Cedar Key - Day # 30 - Wrenching

Sunday morning fog

One of the things you would know about me from reading this blog is my love for bicycles.  I carry in my enclosed trailer a tandem, two road bikes, and a mountain bike.  Before our  Spokane interlude I also had two tadpole recumbents along for the ride.  I carry a bike stand which enables me to get the bike on which I am working off the ground.  I carry a full set of bike specific tools, as well as replacement parts, etc.  Since our arrival here at Sunset Isle RV Park and Motel I have made offers to the members of the NuRvers group to tune up their bikes if that was all that was needed, or address specific mechanical issues they may be having.  

At first I didn't have anyone bringing their bike over, but eventually Debby Kasson (Bill and Debby's Wild Ride) asked if I would look at her beach cruiser for a specific problem (bent rear derailleur hanger), so I had the pleasure of "digging" into her bike for a few hours, and getting it working, and running the way it was meant to.  Eventually the word got out and I worked on Brian's (The Roaming Pint) bike which had major problems.....only one of seven speeds worked, the rear brakes were frozen up, and the front ones were getting there.  It took a few hours of pleasant work to get it running again, but now it works pretty well.  When I took his bike back I picked up Maria's which really only needed a tune up.  Pretty soon I got a message on Facebook from Forrest Clark (NuRvers) asking if I would take a look at his bike, even though it was pretty new.  It just needed a minor tune up and lube.  

Around the same time I got a message from Jay (Slider Magazine), who was currently in St. Augustine, FL, but wanted to know if he could bring his Specialized bike by when he returned to fix an ongoing issue with his rear hub.  He brought his bike by Saturday morning.  It took pretty much every tool in my tool box to fix the problem with his rear hub, but fix it I did, and what a blast I had taking that bike apart, and putting it back together.   He dropped by later in the day after I had returned his bike (he wasn't "home" at the time) asking where his dirty bike was.......he didn't want the "new" one I had left by his motorhome......you see, now that makes me smile.  I told him I have a genetic predisposition toward cleaning, and that I couldn't help it, so he would just have to get used to the "new" bike I brought back.

Friday night I had gotten an e-mail from Karen (of Krash and Karen fame) asking if they could take me up on my offer to tune up their bikes, or at least check them over, so they came by around 1 pm Saturday with their bikes.  All four of us stood out in the trailer while I worked first on Krash's Schwinn hybrid fixing a rear brake issue.....they were continuously rubbing.  Next up was Karen's Diamondback hybrid, which needed some adjustment to the rear derailleur as it was not shifting through all 7 gears properly.  All that "fun" took about an hour and a half.....and, seriously, it was fun.  Thank you to all those who have taken me up on my offer to use my "wrenching" skills on your bicycles.....and to those of you who have not seen fit to contribute to my addiction.....and you know who you are......have a little pity on a wrench addict and bring your bike over for me to play with for a while......pretty please?  Krash left me with 3 bottles of Anchor Steam Porter for my efforts.  Please understand, I do not do this for gain, but will not turn down offers of good brews if they come my way.

Before Krash and Karen left we made a date to meet at the Sea Breeze Restaurant on Dock Street for drinks and appetizers at 5:15.  For one rare time we drove the car into town, and passed K & K on their bikes riding into town....as it turned out, by the time we found a parking spot they were in front of the restaurant locking their bikes....:D

I wasn't that impressed with the appetizers, but enjoyed my Blue Moon draft beer.....I will say I though their Onion Rings were slightly above average.  The sunset did not disappoint, and the conversation flowed without pause.  Yelp reviewers give it a 3 on a scale of 1-5....I would give it a 2.5.

We parted company a little after 7 pm and headed to our respective "homes".  I spent some time working on my Amazon.com "reflections" piece, watched a couple of "American Pickers", and then trundled off to twilight land.  Another day lived well......

# 30 taken from inside the Sea Breeze Restaurant

Thanks for stopping by!

