all 21 flavors of fudge. My mantra is moderation, moderation, moderation.
    There are boat tours of the little keys from the marina downtown that I would really like to take. Gracie is welcome, but I’m afraid she might panic. I have to think about it.    
    The produce and seafood stand sells gator meat. I’m trying to convince myself to try it. It’s really high in protein. I guess if I don’t like it I could give it to Gracie, but at $13 a pound it’s expensive dog food. Then again, this trip is all about new experiences,