Rolling south without the coach

As you know from Tuesday's blog, I did get up Wednesday for the sunrise over Lake Griffin which was pretty amazing all by itself, and if that had been the high point of my day, that would have been just fine.......however, our hosts, Jim and Jacque Crehan, had big plans for Wednesday, and we are always game for adventure, and new places.  

But, before any of that could happen TLE needed a trim to her coiff so she drove into Leesburg with Jacque around 9:30 while I puttered around in the trailer getting some of the new bike part acquisitions cleaned up, and sealed in ziploc baggies against the salt air, and humidity.

Sometime between 11 and Noon the gang arrived (Jim, Jacque, Jake and Claudia) in Jim's Buick SUV and we headed south 108 miles to St. Petersburg.....of course that means traversing the Tampa traffic, which seems to be a challenge most the day.......kind of gave me flashbacks to Southern California traffic.   We spent our two hour drive chatting and laughing.

Courtesy Florida Orange Groves & Winery website

Our first destination was a favorite winery of Jim and Jacque's called Florida Orange Groves and Winery......their specialty is making wines out of fruit....oranges, of course, blackberries, blueberries, guavas, limes, etc.  They only make one wine with grapes, and that is the muscadine grape, which is native to Florida, and they have a few acres of them growing on the property.   We did a wine tasting, and frankly I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the wines.  I ended up buying a bottle of Orange Sunshine (a premium dry orange wine), and TLE bought a bottle of Florida Grapefruit.  We rarely buy a bottle of wine at the places we taste wine, so that we did this time should tell you something about the quality.  Jim and Jacque apparently first visited them just after they opened for business back in the late 90's.

By the time we finished transferring money to Florida Orange Groves & Winery it was going on 2 pm, and we were all getting hungry.  I pulled up my Yelp app on my Droid and zeroed in on a place called Dockside Dave's Grill which was rated by over 20 reviewers at 4.5 stars on a scale of 1-5.....that's pretty good.  According to several reviews their Blackened Grouper Sandwhich was the best in Pinellas County....well, that's quite a claim, so we decided to check it out.

Jacque, Claudia and Jake....that's the best pic I could take while still sitting down!

 TLE had the Shrimp Tacos.....very good...she let me have a bite

 My Blackened Grouper Sandwich...enormous

Our waitress kept us in stitches, which made our meal even more enjoyable......my sandwich was almost enough for two meals......this was some of the best blackened fish I have had in a long, long time....the seasoning was spectacular.  I gave this establishment 5 stars in my Yelp review.

Afterwards, in order to work off some of the caloric intake at Dockside Dave's we headed over the St. Petersburg beach and spent close to an hour walking up and down the beautiful white sand beach.  When we started our trip it was overcast and cool, but by the time we arrived at the beach the sun had burst out, and it was pleasant walking barefoot in the water strolling slowly down the beach.

A passing strange snapped this picture using Jacque's phone camera....came out great!

By the time we finished our walk it was after 5 pm, and we still had a 2 hour drive home....well, it would have been 2 hours except for rush hour in Tampa.  It took about an hour just to get past the bad traffic and back on I-75 for our drive home......no worries, we're retired, and who is in a hurry anymore?

As we drove up I-75 Jim shared that he had a hankering for some ice cream, so we all began a search on our smart phones for a DQ, but there appeared to be none between us and Fruitland Park.  Someone in the car found one a few miles off exit 339, which was our exit anyway, however, when we arrived at the address there was none to be found....:(  This is where serendipity comes in.....if we had not deviated from the road we were supposed to take over to Fruitland in search of the DQ (that didn't exisit) we would never have passed Mystic Ices and Creams about 1 mile from "home".....we were driving along having accepted the "death" of our ice cream dream when out of the corner of my eye I see a subtly lit sign in a small strip mall "Mystic Ices and Creams".....I nudged Jim saying "I just saw an ice cream place on the right, back about 1/2 a block", so he turns around and we head back...at first we can't tell if it is open, or not, but sure enough they were open.  They make their own homemade ice creams right on the premises, and are they amazingly smooth and creamy!

