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 # 25 - MLK, the Phoenix and Junkers

Some national holidays just sort of sneak up on you when you live on the road.  It's hard not to be aware of the major ones like 4th of July, Christmas, and New Years, but sometimes you just lose track of when those other ones are.  When you live on the road 24/7 every day seems like a national holiday, and because you never have to "go home".....it's easy to lose track of those 3-4 day long weekends spaced conveniently throughout the year everyone else has marked in indelible red ink on their calendars.  So, here I was wondering why the normal vacuuming sound that normally occurs on Sundays in most RV parks when the weekenders quickly vanish back to their sticks and bricks lives did not occur.  By Sunday evening the park was still mostly full, and those pesky weekenders were still here.  I use the term "pesky" in a most loving, affectionate, and understanding sort of way, because we used to be them.  You arrive at the RV park, or whatever your RV destination may be for the long weekend, as early in the day as possible so as to maximize your time doing what you know you really want to do every day for the rest of your life, but know you're not brave enough to do yet.  You and your brethren create this beehive of activity throughout the park with your continuous walking of the pets, talking to everyone you see, setting up your site, getting out all your stuff.......even though you know you will never use all of it........and riding your bike, scooter, or whatever unusual mode of transportation you might have brought with you, around and around the park.  You get up early, and stay up late because you want to suck the life out of every single second, sort of dreading Monday morning when you have to put all your stuff away again, and slink back home to your sticks and bricks home, and workaday life.  I do not write this to make fun of, or denigrate those who have not yet broken free of that world.....I feel your pain, and conflict.  It is my sincere hope that my blog might help a few more of you escape the gravitational pull of conventionally lived life.

Monday morning it finally dawned on me that this must be some sort of national holiday long weekend sort of thing going on.....TLE chimed in saying "I think it's Martin Luther King Day"......uhhh....oh yeah!  "Wait a minute!", you think, we're supposed to go into Chiefland to pick up our "phoenix", aka: Thunderbird, from the Ford doctor.....hmmm....I wonder if they're taking a long weekend too?  Our baby has been in the shop for a week, and it's time she was back where she belongs.  A quick call to Tim in the service department confirms that they are open for business, and our date is still on.

Krash and Karen had offered (after I had dropped several not too subtle hints.....:D) to drive us into Chiefland on Monday to retrieve the T'Bird.  We had decided to sort of make a day of it and do some "junking" as I call it.....visit a few of the local thrift, junk and antique shops.  Surprisingly, there are quite a few of these places in town, and had they all been open on MLK day we would have been kept busy the rest of the day.  As it turns out Krash and Karen love to do this as much as we do, so we had a great time for a couple of hours with TLE and Krash finding treasures they could not leave without, while Karen and I showed "restraint".....okay, really, we just didn't find any treasures we couldn't do without, but we were looking!

Below is a picture of the coil culprits that temporarily turned our 'Bird into a phoenix, but as with the legend of the phoenix, she has risen from the ashes to fly once more.   In newer engines there are no longer distributors and spark plug wires.  Instead you have coils, like these, that plug on to each spark plug.  When the rubber boot begins to deteriorate  and allow moisture in, the resistance goes up and fries the coil eventually.  As it turns out there were two bad coils....2 down, and 6 to go.  Now that I know what these coils look like I think I'm up to replacing the next one that goes bad.....it doesn't look too difficult.

By the way, some have asked what size engine the  Thunderbird has......it is essentially a 3.9L DOHC 32-valve, 252 horsepower V-8.  The 2002 -5 reincarnation of the classic Thunderbird 2 seater from 1955-57 is a chopped-down version of the chassis and mechanical components used in the midsize Lincoln LS sedan (History of the Thunderbird).

After a couple of hours of junking we decided to head for the local Viejo Amigo Mexican Restaurant for lunch.  I had seen this restaurant a few times when we've been in town and wanted to give it a try.  I'm glad we did, because the food was pretty good, and the chips and salsa were excellent.  On a scale of 1-5, 5 being best, I would give Viejo Amigo a 3.5......and the conversation was at least a 6.

We needed to pick up some things at the Walmart, so we bid farewell to Krash and Karen.  We are really enjoying getting to know them here in Cedar Key.....and I'm not just saying that because I know they read the blog.....we sincerely have thoroughly enjoyed our time with them over the past week, and are looking forward to more adventures in our remaining two weeks here.........wait, did I say 2 weeks?  There is a lot of fun yet to be had!!

TLE and I arrived back in Cedar Key just around 4 pm with smiles of contentment on our faces.  It seemed like just a few minutes had passed before it was time to head over to Chris and Cherie's dock to watch our 25th sunset.  I usually only post one sunset picture each day, but today you get two.

# 25

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Cedar Key - Day # 24 - The Livin is Easy

I'm sorry, I have no stories to tell you about Sunday involving new places visited, amazing food, cool restaurants, etc.  Sunday was just a great day to be alive and, well, just be, and that was good enough.  The humidity was low, the sky was blue, and there was a gentle breeze blowing all day long.  

