Kayaking in Cedar Key, FL

Posted from Clermont, FL     (Click on Pics to Enlarge)

This is our last blog from Cedar Key.  I decided to hold it until the end because this was one of the "funnest" activities we did while in the area.

To set the background a bit.  We have a Sea Eagle Paddleski inflatable boat which we have enjoyed many times in the past.  We were going to use it to do some paddling around the Cedar Keys area.  After taking a look at the waters (especially at low tides) and speaking to several of the kayak rental shops, I felt that the very sharp marine growth might not be too good for the Sea Eagle.

Ok, what to do now.  We still wanted to do some kayaking.  I went online and checked out all of the kayak rental shops in the area.  One in particular received very good reviews and the price was more than right.

We decided on Cedar Key Paddling. They rent kayaks and also lead tours.  The small business is run by a husband-wife team and they couldn't have been more accommodating.  They will deliver the kayak to one of seven locations around Cedar Key and pick you up pretty much anywhere you agree upon.  We rented a tandem kayak for $25 for the entire day.  They will even pick you up at one location and transport the kayak to another location for launch.  I highly recommend them.

We decided that we wanted to paddle from Cedar Key and travel to Atsena Otie Key.  This is a distance of only 1/2 to 3/4 mile each way and the water lies on the protected side of the key.  We put in off G Street near low tide so that we could come back during high tide.

It was a beautiful day with very little wind and almost no waves. Atsena Otie Key is off Karen's right shoulder.

Atsena Otie Key is only about 6/10 x 5/10 of a mile in size.  For such a small key, however,  it has quite and interesting history. Here's a wikipedia link if interested in learning more.

When we arrived on Atsena it was still low tide.

Low Tide On Atsena Otie Key

This was the first spot where we came ashore to explore the deserted beach.  There are really only two spots on the Key which has any semblance of a beach and that you are allowed to swim. We didn't do any swimming, but just enjoyed looking at all of the sea creatures along the beach was interesting.


By the time we returned to the kayak, the tide was returning.  This was good for us because when it's high tide on Atsena, the key is split in half and you can kayak "thru" the key from one side to the other.  Atsena is rich in bird life.

                                                                                                                                     

As we are prone to do when adventuring for several hours at a time, we brought our lunch cooler with us.  Lunch on the beach was very enjoyable, but we also wanted to trek inland.

The trail leads inland to a cemetary and to the small remains of one of the commercial businesses which occupied the key in the past. We had been warned by several of the area guides (and by our kayak rental folks) not to attempt this without being properly attired as the mosquitoes were likely to carry us away.  Of course I didn't believe this and started walking.  That lasted all of about 30 seconds before I made a hasty retreat back to the beach.

We had a great day paddling over to Atsena Otie Key and exploring some of its' wildlife and interior section.

Here's a short video of us once on Atsena Otie Key. 

                (Best viewed in full screen and 1080i resolution.)

As always, to see more pictures than included in this blog, take a look at our Google+ Album.
Thanks for dropping by to take a look!

Cedar Key Museum State Park and Suwannee River Boat Tour

Posted from Clermont, FL   (Click on Pics to Enlarge)

I'm still playing catch-up with our blog postings.  As I looked back at our pictures, I didn't realize how many fun things we had a chance to do while visiting Cedar Key, FL.

On one particular day we wandered over to the Cedar Key Museum State Park. Remember, Cedar Key is geographically pretty small, so it's easy to get everywhere in just a few minutes.

The State Park is pretty small compared to other Florida State Parks and it mainly houses articles and documents collected over time by St. Clair Whitman. Mr. Whitman had a very nice collection of Florida mollusks, as well.

Mr. Whitman's house is on display at the museum. After his death, the property on which the house sat was sold and the house was due to be demolished.  The people of Cedar Key banded together and moved the house to the present site in 1990.  Since that time, it has been restored to the 1920's and 1930's period.

Parlor

There was literally no one at the museum on the day of our visit. Here's a few pictures of the inside of the Whitman House.

