15 March 2016 | Tregoning is in Whangarei Town Basin Marina, Whangarei, New Zealand but we are in Cedar Key, FL
Photo: Matt and Shevaun enjoying the evening view from Susan and Jeff's house at Cedar Key, Florida
Matt's only previous trip to Florida had been to attend a conference in Miami. By the time we had spent a couple of nights at the lake house and had toured Gainesville, he was finding out that northern Florida was quite different. On Monday (March 14th), we drove southwest through miles of forestland to the small community of Cedar Key, where he would get a taste of Florida's Gulf Coast.
The Cedar Keys are a cluster of small islands that surround a south-pointing headland on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. There are approximately 700 full-time residents but there are many second-homes and several condos and motels, which provide a considerable boost the winter population. Evidence from ancient shell- and burial-mounds indicates that the area has been inhabited since, at least, 500 BC, and the first maps were produced by a Spanish cartographer in 1542. Used as watering-hole for Spanish and pirate ships, the first "permanent historic occupation of the islands" was in 1839, when the US Army established a fort during the Second Semiole War.
In 1860, Cedar Key became the western terminus for the Florida Railroad, by which it was connected to Fernandina on the Atlantic coast of northern Florida. The town was an important port from which were shipped lumber and pine-resin-based products that had been harvested on the mainland. During the Civil War, Cedar Key was an important source of salt for the Confederacy until it was captured and occupied by the Union Army, early in 1864.
The town of Cedar Key was incorporated in 1869, four years after the construction of the Eberhard Faber and Eagle Pencil Company mills. Pencil production using wood from the locally abundant Eastern red cedar flourished for several decades. However, the town started to decline after a new railway reached Tampa in 1886 and soon proved to be a more competitive site for shipping. A devastating hurricane in 1896, with a 10-ft storm surge (3 m) and estimated winds of 125 mph (200 kph), followed a few months later by a major fire, finished off the pencil mills.
Fishing, sponge-hooking, and oyster-harvesting became the major industries in the early twentieth century but the oyster-beds were exhausted by 1909 and synthetic sponges eventually replaced the need for natural ones. Currently, the major sources of income for the community are clam-farming and tourism, including a springtime Arts Festival and a fall Seafood Festival which attract thousands of visitors.
We were particularly attracted to Cedar Key by the generous invitation of Gainesville friends Susan and Jeff, to stay at their wonderful waterside house which they co-own with Susan's brother. Like all new houses in the area, the living area is raised about 20 feet (6 m) above the ground on sturdy posts so that a storm surge should leave the residence relatively undamaged. This also provided a marvelous raised-platform from which to enjoy tranquil views of the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico.
Sadly, we only had time during Shev and Matt's visit to stay for one night in Cedar Key but we packed in plenty of activities including: a visit to the modest Cedar Key Museum State Park; reading the plaque that commemorated the arrival of John Muir in 1867 at the end of his walk from Kentucky; walking downtown; dining on seafood at Steamers followed by a couple of shamefully large ice-creams (sort-of shared...); breakfast at Annie's (Matt's first experience with grits); and Shev, Matt, and I kayaking. Using Susan and Jeff's single and double kayaks, we paddled around the islets both north and south of the house enjoying views of American oyster-catchers, egrets, skimmers, and various other birds.
Shevy, Alison, and Matt ready to go kayaking
However, the highlight of the expedition, and a lifetime-first for Matt, was being joined by several bottlenose dolphins which swam near us for at least 15 minutes. In such enchanting surroundings, the dolphins thoroughly captivated our attention. Their appearance made the perfect ending to our brief foray to Cedar Key and were a beautiful, gentle reminder of why I love, and look forward to returning to, our ocean-based lifestyle.