Around 11:30 TLE and I walked over to Low Key Hideaway to say our goodbyes to Brian and Maria who were departing after a month's stay.  They will be missed, but wait.....we will probably see them again on Marathon Key.....we both have reservations at Jolly Roger Travel Park that slightly overlap.  TLE had made some "spent grain" muffins as a going away present along with a small dab of cream cheese for them.

I spent some time working on the tandem......you will recall that we broke a spoke when we were in Vancouver, and I was able to buy a replacement in Twin Falls, ID which I installed somewhere in between there and Campbellsville.  Whenever a spoke breaks the rim has be trued again.  I was not totally happy with the result the last time I worked on it....there was still a small wobble in the wheel.  So, I spent about an hour working on the rear wheel, and I think I've got it about as good as it is going to get.  I'm hoping in the next few days I can talk TLE into a long ride on the tandem, so at least now it is ready to go!

While I was doing that TLE was busy sewing some Newell patches our friend Darlene McCloud had made for us while we spent 12 days in Mesa, AZ with she and Tom last February....wow, is that some run-on sentence, or what, and was that was almost a year ago now?  Well, they looked great when she made them, and they look even better on my hat and jacket!

The NFC and AFC NFL championship games were Sunday so I watched most of the NFC game which saw the 49ers win over the Falcons in a nail biter, and in the nightcap the Ravens bested the Patriots......that one was a surprise to me.....so the Super Bowl matchup is set.....49ers vs. Ravens!  

Later on that evening we cranked up the outdoor fireplace and the NuRVer gang gradually converged on Site D......as Cherie says "NuRVers is what happens around the campfire".  I lit the fire a little after 6 and the last coals were dying around 11:30......5 hours of wonderful and varied conversations.  An additional NuRVer couple, Danny and Cindy, arrived yesterday for a week, so we got to know them, and additionally our campfire drew in Gary and Lynn, who are not formally part of our group, but they would love to live this lifestyle......so the circle gets larger.  I had the outdoor TV on so those who were interested, could keep track of the Ravens vs. Patriots game.

Tomorrow we will bid adieu to Sam and Tracy whose time in paradise is expiring and work is calling them north to Atlanta.  Soon we will be the ones moving on, and it will be bittersweet, too.

I was a little late getting to the "sunset dock" Sunday.....the 49er vs. Falcon game was a cliffhanger and didn't end until just before 6 pm.....nevertheless, what I caught was gorgeous.....again!

#24

Thanks for stopping by!

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!

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 # 21 - "Gone With The Wind"

For most of the past 3 weeks the night time temperature in our bedroom at night has ranged from 78-80 degrees.  I know that may seem a little high to you, and we could probably get it lower by opening the windows at night, but we would also be increasing the relative humidity inside our coach.  We run a de-humidifier 24 hours a day inside the coach, it works wonderfully, and makes even 80 degrees inside feel cooler.  Anyway, my point is last night the bedroom temperature dropped to 58 degrees!  I knew we took that electric blanket off the bed too soon!

We were expecting a front to come through Thursday involving wind, low temps, and rain.....and that is exactly what we got.  Below is the view that greeted me around 7 am.....then the wind came up and blew steadily at 25-30 mph all day long, and into the evening.  Around mid day it got very cold, and is still very cold as I write....around 40 degrees at this writing.  Of course, that means it was probably in the high 30's last night.....BRRRR!!

As the wind speed increased we began pulling in the window awnings on the drivers side of the coach.....the side that faces the water.....and finally by late morning we had to stow the patio awning....always a really fun task when the wind is blowing hard.  Fortunately, as TLE and I were struggling to stow the large awning Forrest Clark (a NuRVer) walked by and immediately jumped in to give a hand, for which we are very thankful....when it's blowing that hard you need more than two sets of hands.  Thank you Forrest!  Forrest writes a blog about his retirement travels called Retired, RVing and Rambling, which presents another great perspective on this lifestyle, so give it a peek when you have time!

The only plan this weather interrupted was the "circuit training" with Brian and Maria, otherwise we had no real plans for yesterday, so we just hunkered down and stayed inside our rockin' and rollin' coach.  Fortunately the DVR memory had several TV shows recorded that we hadn't watched yet, so we passed some of the stormy day catching up on a few series we watch.

We knew that our friends Dan, Marlene and family (Mali Mish) would be pulling out around midday and eventually that time came.......time to say "adieu"....I'm getting more used to it, because I know we'll meet again, but it is sill bittersweet.  I was able to catch this brief video snippet of them disappearing around the corner.....:(  The background audio you hear is from the program "Top Chef", which TLE was watching at the time.

Around 5:30 I glanced out the window to see the beginning of the sunset, and ran over to Chris and Cherie's dock to capture it......I stayed just long enough for two shots and then retreated to the heated comfort of the Newell.  That water does not look inviting....not even a little bit!

Within minutes the sunset was obscured by the thick cloud bank off to the left, and Sunset Isle was quickly engulfed in the gathering darkness signaling the end of another Cedar Key day.

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!