Cedar Key

Wednesday, December 26
About an hour northwest of Crystal River is the small fishing village, now a tourist destination, of Cedar Key. Back in its early history a railway man came to town hoping to build a rail terminal here. he didn't get the support he thought he deserved so he packed up and left. he took his ideas and his money down the coast to another tiny fishing village.......Tampa. Cedar Key has maybe a thousand people living here today and it's meager economy is mostly tourist driven. Tampa on the other hand.....well.....it prospered. Ces la vie!

The bridge over the Cross Florida Barge Canal on Hwy 19. The Canal was never completed. The Florida railway served the same purpose by connecting both coasts of Florida.

Highway 19 north. A very good rad....and very straight.

Lots of tiny keys and channels. Fishermen love these.

Tide is out exposing the mud flats. 

Downtown Cedar Key. No big malls here just older buildings, some in need of repair and fun to explore.

This is home to the three-time world championship New England style clam chowder. (The recipe is retired after three wins or they'd still be winning!)

So naturally we just HAD to stop in for a bowl. Yes, it was very good. We even bought a couple of cans to bring home.

After lunch it was time for a walk around town.

Lots of golf cars driving around. Even the local police have one. We didn't witness any hot pursuits though.

We headed over to the pier.

Nice beach area.

The beach front bars and restaurants were very busy.

Nice views of the Gulf from the decks.

Cool car. An MG.

Old pier pilings.

The birds loved the old pier pilings.

See the pole on the left? The upper deck actually hangs over the street but the pole has to camber back onto the sidewalk. I guess building codes weren't a big deal!

The large new public pier.

Cedar Key water tower

Docks, decks and even houses are built over the water.

Heading back, the tide was in covering the mud flats.

The Cedar Key area had two lumber industries. They made turpentine from pine trees and pencils from the Red Cedar trees.....until all the trees were gone. 

.....and that was Our View From Here!

Crystal River

Saturday, December 22
After two days of rain and with the passing of a cold front, the day started bright and cool. We decided to get out of town and head toward the Gulf. We headed toward the coast on Hwy 44, the Fort Island Trail. The ditches were full of water and quite a few palm fronds littered the road.

Hwy 44, the Fort Island Trail. A Palm tree is laying on the side of the road.

Pick your poison....so to speak. This power plant is coal-fired, nuclear and natural gas. The coal side is now shut down.

The tiny keys off shore

A large flock of birds on the beach.

Pretty sure these are called 'Black Skimmers'.

Most have their beaks tucked under a wing.

These little guys were so funny to watch. They would tuck one leg up and hop around.

One of these is not like the others. I think he's an Elegant Tern.

The pier is popular with fishermen

The Gulf of Mexico

Interesting boat. Note the motor is near the bow.

Some sort of Gannet....I think.

We stopped at this campground to have a look around. We had heard it floods after big rains which is why we didn't choose it. As you see in the pictures below.....I'm glad we didn't stay here.

Lots of water around the sites

The Crystal River. Lots of Manatees in this river despite the boats.

This is usually all you see of a Manatee. Just a grey hump that breaks the surface.

........or maybe you can get one to hold your mailbox!

Our site at Rock Crusher RV Park. Lots of trees and not well trimmed. I managed to snag a tree branch backing in. Thank goodness for EternaBond tape.

.....and that was Our View From Here!