There's Just Something About Cedar Key

There's just something about Cedar Key. I don't know what it is, but whenever I'm here things are just, well, brighter. It's a little bit of a fairytale land to me now. Of course I didn't think of it in quite as romantic terms when I lived here, but that probably had more to do with the circumstances surrounding my residency here (taking care of my sick father), than with the city itself.

I hesitate to call it a city--the population is somewhere around 800--but technically it is a city with it's own mayor and city counsel. Some here refer to it as the Republic of Cedar Key, emphasizing the fact that it is a world unto itself. And indeed it is.

I got into town yesterday around noon. After checking in with work and getting my island legs, Dad invited me on a ride. A ride means a golf-cart ride around town, with no particular agenda. Anne had the golf cart down at George's where she was feverishly working to put up George's enormous Christmas tree (Christmas decorating is like a religion with George--I used to spend days helping him decorate when I lived here, and always before Thanksgiving), so we had to walk down the road to pick it up. I think Anne took the golf cart merely to give me an excuse to come see George's new puppy, Guy.

I had to change clothes before Dad and I left the house. I'd left Atlanta at 57 degrees and arrived here to find it above 80 and incredibly humid. No worries, I'll take it. We walked past the bed and breakfast where Alice was outside pulling weeds and stopped to chat for a minute. Then on to George's to see the Christmas tree and the puppy. Oh, and to see George. The house was a flurry with decorating explosions everywhere, and when little Guy came bounding in the door it felt like Christmas morning.

We got the golf cart and Dad drove us here and there and everywhere once, twice, three times or more. We went by the water this way, by the water that way, around the bend and down the hill. We waved and got waved at, searched for a couple of friends like Tom and Sherry who run the kayak rental, and Barbara who runs the boat cruises with her husband Doug, but neither were around. No matter. We crossed paths several times with Mark who teasingly calls me his girlfriend and loves to point out that the sun is always shining when I arrive and it's always raining when I leave. We spoke briefly to Miss Alice out on her porch as a neighbor was stopping by for a visit. Dad was quick to point out to the neighbor that Miss Alice didn't have any lunch leftovers to share, he'd already checked. And he probably had. Miss Alice has a reputation for keeping her friends well-fed.

I spent the rest of the afternoon doing some work stuff, but work just doesn't feel like work when you're doing it sitting out on the back porch watching the sun reflect off the water and enjoying a warm breeze in mid November.

Later in the afternoon as we were heading out to dinner, we encountered Miss Alice walking up to our house with a huge covered pot. Dad grabbed it exclaiming, "it's hot!" Much to my delight, it was a pot filled to the brim with chicken and dumplings, a favorite dish of mine that I'd raved about at the last church dinner I'd come to last time I was in town. It was something my grandmother used to make and I rarely come across it anymore. It's genuine comfort food and Miss Alice does it up right. She'd remembered, noticed I was in town, and threw together in the span of a couple hours. I love Cedar Key.

Despite the instant dinner, we'd already planned to go out so we left the chicken and dumplings for later and headed over to the Blue Desert for pizza. The food was great, but the crowd was small so after finishing her few orders the chef and owner, Terese came out to sit by the bar for a bit, say hello to us, and to chat up a few of the locals. As we left we could hear the whimpering of Terese's golden retriever, who forever lies at the kitchen doorway, wanting her master to get back to cooking.

Today I'm gearing up for our Journey Daybook island cruise and it looks like the perfect day to be out on the water. Wasn't something bothering me before I got into town yesterday? It seems like there was something ... Oh well, I forget. Crossing number four bridge will do that to you. Even better than the flashy thing in Men in Black, Cedar Key erases the mess and replaces it with magic.