Week One at Cedar Key

Well, it's been almost a week since we arrived here and we are loving it - plus, of course, it helps that the weather has been really nice (and we know it's snowing at home!). It is very laid-back here at Cedar Key - I just noticed that there are no "franchise" establishments at all, with the exception of one Chevron gas station and one NAPA Auto Parts - other than that everything is small and local (Brenda would love that!). Mostly we've just been relaxing and doing little things - actually, we haven't even been off the island once since we went into Gainesville on Tuesday! I've been working a fair amount, what with it being month end and also getting ready for a job-cost meeting (which I will attend via telephone). I expect to put in a fair number of hours this coming week but then I think it'll taper off the last half of the month. Right now I'm definitely putting in more than the 20 hours I had estimated. But it actually isn't a problem because I do at least half of my work later at night or early in the morning.

So - I've been walking every day, with the dog - she desperately needs the exercise - she has SO much energy. Dave and I have been out to the Pier a couple times for drinks and yesterday we went kayaking all afternoon. It was in the low 70's with beautiful sunshine and almost no wind at all - a perfect day for us to paddle over to the island. (There's an island right next to Cedar Key that is a national wildlife sanctuary.) We paddled around the island and then we pulled the kayaks up on shore and Dave surf-fished for a while while I read a book - it was very peaceful and beautiful. He thought he spotted dolphins and he also thought he saw a stingray swim by him. I didn't see them because they were gone by the time I looked up, but I trust his eyesight! We also went biking around the island the other day, which was fun except BOY was I shocked at how weak my "biking" muscles are. I hardly rode this summer and I can certainly tell - I definitely need to get out for a daily ride and build those muscles back up again. What else have we done? Well, Dave rides every day and throws a line into the water most days. We did laundry at the one little laundromat on the island. We've watched a few movies and cooked a few meals on the grill. And, hmmm....

It's weird to write about the last five days because we just haven't really done that much, which is kind of unusual for us. But it's been so wonderful to just hang out and relax and do nothing! We've had a couple "cool" days - maybe 60 degrees - and supposedly next week we'll only be in the mid-50's for a couple days, but overall it's been great. It's been sunny every single day with barely a cloud anywhere - which is just HEAVEN! Next week we've got a few more things scheduled, but I think that's about it for now. But - just as an exercise - try to imagine just sitting in a chair, reading a book and looking out over the little islands and watching the tide come in and out - that about sums it up...