Jim Markow, the proprietor

Their offerings

I chose the Cherry Cream.....the ice cream, by the way, is served in waffle bowls, so when you are done with the ice cream you get to eat the the waffle bowl!  We all sat there eating great ice cream and listening to 50's Doo Wop music for about 30 minutes.....what a great ending to a day of adventure......it was great to be chauffeured around by Jim....thank you Jim for driving!

Thursday we head southward again about 60 miles to Zephyrhills, FL to visit the McBee's and Franscone's......more of our Amazon.com friends.  It will be great to spend a couple of days visiting with them outside the context of Amazon.com....:D

Thanks for stopping by!

One thing led to another.......

For those doubters - here is a sunrise...taken about 25 minutes ago

Tuesday started off clear, and very cool......my kind of Florida day!  Whenever we arrive in a new location we love to go check out the local thrift stores.  The nearby town of Lessburg has many such fine establishments, so around 10 am we unloaded the 'Bird from its cocoon and headed into Leesburg.  There are several large thrift stores, and we visited many of them, but we scored at St. Paul's Thrift Store on Sunshine Ave......

I bought a Fuji ergonomic seat....close to new for $5, a classy navy blue sweatshirt ($1) with a stitched logo, and a Caribbean Joe's "Hawaiian" shirt ($3).  Some will be asking "where" these new treasures will be stowed.....well, I do have room in my closet for several more shirts as I have been divesting myself of ones I was not wearing, and I always have room for one more bike seat in the trailer......I'll just have to have TLE help me lean on the door the next time I close it up.....:D

Around Noon I was getting the munchies so I checked Yelp for nearby craft beer opportunities......in the process I came across a place called Mermaid Juice, which was an antique store in Mt. Dora that has about 14 craft beers on tap.....you can shop while drinking your beer....what an interesting concept.....so we began the 18 mile trek eastward passing large lake after large lake......we are, after all, in Lake County.  I had never heard of Mt. Dora before.....it is a cool, funky town located on the shores of Lake Dora.  We arrived in front of Mermaid Juice to find they were "CLOSED" on Tuesday's.....whaaaaat?  This is what I mean by "One thing led to another....".  We went to Mt. Dora for one thing, and ended up finding a very cool town with dozens of antique stores, art galleries, and restaurants featuring every cuisine known to mankind.

A "pano" shot borrowed from www.whattodoinmtdora.com

We walked around the old town area kind of getting a feel for the place, and came across The "Frog and Monkey Restaurant & Pub".....need I say anymore?  We had our server "build" a couple of Guinnes Stouts for us, and ordered a Ruben sandwich, which we split......very, very good combination.

After lunch we continued exploring the antique shops in town, and while we didn't find anything we couldn't live without, we thoroughly enjoyed each of the shops.  Around 2 pm we decided it was time to head back to Fruitland Park.......we did find another Goodwill on the way home just outside of Leesburg, and spent some time rummaging through their offerings, but managed to leave without any further acquisitions.

After we got "home" I changed and went out to the trailer with my new bicycle seat intent on going through my 5 gallon bucket of bike stuff that I keep around.....just about that time Jim and Jacque dropped by (they had finished their work day), and then Jake and Claudia dropped over....the girls went inside to talk, and the guys compared power plants.  Jake and Claudia have a cool late model VW Beetle, so he showed me "his" and I showed him "mine".....

Eventually I could hear the dinner bell ringing somewhere so we jumped in Jim and Jacque's car and made our way over the Hurricane Dockside Grill in Tavares, FL.  We had a great dinner with even better conversation.

After we got home we decided to watch the latest episode of "Bones" which was recorded the night before, and I'm sure it was a good show, but apparently I was napping during most of it......:D

Tomorrow St. Petersburg!  What new adventures, sights and sounds await us?  Stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cedar Key - Day # 39 - Until Next Time

Haha.....I fooled you, and moi.....there is one more post title with Cedar Key - Day # in it!

I lay in bed at 4:30 am thinking about the many, many things still remaining to be accomplished before liftoff.  I knew I needed to write a list of last minute things that I usually forget to do, especially when we have been sitting for 5 weeks.  Finally around 6 am I rolled out of bed in Sunset Isle for the last time........until next time......of course, you know there will HAVE to be a next time.

