Cedar Key - Day # 29 - Lovely Treasures

Thrice in as many weeks while meandering around the streets of Cedar Key I have found a small treasure in a yard sale.  Found these lightly used clipless mountain bike pedals at a yard sale behind Island Pizza......new these babies sold for close to $85.....got them for $10.  Nice to have an extra set of pedals in case I run into someone down the line who needs them......sweet!  (By the way G.A.S.S. stands for Gravity Activated Spring System).  

As is often the case, I get ahead of myself.....maybe I should just write this episode out of sequence, and stop trying to be so sequential......naaa.....my nature really likes things to be in order.....:D

Friday is the day when the empty sites here in paradise begin to fill up with short timers, and now our 5 pull site section is full.  The daily highs are beginning to creep back into the high 70's, and the skies continue to be mostly clear, but it still cools off fast as the sun nears the western horizon.

We kind of puttered around until late morning when Forest and Cindy came by to see if we were going to walk into Kona Joe's for a late breakfast......sounds good to me!  Within 30 minutes we were on our meandering way into town.  At just about the half way mark, as we were passing "Island Pizza" we spied a yard sale underway.  Not surprisingly, Krash and Karen were already there sifting through small treasures (Island Pizza is right across the street from their rental home).  While everyone else chatted my eyes kept wandering from table to table in search of that one special thing I could not leave without......eventually they caught a glint of bright yellow.....I edged around the table to find the KORE G.A.S.S. pedals previously mentioned.   Now, what am I going to get rid of so there is room for these pedals? No one else pulled the trigger on anything, although Forest came close, so we continued our amble toward Kona Joe's arriving there around 11.  It's great to have Joe and Edie back from their cruise......it's been too long since my last cup of Kona Coffee!  Eventually Karen and Krash appeared with their dog Pipa, and we all sat talking and laughing......all the while enjoying the great view of the back bay off the veranda of Kona Joe's.

After a wonderful interlude Forest and Cindy continued their walk into downtown, while TLE and I headed back to Sunset Isle......of course there was a stopover at Sandy's Produce to pick up some fresh eggs, and other produce items......Sandy said she had a fresh shipment of fish coming in later which would include swordfish......haven't had a good swordfish steak in a long time.....I think we'll have to return a little later for sure.

I spent some time putting a little polish on my yard sale acquisition for the week.  Out of the blue I look up to see a 6'5" gentleman smiling at me and waving me over.  Turns out his name is Joe, and he has been following our blog for a while.  He and his wife live in Lake City and had driven into Cedar Key for dinner.....as they passed Sunset Isle he remembered we were probably staying there, so pulled in to say "Hi" and talk for a while.....cool.....a little more serendipity.

Just a little later TLE returned from her short shopping excursion with the aforementioned swordfish steaks.......it was about this time Chris (Technomadia) walked over looking for an extra set of hands to help repair his punctured Sea Eagle....turns out he and Cherie got to close to an oyster bed, took a hit to the bottom puncturing the bottom air chamber.....fortunately they were not far from their dock, so there were no casualties.  I was glad to help, because I'm sure at some point I will suffer the same fate.  To be sure the process for patching the Sea Eagle is much more complex than fixing a flat bike tire, so I paid close attention.  Looks like she is fixed, but we won't know for sure until Saturday when it's time to apply air pressure again.

Medicinal chips and salsa for Chris and Cherie in the foregound

By this time the sun was getting precariously low in the horizon and it was time to head over to the Tiki Bar for some drinks, fellowship and our 29th sunset.  We walked over with Forest and Cindy.  I finally remembered to bring a California license plate from my small collection to add to Pat Bonish's massive collection lining the interior walls of the Tiki Bar.  Forest and Pat are both avid photographers.....Pat is a professional, and immediately recognized the equipment Forest was carrying resulting in another one of those spontaneous conversations that happen so often here in Cedar Key.  While they talked we walked into the Bar and got our beverages of choice and then headed over to the deck to be amazed again.  Soon Chris and Cherie drifted in, and were joined in short order by Kyeli and Pace.....there was much ooohing and awwwing, of course.

# 29

The afterglow

We watched for close to an hour as the sun set, followed by the long, long after glow that just lights up the sky.   Soon it was time to head home and get the BBQ out so we could dig into those two large swordfish steaks.  TLE made some great sides.....green beans with a balsamic glaze, and a nice chopped salad.  Of course Mr. Coppola was there to chase the great food!

This is so funny.....I sat down this morning to write about yesterday and was thinking...."not much really happened Friday....what am I going to write about?".....well, I guess I answered that question......sometimes not much is really a lot.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cedar Key - Day # 9 - What day is this?

