Cedar Key, Florida is 150 miles south of Tallahassee along the west coast of Florida. It is a quaint little town on the Gulf of Mexico. Visiting Cedar Key was the object of our road trip on January 15, 2013. It was a sunny, warm and beautiful day for a drive.
Cedar Key is definitely a tourist town. There are a number of restaurants and bars located on Dock St which is at the water's edge. I had the impression that Cedar Key is a quiet retreat for people/couples (not families) looking to get away for a few days or more. Sun bathing, fishing, boating and kayaking seem to be the main day time activities. The annual Seafood Festival and Arts Festival seem like fun events. The restaurants and bars are likely the main attractions for cocktail time and after dark. I have a suspicion that the town closes down rather early each night. The people we encountered did not appear the be party goers.
I enjoyed getting some close views of the many pelicans along the beach.
We took Allie along for ride and we were not able to have lunch at
one of the restaurants. There were several in the area that interested me.
Cedar Key is a town I might choose to revisit some time in the future. It is cute and a nice town. But, it is isolated and out of the way. Maybe there will be a time when Jane and I will be looking for a retreat town.
I traveled to Gainesville, Florida recently to visit the University of Florida.
The university is quite large and is located in the center of Gainesville. It had the feel of an urban university because of the many public roads going through the campus.
As usual, my main focus was on the sports facilities and traditions. Florida Field, aka The Swamp, is an awesome football facility. It was built for college football. I am looking forward to watching an SEC game there in the 2013.
Outside of the stadium there are statues of the Gator Heisman winners. The most recent of those being Tim Tebow.
The Heisman and national championship trophies are on display in the gallery by the football offices.
The O'Connell Center is the home of the Gator Basketball team. The banners for the back to back national championships in 2006 and 2007 are prominently displayed.
The facilities for the swimming teams are very impressive.
As I walked the campus, I came upon two unusual sights. In one quad area the trunks of the trees were all painted gator blue. And, in another, I found a bronze sculpture of a dancing couple. This sculpture is know as the "Whispering Couple" and is part of an arts display at the university.
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Jane and I traveled to Thomasville GA on Friday, December 14, 2012 to partake in the town’s Victorian Christmas celebration. Thomasville is about 30 miles from our home in Tallahassee.
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| Jonah's Fish and Grits |
Jonah’s Fish and Grits is a well known restaurant in Thomasville and I was hoping we would be one of the first there for dinner. There was already a small group of people waiting outside Jonah’s when we arrived. We waited for the restaurant to open at 4:30PM. Jonah’s filled up quickly and within 15 minutes there was a new group of people standing outside waiting to get in. The service was quick, friendly and very efficient. My meal of grouper chowder and crab cakes was very tasty. Jonah's was a good choice.
After dinner, we wandered the area set aside for the celebration. Some of the people were dressed in Victorian outfits. We did meet some people who had traveled from as far away as Alabama for the celebration. Wearing my Notre Dame fleece jacket may not have been a good idea. The people were all friendly and fun to talk with.
At one end of the main street we found an area where snow had been brought in for the kids to play. It was like an amusement ride at a park. Pay your $2.00 and have 3 minutes to play in the snow.
Jane found a nice gift shop to visit.
She could not turn down a vendor selling fried oreo cookies. But, she did not try the fried twinkies.
We saw many interesting window displays.
The main event of the evening was a live Nativity scene.