I scribbled notes on a Post-It-Note of the 7 things I didn't want to forget to do before turning over the Detroit Diesel 2 stroke.....1) Remove our name plaque from the rear of the coach, 2) Wash front windows, 3) Wipe off the T-Bird (another bird paid a visit), 4) Remove the wheel chock from in front of the right rear dualies, 5) Fasten the strap on across the cabinet doors in the trailer, so they won't come open and hit the roof the T-Bird, 6) Turn off water heater, and #7......a second reminder to remove the wheel chock....:D.....hmmmm, I guess there were only 6......lol!

After finishing my list, and the posting the blog for Sunday (which I wrote Sunday night) I headed outside around 7 am with a cup of coffee to begin crossing things off the list.....I started with the T-Bird.  While I was working outside I could hear TLE inside going through her departure routine of stowing away the many things we have out while sitting still.  

Putting the awning up.....can departure be far behind? (courtesy Technomadia)

Eventually it was time to bring the DD to life, and disconnect the umbilical cord.....we exchanged hugs with Chris and Cherie, Pace and Kyeli, then backed out of our spot and made our way over to the trailer.  The whole process went smoothly and we were pulling on to State Road 24 by 11:04 am.....not bad.....our goal was to leave by 11 am.  I saw Jay standing by his Class C waving, so I gave him a couple of blasts from the air horn....I love that sound!

We waited to load the T-Bird until we came up to the old BP gas station about 4 miles up the road....they have a large concrete pad which is perfect for our task.  We quickly got the 'Bird loaded and headed northeast on 24 eventually crossing over 19  at Otter Creek, and continuing over to 27 where we turned southeast.......our destination for the next 3 days was Fruitland Park, FL, a Methodist camp and retreat where our Amazon.com friends Jim and Jacque Crehan are currently workamping.

One thing I had not been able to accomplish last Friday was get a haircut.....the last one I got was at the Supercuts in Rossville, GA back when we were at Choo Choo Express Garage having the coach serviced, and I was getting a little shaggy.  TLE found one directly on our route just north of Ocala.  We found easy parking, walked into Supercuts where I was immediately seated for a haircut......while I was getting my ears lowered TLE went next door to the Publix supermarket and had barely returned when my haircut was done.....in and out in less than 20 minutes!

We continued south through Ocala, The Villages, & Lady Lake kind of bogging down in the Monday afternoon traffic.......I think it took us an hour and fifteen minutes to drive the last 30 miles.....we were met at the entrance to the Life Enrichment Center (run by the Methodist Church) by Jacque who could only whisper as she has laryngitis.  We are staying in the RV Park section with the first 2 days comped because we are friends of Jim and Jacque, and the 3rd day at $13.80 (Passport American rate strikes again!)......so our cost for 3 days is $13.80!

Jim and Jacque work two days per week (Monday and Tuesday) for 6 hours each day in exchange for their full hookup site.....so they have 5 days off every week to explore the neighboring area.....they are not that far from Ocala, Tampa, Orlando, and Gainsville.

Where our bed is now parked 

While we settled in they went back to finish their work day promising to return around 4:30 to give us a tour of the facility, then off to celebrate their 46th wedding anniversary with us and their friends Claudia and Jake at Ramshackle Cafe in Leesburg....what a funky place!  Reminded me a little of the Tiki Bar with the hundreds of license plates on the ceiling.  Yelp gives it 3.5, and Tripadvisor gives it a 4 (on a scale of 1-5, 5 being best).....I would give it a 4.  I had another Black and Bleu Burger and a pint of Amber Bock draft.  It was a great night of toasts, and fun conversation.  

Jim and Jacque are from Tennessee, and Claudia and Jake are from Oklahoma.  All four are fun people to spend time with and I am so glad we stopped off here to visit before we push on southward in a few days.  Remarkably all three couples (including us) have been married over 40 years.

Of course, upon our return to our "home" I found the picture below posted by Chris (Technomadia)......what an amazing sunset we missed at the Tiki Bar last evening.....now I'm the one looking on from afar being jealous.  This was an amazing sunset!