We awoke to a partly cloudy day.....the forecast indicated 60% chance of rain for a day called "Sunday".  the "Day Clock" on our wall indicted it was Sunday,  but it still felt like Saturday to me.  I thought about checking the battery on the Day Clock, but in my heart I knew it was right.  All that really means is more NFL, right?  I'm starting to really get into EST.....back home in Riverside the first NFL game would be at 10 am, but here in EST the first game is at 1 pm.....that gives me a half day to do other stuff before I start watching football......the second game always starts right near sundown, so I have most the daylight portion of the day to accomplish other things.  All I'm really saying is living in EST allows me to have my cake, and eat it too.....after 63 years....it's about time.....:D  

I don't recall that I have ever talked about numbers on my blog.......how many "page views" per day, per month, etc.  It's not really that kind of blog.  It started as a way for me to keep a sort of diary for myself, and for my family (kids, siblings, Mom) to share our journey vicariously.  It has never been about numbers, or dollars.  I used to get excited if I saw that 20 people had looked at my blog on a given day.  Then we came to Cedar Key the first time back in March of 2012, and we had a hundred page views in one day.  These extra views came as a result of our meeting the NuRVers here, and they all wanted to learn a little bit about us, plus they referred a few others to our site.  After a few days the page views settled back down to 30, or 40 a day.  Gradually over the months I started averaging 60-70....a number that was directly correlated to how often I blogged.  If we were sitting still I usually didn't blog, so numbers would drop, of course.  After we left my sister's home in Spokane I was determined to blog on a more regular basis, and to look for something every day that others might find interesting, no matter how mundane it might seem to me.  I went from 8 blog entries in June (we sat still for 5 weeks) to 21 in July, 27 in August, and then my first 30 blog entry month in September where I blogged every single day for the first time, and since then I have not missed a day.  I write all that to say this......after I started blogging every day I started averaging over 100 page views a day.....a few times just under 190 in a single day.....for me that is amazing.....that almost 200 people not related to me are interested in what I write makes me smile.  I don't have to tell you, but these are not noteworthy numbers in the world of blogging where some get in excess of a million page views a day, but for me it is satisfying.  

After my blog entry the day following our "salsa off" Chris and Cherie (NuRVers and Technomadia) called attention to my blog entry for that day on their Facebook page, and suddenly we had almost 400 page views in one day, followed by similar numbers the next day.  For me that is amazing.....my daily goal is still just to write something interesting on some level.......that almost 400 people other than those related to me read my blog each of the last two days feels really good.  

Now back to Sunday.....I spent a good deal of the morning compiling a pictorial review of our first 11 months on the road.  The title of that entry was (numerically) 12,445.....the number of miles we had covered in 11 months.....that is a lot of driving considering we sat still 5 weeks in Spokane, 2 weeks on Whidbey Island, 2 weeks near Seaside, OR, and then 11 weeks in Campbellsville.  What is interesting to me is that our typical driving day after we covered over 600 miles in one day driving from Mesa, AZ to Midland, TX has been under 200 miles....sometimes under 100.  Anyway, it was a nice trip down memory lane for me......I only got up to the end of July, so I'll have to finish that later today.

Just before TLE and I set out to do some local shopping.......a moment of serendipity hit again when we got a message on the NuRVers Cedar Key Meetup site on Facebook that one of our members was making a run to the Trader Joe's in Gainsville, and offered to pick up some things for those who were interested.....thank you Kyeli!  We ordered a couple of bottles of Trader Joe's Zinfandel ($5.99 per), 2 bottles of Blue Fin Pinot Noir ($3.99 per), and a bottle of Himalayan Pink Salt, all which were in stock.  Since some of our more exotic needs were being picked up for us, we just ran over to the Dollar General store to pick up some Santitas tortilla chips, and other sundries, then over to Sandy's Produce in town for some cilantro, orange, tomatoes, red onions, and a pound and a half of Mahi Mahi to grill that night.

Around the time it began to rain Kyeli returned from Gainsville with our TJ's order, then we set about making dinner, with me grilling the Mahi Mahi while it rained.......so thankful for a patio awning.....a little Frank Sinatra playing in the background, the aroma of fresh marinated Mahi Mahi being grilled, and a sip here and there of Pinot Noir..........mmmmm!

Grilled Mahi Mahi with avocado/corn salad and Blue Fin Pinot!

After dinner I watched a very exciting Redskin vs. Seahawk game followed by us watching three of our favorite shows sans commercials, which had been recorded earlier last week......Elementary, Person of Interest and CSI New York accompanied by the sound of rain on the roof......then it was off to slumberland around 10:30 pm.....early for us.  What a nice uneventful day with just a touch of serendipity.  Monday is supposed to be sunny in the afternoon, followed by the same the rest of the week.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cedar Key - Day # 7 - What is it about this lifestyle?

