Rain Delay

I have not posted because it will not stop raining. Every day the weather forecast is for clear and warm/hot for "tomorrow" but when "tomorrow" arrives, it is raining. This morning it is pouring! Another day of laying around watching TV and eating comfort food.

The forecast is now calling for rain along with high temperatures for the next five days, with he exception of Sunday which they say will be dry. Maybe dry enough to set up the TV and grill on Paul's nice nice big patio to watch the Game! We shall see.

Lakeland, FL

We headed out from Cedar Key at about 9:30 AM. It was sprinkling rain on and off and we were in no hurry. We had told Paul and Dodi we would be there in the afternoon and it was only a three hour drive. We stopped for propane, gas and breakfast and when we made our last stop, we stepped out of the cab into 80 F weather! This is what we came to Florida for! It was clear and warm!

We arrived in Lakeland at about 3:00. No one was home but we knew where we were parking so we started setting up. Paul soon arrived after picking his grandchildren up from school. We delayed setting up the StarChoice in favor of Happy Hour which turned into ordering Chinese food. It was great catching up with our friends and lots of stories were exchanged. We went in and talked to Brooks on the phone and then to Dave and Doris who are looking after the house for us. All is well!

I woke up this morning to a pitter patter on the roof! I thought it was birds but soon had to admit it was rain. We got up, had a coffee with Paul and then I headed out to set up the dish. The rain had stopped which was good because it took longer than usual to find a signal. I moved the dish just in case a tree was interfering and that was the trick. We had a good signal in a few minutes. We will take it easy for today and maybe tomorrow when more rain is forecast. Weather wise, the weekend is looking good!

Pete Seeger 1919 - 2014

No voice is too small to be raised in protest. Rest in Peace, Pete, you have inspired generations. The writing on his banjo says, ""this machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender".

Rolling On Down The Road

Tomorrow morning we are pulling out and heading to Lakeland, FL. It is about a three hour drive so we will get there early in the afternoon.

It is a beautiful day here in Cedar Key, quite warm in the sun - naturally, our last day! Some people are even wearing shorts for the first time since ever. Maybe there will be a photo opportunity at sunset time.

We have had a good time here, meeting some great people including Chris and Cherie from their website Technomadia who are parked two spaces down from us. The weather has been cool cold for the most part but it has not stopped us from seeing the area and sampling a couple of of the areas many restaurants.

Here is our route for tomorrow.

And some memories of Cedar Key:

Chris and Cherie's bus:

"Our" dock:

Little Known Facts

About Cedar Key.

Cedar Key shows signs of human occupation dating back to at least 500 BC. A 28 foot high shell mound in the area produced artifacts dating back to 500 BC in the top ten feet of the mound and a 2000 year old skeleton was found on the key. The area was used by the Seminole Indians, by the Spanish as a water stop for ships returning to Spain and by pirates Captain Kidd and Jean Lafitte.

In 1861 the Florida Railroad was completed just weeks before the start of the Civil War with the rail head in the present day location of Wharf Street.

In the Civil War the Key was an important source of salt for the Confederacy which ended after a raid on the salt operation and rail line by Federal forces in 1862. 150 bushels of salt per day were produced by boiling sea water in sixty huge kettles.

Many of us will recognize the name Eberhard Faber from the pencils we used in school. Faber, a German industrialist, recognized the wood found in the Eastern Red Cedar (actually a sub-species of the Juniper) for it's excellent pencil making qualities and in 1865, built mills in the area. The cut wood was sent first to Germany and later to the Northern States to be manufactured into pencils. In 1896 a category 3 hurricane swept over the area with a ten foot storm surge, wiping out the red cedars and destroying the mills. This, in conjunction with the moving of the railroad to Tampa was the start of a decline in business opportunities in the area.

Since then the area became a fishing center and then after Florida banned commercial net fishing, a tourist area boasting several famous restaurants and with some of the now unemployed fishermen being retrained to operate a farm grown clam operation.

Looking Good!

I know all my Blogging friends in California, Arizona and Mexico (except for Juan and Chris in Monterrey where it is -3) have been basking in the 80's for weeks but we have not. We have been looking forward to forecasts above the 50's! This is about to change as we contemplate our next stop in Lakeland, FL where we will be parked at our friend's Paul and Dodi's backyard RV parking spot! The weather there is looking just fine, thank you. We move on Tuesday.

Last night we drove into Cedar Key's Wharf Street for dinner at the Pickled Pelican. Norma had fried shrimp and I had a combination steamed clams with marinara and blackened grouper. It was very good and the restaurant looked over the Gulf. A nice evening although WAY too cold to eat on the deck.

Cedar Key Sunsets

The sunsets have all been great here at Cedar Key but last night we had just enough cloud cover to make it spectacular!

Some Beach, Somewhere

With apologies to Blake Shelton whose song title I just stole.

This particular beach is at Port St. Joe, just east of Mexico Beach. It is at a beach condo development that was almost deserted. Winter, at least this winter is not the time to spend at the beach. Note my winter jacket.

Crossing The Suwanee River

Yesterday we crossed the Suwanee River made famous by Stephen Foster and Al Jolson, although neither of them knew how to spell the name of the river they made famous. The song was re-written to a more politically correct version in 2008, but the spelling error was not corrected.

We continued down the secondary road to the turnoff onto the narrow road to Cedar Key. We found the friendly but cramped Sunset Isle RV Park and Motel and checked in for the week. As soon as we arrived a downpour started and I got soaked hooking up just the basics. A few minutes later it stopped and the sun tried to peek out so I found a spot behind the rig and set up the StarChoice dish. I aimed it in the general direction and Norma started yelling that there were flashes of green signal! I turned it a degree or two and there it was, a signal of 95, one of the best we have had.

Not long after one of the sunsets the Key is famous for started to form so I took the camera out onto one of the little docks. A couple of doors down I noticed another couple on another dock whom I recognized as Chris and Cherie of their Blog Technomadia so I walked over to introduce myself. They were in a rush to go to put on a discussion group on "Working On The Road" and they invited me to join them. Well, I don't work on or off the road so I politely declined. We will see them again.

From a 1938 Postcard:

Sunset and RV park photos to follow.

"__it Happens"

As The Boondocks said in a comment in the last Blog!

It could have been worse.

We got a call at just after nine this morning telling us the dolly was ready. Norma was off looking for a nail job so I told them we would be there in a couple of hours. Everything was ready. They replaced one bearing and re-packed the other. There was a problem with the electric brake as well and the drum fell off when he took the wheel off. The drum is ruined (not from falling off, not sure why or how) and since dolly's do not require brakes in Florida, no one has parts. I will be without trailer brakes (like everyone else in Florida and most other States). Maybe I will see what it costs to get it fixed in Lakeland. I am not sure if the brake problem is associated with the bearing failure of not. The mechanic said the bearing had been running with no grease.

The bill was $250, two hours labour at $70 and $100 in parts, plus tax. A fair deal. If you are passing through Perry, FL and need work done done, give Yarbough Tire Company (they do other stuff) a call. They were great with us, took us right in, showed concern and had us back on our way in hours. The mechanic took the time to tell us everything he did and to make sure we were comfortable with no dolly brakes.

Thanks guys!