What we missed....sunset # 39 (courtesy Technomadia)

As we move on we are trying to live in the moment.....not looking backward (too often) and not too far ahead.  I think we did that pretty successfully in Cedar Key.  Our current location reminds us a little of our camping spot in Savannah last April with all the hanging Spanish moss.  We are looking forward to doing a little exploring Tuesday around the area where our bed is currently parked.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cedar Key - Day # 38 - Preparing for liftoff, and the "Super Bust"

The second half of the Super Bowl.....really Super Bust.....has barely started and it is already 28-6 Ravens.  Very disappointing performance by the 49er offense, defense and special teams.....pretty much a team defeat, and well earned (shortly after I wrote this the lights went out at the Superdome for 40+ minutes......when the game resumed the 49ers went on a 17-0 run, but ultimately lost 34-31.....their first half performance cost them the game).

Our day started around 7:30......very chilly last night....outside......warm and comfortable inside, of course.  I needed to get over to the trailer to do a couple of last minute things to Pat's bike before I delivered it to him, so I dove right into writing Saturday's blog, had some Raisin Bran, and then beat a path over to the trailer.  Below you can get a good look at the GT STS-1 all put back together, adjusted, and ready to ride.

By 10 am I was putting the final touches on the trailer in preparation for loading the T-Bird Monday.  Other than these final preparations to the trailer, it felt like any other Cedar Key day.  By Noon TLE and I were walking into town, for the last time, to have lunch with Krash and Karen at Pat's on 2nd Street.  TLE and I walked along slowly holding hands, talking about our time here in Cedar Key and what lays ahead in the next few weeks.....smelling the familiar smell of the salt in the air, feeling the touch of the cool breeze coming off the water, and the warmth of the sun on our faces.  Couldn't ask for a better final Cedar Key day.  We tell each other often we are so happy we are sharing this journey with our best friend.

As we came abreast of Krash and Karen's apartment we were greeted by an excited Pipa barking at us from the upper deck.  We yelled greetings back to her as she was led back into the apartment, and then proceeded on with Karen and Krash into town.  We have really enjoyed getting to know them better since they arrived close to three weeks ago.  To be sure we will miss them a lot, but we know we will see them again, just as we will the other nomads we have spent time with here.  Yes, we do include them in our Nomadic group.....they may not move about the country in an RV, but they do move about the country a lot changing their view.  

The food at Pat's was excellent, just as it has been the previous 3 times we have dined there.  Frankly, we have not really had a bad meal the entire time we have been here, and as you know, we have transferred money to almost every restaurant in town multiple times.

After lunch, of course, we visited Deja Vu Consignment where TLE found two cool pairs of earrings (no books.....:D).  While she was inside I browsed through a local yard sale and found a cool wind chime made out of discarded forks and spoons.  We then stopped at Sandy's Produce one final time saying goodbye to Todd and Sandy, and then back to Sunset Isle to get ready for our Super Bowl Party.....the plan was for a few of the remaining NuRVers to get together and watch the game outside by the fire.  Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate....the wind came up (still blowing as I write), and the temperature dropped....the forecast was for 47 degrees by half time.......so we called an audible and decided to meet at the Tiki Bar instead.

In preparation for our original party TLE had made a couple gallons of salsa, so we gathered that up with the taco chips and drove over to the Tiki Bar around 5:30 to grab a seat for the Super Bowl.   We spent time saying our "goodbyes"....me saying "Hello!" to Krash and Karen, Bill and Debby, Pat and Cindy, Russ, Jay, and numerous others.  By half time, even with the wood burning fireplace generating heat, it was getting chilly, so we bid farewell to our friends, and headed back to Sunset Isle for the final time this trip.  

Tomorrow a new adventure begins.  We will travel about 98 miles to Fruitland Park to visit Jim and Jacque Crehan whom we met at Amazon.com last October....they were in the pull through spot on the passenger side of our site.  They are now camp hosts at a Methodist Church camp, where we will spend a few days.

Below you see our 38th and final sunset at Cedar Key, taken at the Tiki Bar......

