SEEKING SALTED WATER
Yesterday we woke up wanting to see big water. In Gainesville your can head east or west and in a little more than an hour be fishing for grouper.
We opted to head west to Cedar Key, North Florida's version of Key West. Yes, it's been beat up recently by two hurricanes but we heard it was delightful again. Francesca and I spent the day there and had a great time.
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There's one main street just four-blocks long. We had our Black Friday shopping experience there. I LOVED the quirky art we found in the Artist Guild Gallery.
The butt of a large palm fronds is a foot wide. Artist
A local weaver creates handsome bowls and bird houses from long pine needles.
And what about these funky fish?
I love this stuff!
The upstairs gallery features prints, paintings and sculptures by Gainesville artist Amy Richard.
It's worth the trip just to enjoy her wondrous display.
Pangs of hunger had us walking towards Restaurant Row, the storied, stilted eateries hovering over the Gulf. A year after the latest blow-out they still aren't back.
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| Working were hanging Christmas lights on the hulk of this former restaurant. |
In the last year one has been able to recover its lonely bar and another is only hawking t-shirts. The Row took a serious beating that it is nowhere close to recovery. Maybe a year from now we can enjoy fresh fish there again with incredible views.
With the main restaurants gutted finding food in Cedar Key can be a challenge. For starters, the grocery store is still boarded up as is the former chowder place next door.
Charmless "Steamer's Cafe" is doing big business but had little appeal for us. We opted for a food truck that had its own artsy garden.
After lunch we strolled past the old town's stately wooden residences. Its their version of Gainesville's Duckpond (their "pond" is much bigger). Most sit high on hills and escaped the 11-foot surge of water that came with Hurricane Helene a year ago.
As we drove off the main island we past Annie's cafe, a delightful place for breakfast or lunch. Locals love Annie's mullet despite the many bones.
The mullet is a funny fish. On Florida's east coast -where I grew up- we bought them for bait. On the west coast it's dinner. I like it smoked.
There are wonderful trails just outside of downtown Ceder Key. We love the Cemetery Trail that begins with a 1200' boardwalk tunneling though thick mangroves. It leads to an small, exceptional city park on an estuary. It features sculptures, picnic areas, and a frisbee golf course.
Things didn't go so well at Museum State Park a mile east. We hiked a quarter-mile on a trail leading to a bay view. When we rounded the final bend the "view" had a huge disgusting sign next to it, "Florida Welcomes You To The GULF OF AMERICA!".
We wanted to puke. Where is the spray paint when you need it? It was too obscene to photograph. I suppose DeSantis & Company has put them in every state park along the Gulf of Mexico.
That was the only bummer on yesterday's adventure.
We had a terrific time and encourage you to head west. In 75 minutes you can be hanging your hammock in North Florida's Margaritaville.
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