Cedar Key - Day # 26 - Classic Vinyl

Every day I try to come up with a phrase best describing the day just past.  This morning I was stumped.  I woke up with the lyrics to songs from my youth running through my head, but none of the song titles, or lyrics seemed to capture the essence of Tuesday.  Then it occurred to me......these songs are running through my head for a reason.......the reason being that for the better part of Tuesday I was listening to Classic Vinyl on XM Radio (channel 26 for those who care).  I have been a subscriber to XM Radio for about 8 years now.  I have 3 receivers.....one in the coach, one in the Thunderbird, and one in the trailer.  Probably costs me around $26/month.......a necessary expense?  Probably not, but listening to music brings a lot of pleasure into my life, and the wonderful thing about satellite radio is I can listen to whatever XM station I wish wherever I may be.....as long as the southern sky is visible, and I would say that is about 99.9% of the time.

Tuesday was one of those days where the Jello was murkier than usual.  I thought we were going to take a long tandem ride, and even had TLE on board for a ride beginning early afternoon.  In the morning I did my usual blog post, dumped the black tank (oh yeah....it was time!), then handled some insurance issues for a customer........all the while Classic Vinyl was playing in the background.  Over the hours I began to realize what a great play list they had running.....one great song followed another.  Of course, with each song came memories of places, and people I have known.  What I am attempting to convey is we both just sat inside listening to music until well after 2 pm.  Was that wrong?  I don't think so.....sometimes it's just right to go with your heart, and not succumb to the self imposed pressure "to be doing".....Tuesday my heart said just sit still and get lost in the music, so that's exactly what we did.  These lyrics from the Beatles song "In My Life" are running through my head as I write: 

"There are places I remember 
All my life, though some have changed 
Some forever not for better 
Some have gone and some remain 
All these places have their moments 
With lovers and friends I still can recall 
Some are dead and some are living 
In my life I've loved them all "

Tuesday was a day for remembering.....I am so glad I just went with my heart!

Around 2:30 pm we both had a hankering for a bowl of clam chowder, and what do you know we are just 1.25 miles walking distance from Tony's and the World's Best Clam Chowder, so around 3 we began our walk into town to Tony's.  We both just ordered a bowl of chowder, and a glass of Chardonnay.......mmmmmm good.

While I was paying the bill TLE went next door to Deja Vu Consignment to browse.....by the time I caught up to her she had two paperbacks in her hand.....:D  I know I give her a hard time about all the paperbacks she has (she also reads e-books), but holding and reading an actual book gives her pleasure....so we'll just make a little extra room.....

On our walk back we saw Krash out walking their dog (Pipa), so we stopped to chat, eventually going upstairs to their apartment to talk for a while.  Soon I realized it was getting on to 5:15, and the sunset would not be far away, so we excused ourselves and continued on home.....

#26

The picture above was snapped at Low Key Hideaway next to the Tiki Bar.....the one below was taken by our friend Cherie on her IPhone......this is one of the best sunset pictures I have seen here at Cedar Key!

That was our day....and what a day it was....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 # 16 - Prime Time

During our sojourn at Amazon.com we enrolled in Amazon Prime.  Essentially Amazon Prime gives you 1-2 day delivery at no charge, no matter how large, or small the item(s) being shipped.  It costs roughly $79 per year.  A number of friends who fulltime in their RV's use this to have things shipped to them wherever they happen to be at the time.  As TLE and I know from our 11 week experience at Amazon.com you can buy pretty much anything through Amazon, including many food staples.  TLE has bought a special honey she likes, some hard to find spices, etc. using our Prime account.  I am finding that a lot of people I know who live in sticks and bricks homes also use Amazon Prime.  Let's face it, most of the time there is no sales tax, and there is no shipping charge, and the convenience of receiving what you need within 2 days is pretty cool.  I have no financial stake in recommending that you check it out.  It, of course, is not for everyone, but we are finding that it works for our lifestyle quite well.

Saturday was "dump the black tank" day.....I think we went close to 13 days this time.  While I was flushing the "cooties" out of the black tank I decided to multi-task and wipe off the T-Bird.....normally, for me, this is not a good idea, because sometimes I get caught up with one task and forget the other......use your imagination.  This time it worked out well.  We decided we would walk into town and browse around.  It was a very humid day (around 89%) with a high of 81 degrees.....not as bad as I have experienced, but a lot warmer than we are aiming for.....:D  By the time we reached dock street we decided we needed to cool down a little, so we stopped off at the Island Trading Company where we acquired two frappuccinos, then went outside to sit in the shade.  Being that it was Saturday the town was packed with weekenders.  We sat there with smug smiles on our faces, because we knew we didn't have to leave this paradise on Sunday to head back to a sticks and bricks life.....we get to stay!

From there we walked over to 2nd street to see what was for sale in the Deja Vu consignment store.  TLE found some purplish earrings to go with her purple summer dress she got in Chiefland the day before, and a tank top........she deferred on several paperback books she saw.....whew!

On our walk back we passed a yard sale in progress so stopped to see what was what.  I found this propane regulator in a cardboard box of tools for $3.....all the fittings, the gate valve, and pressure regulator, if sold separately, retail for around $35, conservatively......SCORE!  Always good to have an extra regulator.....I have two in use in the coach, and they do fail from time to time.....none of mine have, but I like to be prepared.  

When we stopped by Sandy's Produce (we can never pass without buying something) Todd saw the regulator in my hand.....I saw him staring, and told him about my great find....he immediately offered me $10, then $15.....he knew what I knew.  I smiled, and declined his offer.

We continued our walk, and as we passed by a local cafe called the Blue Desert Cafe TLE remarked that we should have dinner there that night.....it is only open from 5 pm to 9pm most nights, but til 10 pm on Saturday nights.  I put up a notice on the NuRVers Cedar Key Meetup site regarding our intentions, and before we knew we were a party of 9.  We started our walk around 6 pm with Chris, Cherie, Pace and Kyeli, and as we passed by Low Key Hideaway we snagged 3 more......Debby, Bill and Forrest.

The picture taken at the Blue Desert Cafe (above) was taken by TLE using her new IPhone camera set on panorama......other than a little distortion in my profile, I think it came out great!  We knew going in that the service at this cafe was slow, but the food is great, and we were not disappointed on either count.  Of course, we are on island time, and enjoyed the time before our food arrived to talk, and talk, and talk......great conversation followed by great food.

The walk home involved more conversation, and before we knew it we were home and it was only 8:45......just in time to catch the end of the Ravens vs. Broncos game, lost in double overtime by the Broncos.....a very close game.  The second game between the Packers and 49ers saw the 49ers emerge victorious.  Sunday there will be two more NFL playoff games, so you know where I will be starting at 1pm!

And, thus we come to the end of another delightful day at Cedar key.

TLE took the sunset picture for Saturday

Thanks for stopping by!