Cedar Key - Day # 22 - Zulu Hour 1200

Friday, Zulu hour 1200......clear skies, strong breeze, 40 degrees.  The beginning of a very different Cedar Key day.  Not a day of onshore, balmy breezes gently moving ripples across the water, but a day of goose bump inducing, blustery winds out of the northeast.

This is exactly what I love about Cedar Key this time of year.....the weather is written in Jello.....just like our plans....there is no set pattern you can depend upon....each day is what it is, and you set your plans for that day as it arrives.

I spent some time mid morning putting the patio awning back out, and redeploying the awning lights, then put my small Honda generator on a dolly and took it over to the trailer.  Where the trailer is parked right now there is no power source, and every time I have been over there working I have wished I could turn on the XM radio, and lights while I'm working on bikes, or whatever.  I had forgotten about the Honda genset until yesterday.  I had to change out a flat rear tire on my bike (picked up a thorn, and a slow leak on our Lower Suwannee ride a week, or so ago), so I put some gas in the tank and pulled the cord to start it......first pull every time....it roared quietly to life, and I had power!

I spent about an hour doodling around the trailer, fixed the flat, put some things away, and then headed back to the coach just before Zulu hour 1700.  TLE wanted to walk into town and check to see if the Deja Vu Consignment store had any buttons, so we changed our clothes and began our walk into town.  The aforementioned blustery wind was still going strong and just pushed us south along State Road 24 into town.  I'm glad I had a flannel shirt on as it was cold!

Apparently Deja Vu did have a bottle full of buttons, but someone had recently purchased the whole jar.....bummer!  By this time it was well after 1 pm and I had a hankering for a Ruben sandwich.....I had heard that Ken's Cedar Keyside Dinner had a good one, and we had not yet eaten there, so we headed on over.  They are only open until 2pm (breakfast and lunch only) so we got there about 20 minutes before closing.  

One of my reasons for wanting to eat at Ken's was they have al fresco dining, but this day the breeze was just too cold, and I knew there was no way TLE would consent, and besides, the owners were not serving on the deck due to the cold breeze....:D  Both TLE and I ordered a Ruben with sweet potato fries.......hmmm, hmmm good!  TLE is a Ruben aficionado supreme, and pronounced that these Ruben's were very good....not the best she has had, but very good.  She loved the sweet potato fries.....and so did moi!

The smile says it all

On our walk back......and this is why we love walking to and from town....we ran into Karen and Krash walking Pipa and talked for about 20 minutes about the storm, our sick 'Birdie, etc.  We agreed to try and get together Saturday and parted ways.  Of course, we could not pass Sandy's Produce without buying some limes....we were down to our last one.

Originally Brian and Maria (The Roaming Pint) were sponsoring a craft beer tasting party over at Low Key Hideaway, but the persistent cold wind resulted in a rescheduling for Saturday.  This will also coincide with a Pot Luck dinner at Low Key Hideaway, and Brian and Maria's last night at Cedar Key....they are moving on down the road Sunday, and I am already beginning to miss them....:(

The large cloud bank to the southwest kind of blocked most of the sunset, but I was able to capture this shot......another lovely Cedar Key day lived well.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cedar Key - Day # 20 - Wednesday, Wrenching & Walking

What a wonderful day Wednesday turned out to be!  I was sitting at my computer first thing Wednesday when I got an e-mail from Karen (Karen and Krash) asking if we were going to meet for breakfast in town......I had totally forgotten, but gave her a call right away and said we could meet them in 45 minutes at Annie's (right across from Kona Joe's, but Kona Joe is on a cruise this week).  If this had happened a year go, and I turned to TLE without warning and said "Hey, let's walk a mile and a half into town for breakfast" she would have probably asked for a "rain check"......not so now.....TLE is ready anytime, day, or night, for the unexpected.

Pat's has al fresco dinning!

