Old Florida – Cedar Key
I can’t believe it’s been two months since our last post. Between crafting with my bounty from the east coast, Homer maintenance and repairs, banking issues because we don’t have a permanent physical address and just getting back into the swing of our park, time has really flown by. For you other full-timers, I’ll share all the maintenance and banking and park opportunities we’ve come across in another post. This one is just about a taste of Old Florida.
Yes, there are “keys” other than Key West, Fl.
Cedar Key is about 50 miles south of Gainesville and approximately 3 miles into the Gulf of Mexico. Close to the big bend of Florida, but not quite in it. It’s a small town filled with artists, fisherman, writers and those working and living the island life. No high rises, big condo complexes or horrendous traffic. Just a quaint little town.
When you arrive in Cedar Key, you’ll see a few shops for the tourists, several restaurants and the lingering effects of a community hit by a hurricane. Idalia hit very close to Cedar Key just this past fall and while you will see some remnants of the destruction, you’ll also see a community that is open and ready to welcome you.
After walking the downtown, we did find a small beach of white sand and a wonderful dock area filled with fisherman and crabbers heading in and out on their day. The most surprising item that caught our interest were the types of boats they used. The mullet boat has the outboard motor mounted towards the front of the boat and as odd as it looks, for the people that use them, they are actually very efficient. The motor uses a channel to force the water towards the motor and this allows the boats to traverse very shallow water as they pull their nets behind them. It also keeps the nets from getting caught in the prop. We did learn that you get really wet feet with this type of boat, but they are very useful in the shallow waters of the gulf.
This is the “Florida” you don’t hear a ton about. You won’t find spring breakers coming here or see many sunbathers on the beach. You will find the true Floridians just working to live their best lives in a remarkably beautiful and quiet piece of shoreline along the Gulf Coast. This is our kind of Florida. Probably why we are so drawn to our park in the middle of the state, surrounded by horse farms. No hustle and bustle, just peace and quiet and lovely sunshine, (~most days).
Orange Lake and Middle Florida
As we are headed back towards Orange Lake and our park, to be welcomed by our gators and turtles, we came across a graveyard. Not sure why I am fascinated with how different the graveyards are in different states, but this was a new one for me. The in-ground crypts are similar to what we see all around the south given the high-water table, the difference I noticed were the brightly colored crypts.
Just thought it was interesting and wanted to share. Sort of like these clouds that appeared above our park last week. We have never seen these types of clouds before and whatever you do, don’t google them because there are A LOT of conspiracy theories related to this. It’s enough to scare the common sense right out of you! On the other hand, so interesting to see………….
We’ve got family headed this way and are really looking forward to seeing and spending time with all of them. The great thing about Florida in February, is it is just soooo much warmer than Minnesota, it’s starting to tempt a few of them to make our same trek south!
See ya on the road,
Dave and Theresa