Cedar Key - Day # 23 - Can It Get Any Better?

It is just impossible to predict the next magical day.  Just when you think the best day has come and gone, another jumps up to takes it place.  Let me tell you about Saturday, January 19th, 2013......the bestest day ever........so far!

From the moment I opened the curtains to greet Saturday I had a feeling it was going to be a great day.  The sky was clear, the breeze was gentle, and the promised high would be around 67 degrees.  It felt like a day to do some bike riding, and a quick check with TLE found we were both reading the same book.

Around 10:45 I sent a quick e-mail to Karen and Krash asking if they were interested in riding bikes to the Cedar Key Museum State Park with us.  I heard back within a few minutes that they were interested so we agreed to meet them in front of their rental home around 11:30.  The total riding distance to the State Park from our location is around 2.5 miles, so this is by no means an arduous ride.

After picking up Karen and Krash we headed for the State Park....it is actually directly across the wetlands from where we are situated.  Local museums are a great way to learn about the history (duh) of a given area, and this State museum is no exception.

There is a $2/person fee to enter the museum, and also tour the St. Clair Whitman home.  Saint Clair Whitman established the first Cedar Key museum in his home with artifacts he had been collecting since 1880.  He also had one of the largest shell collections in the U.S. which is on display.  I learned more about Cedar Key and its place in history than I had previously understood.  It is well worth the price of admission, and we recommend it very highly.

I had no idea Cedar Key was a major Florida port back in the 1800's because of the Fernandina Railroad that ran from Fernandina on the east coast of Florida to Cedar Key.  The shipping routes from South America and Mexico all converged on Cedar Key from which the railroad then transported goods north.

Saint Clair Whitman home - restored and moved to this location in 1996

Kerosene stove

After touring the museum and the Whitman house we followed a nature trail out to the wetlands enjoying the beautiful weather, and seemingly lower humidity.  Eventually we drifted back to the bikes and began meandering over to the airport.  As we turned on the road to the airport Krash spotted a yard sale......ooooh....that is my achille's heal.  On our way back from the airstrip we stopped off at the yard sale and I found these two small treasures.

A 3 lb. hand sledge, and a vintage spanner for $13.  Krash picked up some JBL computer speakers for his laptop for a "song".  From there we headed over to Pat's for lunch.  We had breakfast there a few days ago, and I was anxious to check out their lunch menu.  We were not disappointed.  I had the Jerked Chicken covered in salsa, and served on a bed of black beans with a side of yellow rice.

The portions are quite generous, and for $8 this was an amazing meal.  TLE had the Chicken Alfredo special, and it was also amazing.  I took this picture of my meal for Dan (Mali Mish).  Dan, see what you might have had if you could have stayed another day....:D  After a thoroughly enjoyable, leisurely lunch we rode back toward Sunset Isle dropping off Karen and Krash at their rental home along the way with the talk of future adventures still hanging in the air.  We really enjoyed our time with Karen and Krash just "making it up as we went".

Most of the gang.....took this picture with my phone camera on the spur of the moment and got this amazing result!

We arrived back home around 3:30 having covered 7.5 miles.  About that time we remembered we were supposed to be at Low Key Hideaway around 5ish for a craft beer tasting party sponsored by Brian and Maria (The Roaming Pint).  It would have been easy to just relax and stay home.  We are so glad we kept this date!  Brian and Maria shared some 16 craft beers they had collected in their travels over the past year from all over the USA.  There were IPA's, Pale Ales, Lagers, and Stouts....the last one we sampled was called, I believe, 10 Fiddy.....as dark as motor oil, and you could not shine a light through it......yummy!

As we stood out on the end of the dock sampling exquisite craft beer, and reveling in the serendipity of the day we had our collective breath taken away by this sunset.  Thank you Maria for getting my attention at just the right moment to capture this.

When this day began we had no plans, other than the tasting party scheduled for 5ish.....and had no expectation of how any of it would turn out, but enjoyed every single moment as one after another unfolded before our eyes.....like turning the page of a book to reveal what was not known before.  Without other like minded people to share these moments, they would have been less memorable.

Can it get any better?  I am not sure, but that is another chapter of serendipity yet to be read. 

Thanks for stopping by!