# 38 - at the Tiki Bar

By the way, Super Bust became a Super Bowl with the Ravens edging the 49ers by just 3 points.  I had just posted on Facebook the following diatribe: 

"As Don Meredith (former Cowboys quarterback, and MNF announcer) used to croon when it was obvious a game was over....."Turn out the lights, the party's over..."  

Within a minute, or so of that post the lights literally went out in the Superdome for over 40 minutes......when the game resumed the 49ers went on a 17-0 run pulling  within 5 points, only to lose at the end by 3 points.  All I ever want in a Super Bowl is a close game decided in the last few minutes, and I got my wish.

Tomorrow, for the first time in 38 days you will not see the familiar title "Cedar Key - Day #....", and you will not see a Cedar Key sunset, but there will be new views, new friends, and new adventures.....stay tuned.....we're just getting warmed up!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cedar Key - Day # 37 - "You say goodbye, and I say Hello, Hello, Hello"

The lyrics to the Beatles' song "Hello, Goodbye" are running through my head this morning as we begin our last full day here in Cedar Key.  Soon it will be time to say "Goodbye"........I really prefer saying "Hello!"  So, if I say "Hello" when I see you today, and not "Goodbye" you'll understand.

I had a mental list of 15-20 things that would be accomplished on Saturday, and pretty much I never got past #1 on my list until it was too late in the day.  That's life, huh?  Fortunately I still have another full day before we lift off.  

#1 on my list was finishing Pat's bike rebuild.  I had gotten a message from him late Friday that the brake, and shifter cables had arrived......he brought them over first thing Saturday so I could install them, and then do the final adjustments to the derailleurs, and shocks.  The cables are all routed through the carbon fiber frame of the bike.  I found it is much easier removing the cables, than installing them.  I won't go through all the machinations I went through trying to get each cable to exit the frame at the proper spot.  Normally it would take me maybe 15-20 minutes to route all the cables, cut off the excess and begin to adjust the brakes and derailleurs.....instead it took me over 2 hours just to route the cables......the good news is now, if I had another frame just like this one, it would take 20 minutes tops.

The GT STS-1 rebuild is complete.......almost....the new tires did not come in Friday, or Saturday, so Pat will have to install those.  

While I was putting the finishing touches on the GT a gentleman, staying right next to us in site #6, came up to the trailer dragging a bike.  He had been "Googling" bike shops, and was about to leave for Gainsville when he spied me working on Pat's bike.  He said, "Can I be so lucky as to have found a bike mechanic right here at Sunset Isle?"......I said...."yeeesss"...waiting for the $64,000 question......"well, can you fix THIS!"  THIS was a lady's bike with two out of true rims, and a rear tire that had been apparently drug behind his vehicle a short distance rubbing a hole in the tire and tube.  He needed the bike operational by Sunday.  I didn't have any tires that would fit his bike, so I suggested he drive into Walmart and get a new tire and tube, and bring them back.  I didn't think I would see him again until Sunday, but he was back in a little over an hour.  I was able to install the new tire and tube in a few minutes, but truing both wheels, and re-adjusting the brakes took about an hour.  So, we started with a very unhappy guy, and a completely non-functional bike, and ended up with a very happy guy insisting I accept $40 in payment......he says "Look, Clarke, I was prepared to buy a new bike so, you saved me a couple hundred dollars...$40 is small by comparison"......big smile on my face!

We had a date with Bill and Debby to go into the Island Hotel for dinner, and while we were waiting for them I caught this sunset picture with Chris paddling his Sea Eagle in the foreground.

Here is what I spent part of the $4o on....a couple of Cigar City Maduro Brown Ale's at the Tiki Bar (okay, we stopped off on our way into the Island Hotel).  Just about the time I was half way through this very tasty ale  the sun was dipping below the horizon.

 Sunset # 37.......the saying goes....."red sky at night....sailors delight", and what a delight # 37 was!

I will miss the long after glow here in Cedar Key......around 6:30 we headed downtown for dinner at the Island Hotel....this is our second time here with Bill and Debby.  This time we sat in their funky bar (below).....yep, I don't know what other word would be more precise.