What is the allure of this lifestyle I call fulltiming, which, apparently, is not really a word according to my spell check?  Well, it must be real, because I am living it!  I call it fulltiming, others call it vagabonding, while still others call it nomadic.....no matter what you call it.....it is not conventional.....it is hard to even describe as there are not adequate verbs and adjectives in the English language to properly describe what "we" are all about.  When I say "we" I am talking about those of us who have eschewed the norms of society....have forsaken being tied to "real" property.....a piece of real estate.....living in a fixed location.  We have chosen to live in homes with wheels.  We are able to change our view without going through escrow.  We have no long term plans written down on paper, or even committed to memory.  We like the term "plans written in Jello".  We may talk about being in Maine come April, but may find ourselves in Lawrence, Kansas instead.  We thrive on uncertainty......it does not scare us.....no, it inspires us.

Some of the entrants....that's TLE's on the lower right

Moi leading off the judging

Friday night our "nomadic convergence" group, as Chris and Cherie might.....no, would refer to our gathering, converged for a "salsa off" at their water front site.....there were 9 salsa entries.  Frankly, to me, all 9 were award winners in their own right.  First we each tasted all 9 entries, then wrote down our opinions about them as to the accuracy of the maker's spiciness rating (scale of 1-10).  Then we voted on which was "Best Roasted",  "Best Fresh", and "Best None Salsa". There was a  pitcher of margaritas, craft beer, straight tequila, and wine flowing throughout the evening as we gathered around a roaring fire.  Here was a collection of 20+ people from all sorts of varied backgrounds, lifestyles, belief systems, ranging in age from 30 to 63+, and yet we all have a few important characteristics in common......1) We are all young at heart regardless of our calendar age, 2) We all love to change our "view" on a regular basis, and 3) We love to be with like minded people.  When we come together there is this immediate connection......as if we have known one another for years.  There is an amazing sense of community.

We are not missionaries moving about the country trying to proselytize, or convert others to our lifestyle.  Of course, if asked, we are more than happy to "bear witness" about our lifestyle in general terms.  Yes, we are excited and enthusiastic about how we live and love to share it with others, but we have this internal struggle going on.......if too many people are converted, then it will get a lot more crowded "out here", but as Mt. 22:14 says:  "Many are called (invited), but few are chosen", or, in other words, choose to accept the invitation.

Chris getting a head start 

Okay, now I'll step down off my soapbox and relate a little of what our Friday looked like prior to the "salsa off".....based on weather forecasts (also, apparently written in Jello) we were expecting heavy overcast, and possibly rain Friday, but it turned out to be partly cloudy and warmed up into the 60's.  TLE and I took the 'Bird into town to buy some produce at Sandy's Produce.....some serrano and jalapeno peppers, cilantro, cheese, etc. then dropped by Kona Joe's for another cup of their Kona Coffee.  From there we drove east on State Road 24 to the Dollar General Store just to see what kind of selection they had, and found they carry our favorite tortilla chips by Santitas.  I was tempted to drop the top, but the temp at the time was around 55, and I knew TLE would not consent....:D

I spent some time after returning "home" vacuuming out the 'Bird.....it has been a long time since I did that......probably not since late October in Campbellsville.  Later Chris (Tales from Technomadia), Todd (NuRVers) and I got together to compare notes on LED lights.  Todd's coach is a late model and it appears he can easily replace his halogen bulbs with LED equivalent bulbs, and his fluorescent fixtures with matching LED fixtures.  

Eventually I got a call (thank you Cherie!) that our FedEX deliveries had arrived at the office (Sea Eagle kayak, and TLE's I-Phone 5).....too late in the day to open up the large box, and play with the Sea Eagle, but you know that's what I'll be doing Saturday!  Of course TLE will have her hands full activating her I-Phone 5 and getting it set up.

Around 4 we began to get the area next to Chris and Cherie's GM bus set up for the salsa off.  TLE and I moved our outdoor fireplace over, and some chairs.  Cherie and I picked up a wheelbarrow of wood, and Todd also brought one over.  A wheelbarrow of wood here costs $10, and it is a lot of wood....very good deal.  At most RV Parks you might get an arm full of wood for that price.

Another wonderful sunset

The fire began to die down around 11 pm, and those of us diehards still around the fire began to drift home.  It was another great laid back evening in Cedar Key spent with good friends.  Were we really at Amazon.com just two weeks ago pushing carts and picking?  Seems like a lifetime ago now. 

Thank you, as always, for stopping by!