Kitchen

Cedar Key's first museum

The museum can be fully visited in about an hour and the price is right at $2 per person.
To view more pictures about the Cedar Key Museum State Park visit my Google+ Album.

On another day we signed up to take a boat tour from Cedar Key to the Suwannee River.  We decided to use Tidewater Tours as online recommendations looked pretty good.  Here's the description from the Tidewater Tours website:

The Suwannee River Tour travels northward along the shallow coastline for approximately 13 miles before entering the world famous Suwannee River.  At this point the ecosystem changes rapidly from a primarily salt water/estuarine environment to a primarily fresh water river/swamp ecosystem.  The route then extends approximately six miles up the river, including excursions into some seemingly enchanted waterways which narrow and run off the main channel.  Plant and animal sightings vary according to the season.  The shallow, near-shore route to the Suwannee River is tide dependant and not always available.  This tour takes approximately 3-to-4 hours.  The cost is $45.00 + tax per person.

We are generally fans of boat tours, but we left somewhat disappointed in this one. It began ok, but engine troubles made for a long, slow trip up to, and back from, the Suwannee River. I belief the entire tour was about 5 1/2 hours by the time we finished.

Fortunately, it was a beautiful day. Here we are leaving from the marina at Cedar Key.

These guys are everywhere in this area. I guess he's not too superstitious about the channel marker number. 

After a lengthy ride to the mouth of the Suwannee River we finally saw a few osprey nests.

We took on fuel at Miller's Marina near the little town of Suwannee.  There were no snacks or drinks onboard, so folks were anxious to see what what available in the little store.  Answer: not much!

This smart couple was prepared and brought along their own little cooler. They could have paid for their tour had they decided to sell a few of their items.

Here's our little group preparing to shove off and head up some of the small tributaries leading into the Suwannee River.

Once you get into the smaller branches of the river it is very quiet and serene.  The entire area is protected, so no commercial or residential development will destroy this fragile area (at least for now).

We did run across this group who were having a nice day of paddle boarding (until we showed up, that is).

Don't let me give you the impression that we didn't enjoy the tour, however.  It turned out to be much longer than anticipated, but that was due to engine problems with the boat. Certainly the scenery was beautiful!

To view more pictures about the Suwannee River tour visit my Google+ Album.

Just one more blog dealing with our Cedar Key visit.  That involved kayaking over to Atsena Otie Key, but I'll save that for the next blog.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!

Taking Our Time in Cedar Key

Posted from Orlando TT near Clermont, FL
 (Click on Pics to Enlarge)

We stayed in Cedar Key, FL for a week, but there are so many things to do and see that we'll make a return trip someday.  That's one of the really great things about the fulltime lifestyle.  If you see something you like, you can always re-visit.

As the docent at the Cedar Key Historical Museum told us, Cedar Key really is some a place that you have to want to visit as there is only 1 road in and out, and there isn't a whole lot at the end of that road other than Cedar Key.

Our first day we just wandered around a bit getting a lay of the town.  (Not too hard, because it isn't that big!)  The public beach at 2nd and A Street is a nice place for sunning, playing in the water, or launching a kayak or canoe to do some exploring by water.

Right down from this beach are companies who offer boat tours, watercraft rental, and this one where fresh fish is brought in for a local restaurant.

The pelicans think that this is the buffet line, I believe.

The Atlantic to Gulf Railroad ran along this stretch and ended on Dock Street not too far from here.  The railroad was completed in 1861 and the last train ran in 1932.  All that's left in this area today is this sign to commemorate this.

The entire downtown area can literally be walked after parking on any of the streets.  I didn't see any parking meters anywhere.  Island Hotel on 2nd Street was established in 1859 and still operates today.  (Notice that it opened just prior to the completion of the cross-state railroad line.)

A really good place to begin to understand Cedar Key and its' history is at the Cedar Key Historical Society Museum on the corner of 2nd Street and D Street.  The entrance fee is only $3 per person and the exhibits do a nice job of showing the evolution of the area.