Courtesy of the Island Hotel website

We had a lovely dinner, and spent a lot of time talking about future meetups......there is a beer festival taking place in Lawrence, Kansas in May, and we will be seeing them there along with Brian and Maria (The Roaming Pint), and, hopefully, Dennis and Jeanette (Cheddar Yeti) who were not able to make it to Cedar Key this year.  After that we're hoping to hookup again somewhere in the Northern Sierras in July, or August.

Our sojourn here in Cedar Key may be coming to a close, but the memories will remain with us, and will not fade......the memories of great sunsets, amazing friends and island life will be ever present as we move inexorably toward each new horizon and adventure filled with awe and anticipation.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cedar Key - Day # 36 - Left and Right

Friday, February 1st......another anniversary.......February 1st marks the end of our second year living full time in our Newell Coach.  It does not seem that long to me, or to Elaine.  We are both so pleased with how our coach is holding up to 24/7 living for those 24 months.  And yet.......our two years seem puny in comparison to many we know who have been doing it for 7,8, 9, or 10 years now.....nevertheless we press on living day to day, making it up as we go.  When we first crossed the Mississippi River (west to east) last March I spent a lot of time thinking about when we would cross it going West again.....the humidity, and bugs seemed to obscure everything else.  I was out of my comfort zone by 3 time zones.  As we moved from stop to stop I began to get acclimated.....got a little more used to the humidity, and the bugs....of course buying a de-humidifier, and using bug repellent in liberal doses did help a lot.  The pressure to "SEE" everything along the way lessened, and we just saw places, and things we were interested in at the time.  The people we were meeting, and spending time with have become the storyline.  At first we lived like we were on vacation, but gradually it has evolved into "living life with an ever changing view".  However, when we crossed back to the west side of that mighty river I felt like I had returned home, and really enjoyed the more arid climate, and higher altitudes, but there was a change in me......I was actually looking forward to our return to the east side of the river......that's a big deal for me, and I'm sure Elaine will verify that.  Since we crossed the Mississippi for the 3rd time (west to east) back in September I have been enjoying the east much more.....the interesting cultures, accents, stories, places and people.  

Okay, enough of the philosophical......so what happened on Friday, February 1st that was noteworthy?  Well, I received most of my 1099's in the mail, as well as other tax related stuff.  I received my renewal AAA cards.....and I got NO bills!  A few more things arrived for Pat's GT STS-1 mountain bike (chain, grips, tubes, bottle cage) so I installed them.....now I just need the brake, and shift cables.   I spent time putting things away in the trailer in preparation for our Monday departure......this always seems overwhelming to me at first as I stare at the clutter in the trailer that results from one month of using everything.....but I just do a little every day the few days leading up to our departure and it always seems to come together quickly.

Our nomadic convergence is being depleted "right and left" as one after another of our NuRVer friends departs for new adventures and views, or moves temporarily to another part of the park seemingly every day now.  Forest and Cindy will leave Saturday, Pace and Kyeli, along with us, will depart on Monday, then Chris and Cherie will leave next Friday I believe.  If there is a downside to our nomadic lifestyle it is the "departing" thing, but it is a small downside, because we know our paths will cross again, and we will remain connected via phone, e-mail, and the various social media outlets we all use.

Chris and Cherie interviewed us for their "Ramblings - Tales from Nomads" series that they sponsor on their Tales of Technomadia website.  Look for our video interview to appear early summer, 2013.  Go to the "Ramblings" link to watch some of their past interviews.

Since Forest and Cindy are leaving Saturday morning we decided to walk into town with them to have a farewell dinner at Steamers around 4 pm.....the air was still crisp and cold most of the way into town.   We talked about grand kids, the time we spent courtesy parking on their Thibodaux, LA property while they were out west visiting the Canyon Lands, and many, many other things.  We were again able to share another amazing sunset with good friends from the Dock Street pier.

Our time here is short, and every moment from now on will increase in its poignancy as we begin to raise our gaze toward the coming adventures awaiting us just over the horizon.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cedar Key - Day # 35 - 70 Feet

I woke up Thursday knowing I had one more day before we had to move our coach to Site #7 for our remaining 3 days.  The winds from the storm that passed through Wednesday were still with us, and it was icy cold.