The morning was beautiful....clear blue skies, with a slight chill in the air....even at 9:30 am.  Karen and Krash are renting the "Marina Guest House" in town, so they are about a mile closer to Annie's than we are.  By the time we caught up with Karen and Krash they informed us Annie's was not open on Wednesday's.  TLE suggested we try "Pat's" which is on 2nd street right near the Island Hotel.  We've walked by Pat's a few times and had meant to try out the place for meal, and what a pleasant surprise......EXCELLENT omelets!!  We sat right outside eating, laughing, talking.....getting to know each other better.  After breakfast we walked around town, and walked by the home Karen and Krash rented last year....what a cool looking place on the outside......looks like something out of the bayou.  They said the interior has been completed updated, and is very comfortable.

And what a beautiful old tree...

We walked back to their rental home and met their dog "Pipa", a very pretty cocker spaniel breed, then walked back toward Sunset Isle......we parted ways just before Low Key Hideaway promising to meet at Low Key for the sunset.

I spent the afternoon tuning up Brian and Maria's (The Roaming Pint) bicycles.....something I love to do.  Brian's bike, a 7 speed, was down to one speed due to corrosion in the cable housing, so I replaced that, and was able to restore 6 of the 7 speeds.....I think there is something broken inside the index shifter......one thing I've learned in the past year is do not let perfect be the enemy of good.....6 speeds compared to 1 speed is good.....not perfect, but good.  Then I worked on his rear brakes, which were kind of frozen up, and mostly non-functional.  I was able to get them working properly again, too.  Maria's bike is a little newer and just needed a little adjustment to the front brake pads. Thank you guys for letting me work on your bikes.....I had a blast!

I was pleasantly surprised to see that our "Mali Mish" friends had not left yet, so deduced they had decided to stay a 2nd day....that's the thing about Cedar Key.....once you get here it's tough to escape the gravitational pull of the place.....not that anyone tries too hard to do so....:D  After I took a shower I walked over to their Airstream and spent some more time talking to Dan and Marlene.  As I was getting ready to leave I suggested we get a fire started around 6:30 pm.....they, of course, said "yes!".

Around 5:15 TLE and I walked over to the Tiki Bar for our 20th sunset......they are all different, and with a mostly cloudless sky this one was completely different than we have had so far.

TLE and Cherie chatting

Ahhhhhh......

Eventually everyone began to drift out to the Low Key Hideaway dock to watch the sun dip below the horizon one more time......Karen and Krash, Chris and Cherie, their parents who are visiting for a couple of days, Maria, Brian, Kyeli, Pace, etc.  But wait.....there's more!

Thank you Kyeli for this great picture!

Around 6:15 we drifted back to Sunset Isle and while I got the fire going TLE talked with Karen and Krash....eventually the fire got hot enough to overcome the slight dampness in the wood.....I credit the dampness to the high humidity....and we sat down and chatted.  Over the course of the evening people came and went....Krash and Karen started their walk home around 8, and then we were joined by Dan, Marlene and family....then Forrest Clark dropped by, then Chris and Cherie.....near the end of the evening Kyeli (her picture above) and Pace dropped by....what an evening of serendipity.....another day lived well.....

You know, when we started our journey almost a year ago I was excited about all the new places we would see, and the new memories that experience would create, but in the end.....a year later......it is the people we have met, and spent time with along the way that have made the bigger impression on us.  We feel honored to be in the company of so many fine people.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cedar Key - Day # 19 - Sick Birdie

My Tuesday started at 8 am with another 'Circuit Training' session with our friends Maria and Brian (The Roaming Pint)  I'm doing this workout with them every Tuesday and Thursday.  It takes about an hour, and then I have the rest of the day to continue soaking up the Cedar Key vibe.

