Day Trip to Cedar Key, Florida…

Our first couple of days at Williston Crossing RV Resort had us seeing much cooler temperatures than we would prefer along with rain. Thankfully the resort had a nice fitness room I took advantage of while John preferred walking around the huge park to see the large pool complex, an out-of-commission train on premises, a grist mill and lake. We also have free cable TV so we have enjoyed HBO and various other cable channels as entertainment during those rainy days.

On Sunday morning we arose to warmer temperatures and sunny skies so after breakfast, John surprised me with a plan he cooked up for a day trip over to Cedar Key. He originally discovered the area while planning our exodus out of Florida and he tried in vain to get me excited about a possible stay there. After the big beautiful beaches in Bonita Springs I just couldn’t get too excited about what looked to me to be a big fish camp. However I was willing to explore it for a day and off we went.
It was an hour long drive on country roads where we were able to see osprey, red shouldered hawks and even one bald eagle. Just outside town was Sunset Isle RV Park and Motel John had found in his research so we dropped by to take a look. What a quirky little park this was. On some of the buildings are brightly painted murals and most all the sites while a little tight but had spectacular water views. Along the waterfront were several short piers to walk on as well as benches scattered about facing the water to pause at while taking in the serenity of the views. It was a tiny park compared to the one we are at now but it was bursting with personality.
After chatting with a few campers at the park we determined it was a friendly place and decided to check out the town to see how we liked it. The park was two miles from town so we could see that if/when camping there we could easily bike to town as there was a nice sidewalk beside the road all the way into town. The town had the same quirky personality as the park did. There was a huge pier for public fishing, again with spectacular water views. The town was well laid out and easy to navigate with several dog friendly casual eateries. The one John picked was small but had a wonderfully talented two man band blending great entertainment along with our oyster po’ boy lunch.
After lunch we took a long walkabout even stumbling upon a museum state park with a wonderfully preserved late 1800s home I really enjoyed touring (free). At 4:00 John had the final surprise planned as he had read about a neat little Tiki bar outside town near the park we liked. It was a small waterfront bar made mostly of recycled beer bottles beside the Low-Key Hideaway Motel. In fact the hotel also has three RV sites beside the Tiki bar, how cool is that! The bar also sported some bright colors and bottle art as well as some neat cork and bottle-top art. The owner of all this, Cindy, was also our bartender this day (a former four year RV full-timer from Michigan) and what a fun lady she was providing great conversation with her back story of how she and her husband found and decorated the place. In the end I guess John had an “I told you so” moment because he was right as I had badly misjudged Cedar Key and did feel some regret we didn’t stay at least a week or two enjoying more of its vibe… Oh well, there is always next time…
NOTE: Sharon penned today’s blog…