Wednesday, March 05, 2008

It's a Small World afterall!

We are camped at Rainbow Country RV Park near Cedar Key. We had visited the Key last week when we had the dogs out for a drive and decided to explore this little island a bit more. On our way over, we took a picture of an osprey nest out in the water. I had seen it before and hoped I could get a picture. I'm afraid it isn't much of a closeup, but it was neat to see the osprey on the nest.

Our first stop on the key was a little museum. We find the small museums run by the local historical societies to be very good, very interesting and usually small enough to take in when your time is limited. We spent a good deal of time talking with the volunteer. He and his wife live in a condo on the Key, but are from Indiana. I, of course, was born and raised in Indiana and lived there all my life. Terry, while a native of Mississippi, had lived in Indiana since the age of two. The volunteer graduated from Goshen High School ten years before I did! He lived in Dunlap, where Terry and his parents lived and before we left, we found out he not only knew Terry's Dad, but had owned one of the duplexes Henry built in the subdivision where our duplexes are located. Wow! It is indeed a small world. We moved on through the museum learning a bit of the history regarding Cedar Key. It was known for producing the cedar slats for making pencils and also used the bark of the sable palm to make whisk brooms.

After visiting the museum, we strolled through the town and visited the shops. We walked on out to Dock Street and went into the shops there as well as "Coconuts," a restaurant/bar which is frequented by the locals. It was quite busy while we were there and we enjoyed a sample platter of appetizers.


Cedar Key is not large, but it is quite quaint. We enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere and the slow pace. On our way back, we stopped at the railroad trestle site. During the Key's heyday, there was a railroad that went from the mainland out to a key beyond Cedar Key. The railroad is gone, but part of the trestle remains and the path you walk on to get to it is the actual railbed. It is about a half-mile walk, but is easy and various plants and trees are identified for the nature lovers.

Tomorrow we will be moving on, getting closer to Perry, Georgia, where we will be attending the Good Sam Big Rally.

Till next time. . .

Dale

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey, We were in Cedar Keys last Sunday... Nice little town isn't it?

Helen

Dale said...

Yes it is, Helen. I read your blog and worried the shops would all be closed, but they were open. Yay! Last week when we visited with the dogs was the last day for boat trips to the islands. Wish we could have done that. May return another year and take that in. Maybe we could make it a group trip!

Dale