Our first date, March 2006, San Antonio, TX

Our Thunderbird is "sick" again.......on our way into Chiefland the other day the engine started missing, then smoothed out, then as we were leaving Walmart it started again, and didn't stop, and eventually the 'CHECK ENGINE' light came on......shoot!  It came and went on the way home, but it was apparent to me there was an ongoing problem, so we decided to take her into the Ford dealership in Chiefland on Tuesday to get it checked out.   We have been together for almost 7 years now, and I think we're beginning to get the "7 year itch".

Ever since the alternator incident on our way back from Louisville to Campbellsville a few months ago TLE and I have been talking about making  a change in our transportation to something more practical for our lifestyle.  The 'Bird is only a 2 seater, and we have no way of carrying our bikes in, or on it.  Chris and Cherie have a Mini Cooper which they tow behind their GM bus when they are rolling the wheels.  They graciously offered to let us take a test drive to see if we like it, so this was the perfect opportunity to combine a test drive while we dropped off our 'Bird at the Ford doctor in Chiefland.

Chris and Cherie's Mini Cooper

I drove the Mini Cooper into town, whilst TLE drove the T'Bird.  TLE drove most of the way back.  The Mini Cooper has seating for 4, and we can add a small receiver hitch to which a bike rack can be mounted.  I found it very comfortable, and it was fun to drive a manual tranny again.....this one has a 6 speed.  It will still give us the sporty feel, but be much more practical.  We haven't decided 100% yet, but we are seriously considering making a change sometime this year.

Tim McClain greeted us at the service desk, took down our information, and we bid goodbye to our baby for a few days.  Tim thinks it may be a bad coil, and that would not surprise me as we had this issue about 3 years ago.  I hope he is right, because that is not a big bill.

We returned to find our "blog friends" Dan and Marlene (read their story at Mali Mish) had arrived, and were in the pull through site right next to us!  We are all from Southern California......they lived in Oxnard for a number of years, and of course, we in Ontario.  Despite our relatively close proximity to each other we have never been able to synchronize our timing to actually meet face to face, so this was a treat!  They have three children aged 6 years , 3 years, and 9 months.  They are currently about 165 days into their current long trip.  Mali Mish is Croatian for "little mouse".  We spent time catching up with them....they had just finished a 28 day stretch in the Florida Keys, and I was interested in how they cobbled together reservations at State Parks in the Keys by pouncing on cancellations as they came up in Reserve America.  Usually you have to make reservations a year in advance for these parks, but they only started to acquire theirs about a month before they arrived, and were still picking them up while they were in the Keys.

Back row: Dan, Luka and Marlene

Front row: Ava and Mila

Additionally, our friends, Krash and Karen, whom you will remember from our visit to my sister's home in Chelsea, MI, arrived in Cedar Key by SUV to spend a couple of months in a rental home.  You can read about our meeting here: Serendipity

They found our blog because we had been to Cedar Key last March, and this was a favorite place of theirs to escape the cold winter in Michigan each year.  We met up with Krash and Karen at the Tiki Bar for a quick drink, and to watch the first part of the sunset, then headed off walking into town to meet Dan, Marlene, and the kids at 'Big Deck' for dinner.  

On our walk into town TLE took this great sunset picture......

Much to our surprise just as we arrived at Big Deck we saw Chris and Cherie arriving with their parents who will be spending some time here in Cedar Key......another Cedar Key convergence!  Soon after Dan, Marlene and family arrived.  We talked, and talked about our shared experiences.  Here we have a family that is in a totally different phase of their lives.....a generation removed, if you will, and yet there is this unmistakable connection.  Sure, their experience will look different than ours as they travel with three small children, but we are all out on the road for the same reasons.

After a very pleasant meal, eaten very slowly, TLE and I started our 1.50 mile walk home....I'm sure we could have hitched a ride, but you know, there is nothing like an evening stroll in Cedar Key with a 'fingernail moon' to light our path.  We arrived home with big smiles on our faces, and an inner satisfaction derived from another day lived well.

Thanks for stopping by!