Quiet After Christmas - Cedar Key

The day after Christmas, the Turk and I drove up to Cedar Key to get away from the shopping madness.  And quiet is what we got!  Cedar Key is an island on the gulf coast, about 2 1 /2 hrs north.  We stayed in a cute renovated roadside hotel with a back door to our porch, overlooking the mudflats and the sunset.

typical boat dock, ready for the clam boats

picking through the clams after the boat arrives

The town is a fishing town. Their number one business is clam harvesting.  And they are the location of Tony's Seafood - the clam chowder champion for the past 3 years.  No, the contest is not in Cedar Key - it is in Newport Rhode Island.

The Turk and I rode our bikes around the island and I saw some clam fishermen working at their dock.  When I asked if I could photograph them, one of the men looked me in the eye and said, "yes ma'am you can. I don't mind."   Then they asked me if I had a good Christmas.  Say whaaa? All of this while they were busily sorting through the clams, pulling out empty shells.

We made it to Tony's to try the chowder and it was very delicious. Just a bit of heat that you feel after you swallow. Nice.  

trying the chowder

the only manatee we saw

a scavenger on the fishing pier

We enjoyed the island and its nature. I was always reminded that we were on a very vulnerable piece of land. A big storm would surely cause a lot of harm to this place.  We saw a number of poles with measurements in feet to identify the water height in a flood.

Reminder of how high the flood waters can be in a hurricane

Sunset was stunning, as promised. The sky changes colors for about an hour, coloring the mud flats full of birds readying for the night.

yes, wine is involved

outside of our hotel

After sunset, we wandered around town to dinner.  CLAMS of course!   I chuckled over the Christmas lights - pelican with santa hat, star fish, turtle and of course, the all important holiday clam!



My favorite sign of the town?  

The shark pickup and drop off.........  The school mascot is the shark

How convenient

Nature

 This orchid has had quite a life. We found it placed on our deck in Redwood City the winter before we moved to Florida.  It was in full bloom and we thanked the realtor who sold the house next door and found this lovely plant left behind.

Months later, the Turk had to fly to Florida to work on the house for the tenant, so he carefully uprooted the plant, placed it in plastic, and packed it in with his clothes.  American Airlines was not thinking there might be something alive in the Turk's luggage when they lost it for a couple of days.

The luggage was finally found and the plant was retrieved, looking a bit worn from the experience.  We sent the orchid to Mickie's (Tim's wife) mom who grows all kinds of orchids.  She'd not seen a ground orchid before and was kind enough to take this homeless, traumatized plant in to nurse it to health.

We retrieved the orchid when we moved to Florida, and ignored it as we were told. Orchids dont like alot of fuss and attention - but I'm pretty sure they dont like lost suitcases either.  Fast forward 4 years - because the plant did nothing during that time but grow leaves.

Then, in October we saw something amazing... a shoot was starting. Then a second.  And now we've been able to enjoy weeks of perfect orchids in shades of pinks.  We appreciate them even more because we had to wait so long to see them.

I was walking on the beach the other day and had to stop and laugh.  One bird would not stop 'yelling' at the other one - her mate?  The quiet one just stood stoically, looking at me walk by as if to say - "she wanted to winter in Florida, and now she doesn't like it. What am I supposed to do!? We have the beach reserved the whole season."
    

Christmas Magic

Vinoy Hotel, opened 1924, St. Petersburg

Entrance

Lobby tree

 Ah, the holidays. Parties, Christmas lights, boat parades, feasting and being merry with friends. And this was the perfect weekend for that.


A couple of months ago, when we were in St. Pete with mom and dad, I met a guy who runs a horse carriage business and gives tours of the decorated homes in the NE part of St. Petersburg.  This area is one of the oldest neighborhoods full of delightful and unique homes.


I thought, hey, that sounds like fun and called friends.  One thing led to another and we got rooms at the Vinoy Hotel, an historic hotel on the water in St. Pete.  It's been renovated and is beautiful. We figured a nice dinner, carriage ride, drinks and a historic hotel would make a great Saturday night.



When the Turk and I checked in, they told us our room wasn't quite ready, so they would call when it was.  Great!  time for me to get a massage and an opening was available at the last minute.  I was told this was unheard of for a Saturday and I was quite lucky.  While the girls were pampered in various treatments, the boys enjoyed their beers near the pool. yes, it was a perfect Florida December day.

The massage and the room were done about the same time, so the Turk and I ran up to change clothes for dinner. The host said something about Presidential Suite, but I thought he was kidding.  he wasn't!  We went to the top floor, and opened the double doors, forgoing the doorbell. We found ourselves standing in the entryway, presidential seal to the right, dining room ahead of us. And the tour began.

There are 3 bathrooms. One  is, of course, for guests while the other two were set up to cater to the usual male and female requests: large jacuzzi, dressing area with makeup lighting and TV, another bathroom with large shower, and a 5' x9' mirror just for checking your overall look before making your entrance to the living area. Each of the 5 windows in the suite is actually a balcony overlooking the St. Pete marina, pier and skyline.

Looking through living room to dining room. Bedroom is behind me. Balconies to the left.

view from one of 5 balconies. St Pete skyline to the right. Pier is to the left, out of site

Presidential seal in our suite's entryway

Bedroom. To the left are 2 large bathrooms. 3 balconies off the bedroom.

Welcome to our entryway

 The dining room was ready for 6 diners with the bar nearby.  The living room's sectional sofa was comfy and had a view of the tv, but also of the marina and city skyline. Additional seating areas were set up in the rest of the living space to accommodate separate conversations. 

The suite's bedroom was larger than our homes' two bedrooms combined and dwarfed the king sized bed. In fact, I think the bedroom and the 2 master bathrooms was almost the size of our home.

Jacuzzi in one  of the 3 bathrooms

We put the word out that the party was starting...in the Presidential Suite!  The gang showed up and we warmed up by watching the Xmas boat parade come through the St. Pete marina.  The parade was led by the marine fire boat shooting water like a giant elephant into the marina.

Ted and Jan, feeling presidential, await the carriage

Then we walked along the marina amidst the parade watchers to our dinner destination, continuing to cheer on the parade. We sat waterfront to catch wayward boats leaving the parade as it died down during or meal.  After dinner, we were off to find our carriage.

Laurie and Jim can't wait to share the merry.

Monica, the carriage driver, arrived with Tiny the horse and Lancelot the dog to show us festive St. Pete. They needed to unload their guests first, so we waited and were a bit awed by what we saw.  The carriage was filled with women of 'a certain age' who paled in comparison with their dogs. Each woman carried a small pooch on her lap.And each pooch was dressed to the nines in holiday wear - from petticoats and bows to sparkles and feathers. It was clear that the evening was about the dogs!

After the dog fashion show,  our tour began. We festively greeted anyone walking nearby, or far away. We peered into as many windows as we could from the carriage. And we saw a lot of decorations.  Tiny was very accommodating and at the end of the tour, he took us to the front door of the Vinoy - to the glee of guests who were standing near by.

Then the Suite beckoned and we continued the evening with a view of the city, and a lot of rooms to hang out in. The day of festivities took its toll and everyone eventually made it to their own rooms.

One of the homes along the way that we thought we could live in

But by morning, all were ready for a brunch at an outdoor cafe overlooking the very decorated city park and marina. Yes, December in Florida - gotta love it!  We toured a few shops to walk off the feast of crab legs, made-to-order omelets and chocolate covered strawberries, with a bloody mary or two to help us bridge from the night before.  It was time to pass the presidential baton to the next guest, and make our way back to our middle class neighborhood.