Islands aren’t like other places. They are pretty much self-contained universes where life has a particular rhythm. Cedar Key, southwest of Gainesville on the Gulf coast, is one of those places.
We’ve been to Cedar Key before but this was the first time I’d learned that it’s about the same size as my fictional Tango Key. Two miles long. Doesn’t sound too big, but it actually is.
Cedar Key is reached on Highway 24, which is about 24 miles long, a two-lane road lined by trees and power lines. There aren’t any street lights for night driving, so after the sun sets, you’re essentially driving a long dark corridor to – well, somewhere. We arrived in mid-afternoon on a Thursday, the apparent start of a long weekend for fisherman from the surrounding towns. We made our way inland from Highway 24 to a salt marsh neighborhood where we’d stayed before.
The house sits on high stilts, like many of the buildings on Dock Street. With a house, this creates space beneath it for a utility room, carport, storage, whatever you want. There don’t appear to be any zoning laws on the island. Trailers sit next to grander homes on stilts, the cemetery and a frisbee golf course were just a bike ride away for us.
But one of the first things we saw was a man in a golf cart with Trump 2024 flags flapping in the breeze. I reminded myself this was Levy County, which went for Trump, and apparently still loves the guy, like this sign says.
Inside this shop, Trump memorabilia is rampant. There are trump signs, trump stickers, trump license plates. DeSantis, our illustrious governor, is also a favorite, with Florida signs that say, DeSantis Florida that address his feud with Disney. I also saw disparaging signs and stickers about Biden. I started moving around the store, turning signs so they weren’t readable.
Cedar Key was once situated on another island, which you can get to by boat. That’s Nika at the front, making sure she’ll be the first one off when we reach the island. The original Cedar Key was once covered with Cedar trees, which were cut down to make pencils. The pencils were then sent to Germany for lead.
On the original Cedar Key there’s a cemetery at the end of this long bridge and then deep into the trees. An eerie place with some really old gravestones.
One of the highlights of this boat trip: dolphins. Unfortunately, by the time I had my phone camera out and ready, the dolphins were gone. But Loretta had her camera ready. Hope that link works!
Cedar Key is where you go to live by a different rhythm.
Lovely place. But why are people so mesmerized by a disgusting criminal?
That’s the main question!
Looks like a lovely place to hang out in when you can erase the Tumpiness from your mind.
It really is.