Present-day Cedar Key was first called Way Key and the first plat of the area was issued by the Railroad in 1859. The area has been a home to many different industries throughout the years. The Faber and Eagle Pencil Companies established cedar saw mills here.  It's interesting to note that no pencil were ever produced here, but rather the slats were shipped out via railroad to northern companies.  The hurricane of 1896 caused all operations to cease.

The Standard Manufacturing Company was the first manufacturing company in Cedar Key. It operated from 1910-1952 and produced several fiber-related products, with Donax Brushes being one of its' better known products.

Fishing activities, of course, have always been important to a town on the water such as Cedar Key.  A ban on net fishing in 1995 by the State legislature all but put an end to commercial fishing in the area.  Area fisherman were resilient, however, and turned to clam farming.  In 1997, clam farming produced a record 100 million clams.


It would be well worth a visit to the museum if you travel to Cedar Key.

One of the things that you will notice very quickly is that there are no chain restaurants in Cedar Key.  The restaurants come and go down on Dock Street, but are all locally run.

Dock Street is a short and easy walk in the evening hours. A great place to drop in for a drink or grab a bite.  The scenery isn't too shabby at that time of day either.







You can view many more pictures of Cedar Key not included in this blog post by going to my Google+ Album. 

Thanks for dropping by to take a look!

Cedar Key RV Resort

Posted from Crystal River, FL
(To view additional pics on this blog check out my Google+ Album)

After leaving Gunter Hill COE near Montgomery, AL we made an overnight stop at Eastbank COE near Bainbridge, GA.  Since we blogged about this campground back in 2013 I'll just include this link if interested.  The next day we arrived at our destination for the coming week near Cedar Key, FL.

I don't usually do blogs just about campgrounds, but I thought I would make an exception because this is a campground we would stay in again if heading back through this area.  The name of the campground is Cedar Key RV Resort, but it is actually in Sumner, FL (just a name on the side of the road) and is actually 7 miles from downtown Cedar Key.  That was fine with us as Rt. 24 is the only road in and out of Cedar Key and was never busy while we were here.

I would imagine that this place is pretty busy in the winter, but this is now "low season" for most of the Florida campgrounds. We paid a total of $227.81 (incl. taxes) with a 1-day credit for Passport America for a 7-night stay.  That's $32.54 per night for FHUs, a concrete pad and concrete patio with picnic table.  The campground was laid out nicely with ample room to stop at registration and un-hook our toad.

The streets are asphalted throughout and the designers thought ahead enough to make the back-ins at an angle. It definitely helps for areas that have narrow streets (unlike this park).

Here's a picture of our rig parked on Site #17. We were originally assigned another site when we made the reservations, but they moved us to this site upon our arrival.  Actually, it worked out much better as the trees really helped out the air conditioners during the day.

As I stated earlier, the sites have FHUs with cable TV. The park was not crowded at all (again, due to the time of year), but the electric was one of the better we've found in awhile.  The water pressure was a bit on the low side, however.  I removed our water pressure regulator, which really wasn't need here, and the water flow was very usable.

The only problem with trees sometimes is that they always seem to be in the exact wrong location to be able to use our roof-mounted satellite antenna.  This place was no exception, but fortunately we were able to use the portable antenna we purchased last year.  Works very nicely in situations like this.

The park had some nice amenities as well. Karen and I are both doing water aerobics whenever we are staying in a park with a pool.  This pool was very clean and we were usually the only ones there.

A multi-use clubhouse was set off to the side of the pool and could be used for many different activities from dinners to watching TV, reading, playing cards, or just getting together in the evenings.  This time of the year there are no planned activities as there just isn't very many folks like us (meaning stupid enough) to brave the hot and humid Florida summers.


This campground served us well as a location from which to visit Cedar Key and enjoy many of the activities in that small laid back seaside town, but that's the subject of a future blog.

Thanks for dropping by to take a look!