Cedar Key, Florida

For the next week or so I’ll be digging around Cedar Key, Florida. The location is rich in history, with a diverse background. For this trip we drove the land yacht. Sailing sometimes just takes too darn long, especially if your on any kind of a time schedule. So, while I’m here on some family business, I’m going to make constant excuses to escape the family and do a bit of exploring.

The Cedar Keys were used by Seminole Indians, and by the Spanish as a watering stop for ships returning to Spain from Mexico and by pirates, such as Jean Lafitte and Captain Kidd. There are several know shipwrecks in the area from the 1600’s all the way up to the Civil War. There were some ferocious battles fought here during the era, along  with present day Civil War re-enactments not too far away.

Followers of William Augustus Bowles, self-declared “Director General of the State of Muskogee,” built a watchtower in the vicinity of Cedar Key in 1801. The tower was destroyed by a Spanish force in 1802. There were native Indians here dating back to 500 B.C. Some of you will recognize some of the names as infamous pirates! My kind of history!

My first visit to Cedar Key was about 20 years ago as a student pilot on a cross country flight. I recall landing at the little airport, on runway next to the water, and wondering about getting into town which appeared to be about a mile away. I was going to stop in at one of the restaurants for some lunch and then continue the flight.

I pulled the airplane into a parking spot and was greeted by an old woman in a wood paneled station wagon. She was salty and weathered, spoke matter of factual, and chain smoked the entire time I got to know her, which was very briefly. If I would have been able to spend time going through the multitude of odds and and ends, scraps of paper, small booklets and a various assortment of other little objects totally concealing the dashboard, her entire life would possibly been revealed. If one were to brush away the years of dashboard accumulation I’m certain the original vinyl dash would have seen the first sunlight in an entire generation of kin folks.

I was simply told to hop in quickly placing my life into her hands at the mercy of the blue smoke filled station wagon. In under two miles she had my entire life story, yet I knew little about her. Pulling to the side of the street I found that I was at the waterfront, downtown Cedar Key, if there was such a thing. She said, “Be at this pole in 2 hours if you want a ride back to the airport,” driving away.  I dared not disappoint her for fear of having myself keelhauled for not properly following directions.

There were a couple of waterfront restaurants, some boats, a seaplane, and the assorted smattering of tourists. I went into the restaurant I was dropped off at, sadly I don’t recall the name. Taking a seat on the outside balcony the waitress brought me an ice tea without being asked. She sat it down with a menu, “No beer if your flying.”

Small town, nothing goes unnoticed.

It was quiet back then. Very unnoticed and unassuming. This will be my first trip back to Cedar Key in many years. I’ve seen the price guides on land, so this is no longer unnoticed and unassuming. Quaint may not be part of the description any longer. My expectations are minimal, and I don’t think I’ll see the wood panel station wagon again.

There was a seafood festival here last weekend, but I was traveling to other parts of the world and unable to attend. There is next year to look forward to!

I found a small RV park in the bustling metropolis of Otter Creek, population 127, possibly less as when we were setting up yesterday evening there were several gunshots in the nearby woods. Perhaps it is deer season…

Were parked about 15 minutes east of Cedar Key, and just as soon as the rain stops I will be off to my exploriations… further reports to follow…

Filed Under: Travels

Tags: Cedar Key • pirates