Sleepy Island Living - A Visit To Cedar Key & Nearby Manatees

Cedar Key, FL (62 degrees, chilly, cloudy skies)

 

 

 

Picture a small sleepy island town with good food, friendly folks, quaint shops, rough oyster beds, occasional mud flats, wide variety of shore birds, avid fishermen,  and you've found Cedar Key.  JC and Bev were excited to show us one of their favorite places in Florida and had compiled a list of all their favorite "to see"  for us. 

 

JC's Things to do in Cedar Key List:

• Historical Museum downtown
• Hike the old railroad trail
• Manatee Springs State Park
• Shell Mound
• Walk the nature boardwalk
• Cedar Key Museum State Park
• Captain Doug's Tidewater Boat Tour
• Go to old Cedar Key and visit the graveyard
• Cedar Key Arts Center
• Drive the 9 mile nature loop
• Explore shops downtown and along the wharf
• Visit Rosewood memorial
• Visit town of Suwannee
• Take an airplane ride over Cedar Key
• Eat at several area restaurants
• Island Room at Cedar Cove - dinner
• Island Hotel B&B - dinner
• Blue Desert Cafe - dinner
• Salt Creek in Suwannee - lunch
• Tony's Seafood - lunch
• Seabreeze on the Dock - lunch
• Eat at Pat's - lunch
• Big Deck Raw Bar -lunch

Except for the Suwannee River Boat Tour and a couple of restaurants we accomplished them all. 

 

 

Low Key Hideaway Motel and RV Resort

 

 

We walked to town from our campground, hiked often, paid attention to high and low tides, and enjoyed lots and lots of oyster and clams (except for my meat loving husband). Each day melted into the next and we extended our stay twice.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We especially enjoyed our hikes at Shell Mound located in a National Wildlife Refuge.  Indians lived here thousands of years ago and appear to enjoy clams even more than us.  They left behind tons of shells.  

 

 

Bird watching was plentiful.  We quickly learned to pay attention to the tides.  The birds do not hang out  during high tide. All their sand bars for gathering get submerged.  It was very exciting  to find a Great Horned Owlet very near our campground.  The American Avocet was lots of fun to see too with it's long curved beak.   

 

 

Great Horned Owlet (one big baby)



 

American Avocet

 

 



 



Birdman looking through the binoculars with his pal Jimmy

Manatee State Park is a short distance from Cedar Key.  One of the highlights of this state park is the beautiful clear blue/green spring fed swimming area. 

 

 

The picture below is of Catfish Hotel Sinkhole.  Beneath the gooey green duckweed is an underwater cave.  A scuba diver emerging from the water said it was very extensive and could be followed by a rope line.  This is not on our bucket list but interesting to hear about from someone else. 

Catfish Hotel and scuba diver

Hanging out nearby in a protected area were thirteen manatees.  Due to the recent cold spell they're here because the water remains a constant 72 degrees.  There is a long, long, long boardwalk which meanders through the Cypress Trees and wetlands.  It's magical.    Bless the folks who built this boardwalk.  It must have been a difficult task and it allows you to see such a spectacular area.   From one of the decks we were able to see the manatees in the clear water.  It was a very cool sight. 

 

We are staying at the Sunset Isle Campground and Motel ($180/week for full hook ups).  Bev describes it as "trippy".  The sites are close together and arranged in a very hodgepodge manner.  Some of them are not too easy to get into.  There are several overlooking the water with boat docks which looked nice and the front desk was very accommodating and friendly. 




Most of the snow bird crowd has left but we were able to attend a pot luck with a Blue Grass jam session afterwards.  It was very enjoyable and there are some talented musicians hanging out here.  It is located near the downtown and going out to the docks at sunset was a plus.  Reservations are recommended and be sure to arrive during day light. 

No island life would be complete without a beautiful sunset.  It was the perfect way to end our days at the campground.  Life is good!  Thanks for stopping by today.  Check back to read about our birding trip and kayak paddle.  We like the island life.