Weather: low 75 degrees, high 92 degrees, partly cloudy skies, scattered showers
We had some little housekeeping items to take care of today (check batteries, etc.) Once those chores were finished, we decided we would take a trip over to Cedar Key to see what kind of change had taken place in the 35 plus years since we were last there.
Cedar Key is one of those isolated little places that you have to really want to go to in order to get there. The little town is located on the west coast of Florida, near where the coastline begins a gradual bend back to the west and up to the panhandle. Only one road leads to the town (Florida 24), and it is a two lane road running across the flat land to the coast. Cedar Key is located on Way Key, the largest of the Cedar Keys, a string of islands that runs into the Gulf of Mexico.
Over the years since Cedar Key was occupied by the white man, hurricanes have demolished it several times, killing many people in the process. In addition, the products that once drew people there to work, such as the red cedar used for pencils, are no longer needed, so the little town has evolved into a fishing and tourist town. Here's a picture of the business district. As you can see, there's not much here.
The town has many bed and breakfast establishments, as well as some small motels and RV parks. There are some small restaurants, as well as a few larger eating places that didn't appear to be open today. In fact, it was quiet in town today, with little traffic. We did see some people fishing, so it looks as though the oil spill in the gulf has not affected the fishing in the area. The population of the town is about 1,000 people. It appears that most people visit the town on the weekend. Most of the town's economy at this time is based on tourism and fishing, as well as clam based aquaculture.
This is a picture of restaurant row, located on Dock Street, which faces the gulf.
A little town like Cedar Key doesn't take much time to go through, so once we finished exploring town, we stopped at a little restaurant on the edge of town to see what we could find for lunch. We decided that we would try the Cuban sandwiches, which we hadn't eaten since we left Florida 30 years ago. The sandwiches were excellent, even though they tasted a little salty to my mouth, which hasn't had much salt for about six weeks. The last time we had a Cuban sandwich, it was made with a hard roll that was cold. Today's sandwich was flattened and baked and as I said, excellent. They were a far cry from what we had 30 years ago, and in our opinion, much better.
On our way to and from Cedar Key, we passed the little settlement of Rosewood, infamous as the site of a racial confrontation in 1923. More on that tomorrow.
We had not been to Cedar key for many years, so it was good to see that some of the Florida that we remember from so many years ago is still around. We recommend a trip to the little town to all.
More later, be safe.
Today's Town - Cedar Key, Florida: USDA Rural Community Of 2009
Not all who wander are lost.
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