Even though we had one more day in Site D I thought I should start putting a way a few things, like the Sea Eagle Kayak.  We needed to deflate it and pack it into the very nice carry bag that came with our package, and then figure out where we were going to store it.  This is the first time in long time we have added an item this big to what we carry with us.

While TLE and I were busy with that task a lady from the front office came by asking if we would be willing to move one day early into site #7.  I figured "why not?", so we continued to put away the Eagle.....TLE has great spacial skills, and was able to reconfigure the stuff in the  "through bin" making room.  Amazingly, it took us less than 10 minutes to deflate, and pack away the Eagle.  After that we spent our time disconnecting water, sewer and electrical so we could move.  We thought we had a few hours, but it is a good thing we got right to it, because the people coming in behind us were literally just behind us as we moved 70' to our new view!

We will now share the same view with Chris and Cherie before they must move to their new site in a day, or so.  We chose to pull straight in because now we can see the water out our front windows.  If we were going to be in this new spot long term, and not just 4 days I would have backed in because all of the utilities are at the very back of the spot.  The run to the sewer connection would be difficult to reach.  We won't need to dump for another 12 days, so we'll worry about that at our next stop in Fruitland Park, FL.

The new view.....

It just "shows to go you" (as my Dad used to say) you don't have to move much to change your view.....in this case around 70'.  

We got everything moved over from our old site, and set up by early afternoon, and by that time I had a few business e-mails to handle, which took me an hour or so.  We weren't sure what we were going to do for dinner until TLE and Cherie suggested we walk into "Big Deck" for their Grouper sandwich and some good draft beer around 4 pm.....you don't have to twist my arm too tight to get a "YES" out of me.  I then called Karen  and Krash to invite them to join us.  We set off on our walk right at 4, and reached Karen and Krash's house 20 minutes later.  We arrived at "Big Deck" at 4:45 only to find they were closing early due to the cold, and windy weather.....they are pretty much an outdoor eating establishment, so extremes in weather can affect how late they remain open.  

BUMMER!  We made a quick decision to go across  Dock Street to "Steamers"......we hadn't been there yet, mostly because their prices for similar food are about 30% higher than "Big Deck", but after seeing their draft beer list I am disappointed we had not given them a try sooner.  They have about 15 beers on tap, including a large selection of local craft beer by "Swamp Head" which makes the "Midnight Oil"....an oatmeal coffee stout which TLE and I both like, and Florida Beer Company.  This is where the fair lady we call Serendipity reared her pretty head.....I ordered a pint of the Midnight Oil....the server accidentally poured 2 pints, so I got the second one for free.  TLE tried the Swamp Head Stump Knocker Pale Ale, and then we all saw that Chris had ordered the Swamp Ape IPA.....normally we do not like the bitter after taste of IPA's but this IPA (10% ABV) was very smooth, and had just a slight hint of the bitters at the end.  Well, I already had my two pints, so for her second TLE followed Chris' lead.  

The conversation flowed nicely, which it always does......suddenly Cherie got up and moved quickly to the door.....the sunset was upon us and we almost missed it!  We didn't have a good angle out on the deck so we got our checks, paid them, and then walked quickly down to the Dock Street pier........to think we almost missed this....

What a way to cap off a day.......still basking in the glow of the sunset, which went on for the better part of an hour, we began our chilly, breezy walk home.....pretty soon we were walking at an "Amazon.com" type clip in order to generate some body heat....with TLE and Chris leading the way......they were walking at a "124 picks per hour pace".  

We dropped off Krash and Karen continuing on with the brisk pace until we came to the Tiki Bar....it was obvious some sort of celebration was in progress so we popped in to see what was what.....apparently it was Jay's (Slider Magazine) birthday.  There was live music, and a lot of finger food.  We chatted for a while, sampling a few items, and then continued on back to Sunset Isle......what a great evening.....it is the kind of evening you come to expect in Cedar Key, and this is why the gravitational pull of this place is so strong......the sites, the sounds, the smells, the warm, inviting people.

Thanks for stopping by!