Cedar Key on the Gulf Coast

                                                           CEDAR KEY, FLORIDA


Denny calls this the EGR of trailer parks. Cedar Key RV Park

 This little town is made up of several islands, marshes, a few small motels, rentals and about 300 year round residents.  Your pets and golf carts are accommodated everywhere.  Clam harvesting and snow birds brings in all the money and there are plenty of both.  We have not met anyone who is original to the area.

I enjoy seeing how the local population lives and no better place than the area school.

                  The mascot is in the background...The sign says it is the Home of the Sharks.

                                                      SHARK PRIDE parking only

  Some administrator need to get off the island for a few days.  Where do the candidates for shark bait stand?

Actually, the area is very inviting and laid back with everyone either fishing, kayaking or having a brew at the local pubs with their animal companion at their side.  We tried to get a meal on Sunday night after a busy weekend at THE BLACK DOG restaurant.  The proprietor  was to exhausted to show us a table.

                   
                           We ate across the street where this cat lives and supervises the patio crowd.

  

Lots of people have these carts on the island because it is just easier.  One had a license plate of some sort In Memory of Dexter and a painting of his cat.  If people are not fishing or vacationing, many are artists of some sort.  I think all the residents must be employed in some way catering to visitors.

There are a few boat companies that will take people to see the uninhabited Keys where birds rule.  The guide taught us about the history of the areas and the birds who now own the islands.  What a treat on a beautiful day to be out on the water and to see all this nature.  Bald Eagle pairs build a nest as well as Osprey in the area.

This is a group of white pelicans who winter here but migrate to the northern state for the summer when they are old enough.  I have never seen one in Michigan but people on the boat remarked that they observed them in Wisconsin.

Some of the bird species build nests in trees.  The undergrowth is populated with Cotton Mouth snakes who eat the discarded fish crumbs.  If a baby bird falls from the nest, the snakes ignore it for some reason.  There is a biological station on the island whose job is to notice these things.

As far as food goes, we eat in most of the time.  Unless you prefer to drink your meal, we found the suggested restaurants unable to service people too well.  Perhaps we are between seasons.  But we did find award winning clam chowder (3 years in a row in a New England competition) that the recipe had to be retired.  It is still made fresh everyday at Tony's in Cedar Key for $17.00 a quart!  It was worth every penny.

One last note about Cedar Key...the water is from the Suwannee River and is the color of tea!  It is VERY clean because the clam farmers monitor it daily, however I did not feel like swimming in it.  That is the only negative, but the RV park had a beautiful pool which we used daily.

Tomorrow, on to Orlando!