These days they are marketing this area of Florida as the Nature Coast or sometimes Old Florida. It is both. Relatively undeveloped and laid back it is a place where life is taken at a much slower pace. We’ve been here before for a very short stay and vowed to return.
Fortified by a root beer float, which served as our lunch, we headed for the number one tourist attraction in Cedar Key the Historical Society Museum. Given that the four rooms of exhibits had probably not been updated in some time this ranking does give you some idea of just how little there is to do here besides sitting and enjoying the scene. Nonetheless, we did learn a great deal about the history of the town and the myriad times it has been destroyed by fires and hurricanes some of which happened at the same time.
At one point all the mail headed from the U.S. to Cuba went through Cedar Key. At another time it was the pencil capital of America. Think Eberhard Faber and the land covered with cedar trees before he arrived to make pencil. There was, of course, fishing and diving for sponges and a factory that made whiskbrooms from sabal palms.
Using a map and guide that we purchased from the Historical Society we then drove around to view the historically important buildings in town. Plus a few detours of our own making just to enjoy the scene.
We had dinner at Tony’s Restaurant tonight where we were surprised to learn that they were 3 time winners of the World Chowder Championships ’2009 thru 2011. After winning the award three times, they enshrine the recipe and give someone else a chance. The chowder tasted pretty good on this particular night in 2013.
Working on photos...