The Birthday Weekend...
I think this birthday was the best one yet!
Jim told me we were going away for the weekend. I didn't know where or what we were doing. I didn't know we were going to Cedar Key until we were there. And even then, I didn't know what was in store; I just knew what town I was in.
He explained that this island was the only one of these keys that are inhabited. The rest are protected for migratory birds who lay their eggs on them. The lighthouse that is on one of the islands is only open to the public twice a year, and this weekend was one of those times.
We pulled into this place called "Nature's Landing." Jim went into the office and I waited in the truck. The place looked alright, nothing overly exciting. He got back in the truck and said, "You thought we were staying in these crappy places, huh?" :) We drove up the road to a house called Sunset Cottage. It was amazing. Full dining room, kitchen, living room, master bedroom, big bathroom, gorgeous deck, our own dock, and another smaller living quarters downstairs! I was like, "Uh, and how are you paying for this?" It was just gorgeous. The mullet were jumping out of the water, the birds were varied and plentiful and the view was just so relaxing.
He said we could go and get some dinner and then we had to be back in an hour because we had somewhere we had to be. So, we went to Annie's Cafe and ate and then headed back to the house to change clothes. I had to wear sneakers that could get muddy, shorts, and whatever I wanted for a shirt. We had a little trouble finding the place we were headed, so at about 7 PM he had to let me read the directions (which also described where we were going) and help find it. We were going KAYAKING! Today is the full moon, so Friday night was the kayaking trip down Rainbow River by moonlight. We made it in time to meet up with the leader and others on the trip. I've never been kayaking before. It was so much fun. I got the hang of it pretty quickly. The trip up to the stopping point was rather brisk, but the paddling back was much more mellow. The water is so clear there you can easily see the bottom and anything swimming around in there. Mmmm, I slept GOOD that night. When I woke up in the morning I thought I was at home for a minute.
Saturday, Jim rode his bike down to the local coffee shop and got me a delicious cranberry nut muffin for breakfast. After eating that and relaxing for a few, we rode our bikes down to the grocery store and got some essentials for a picnic and then continued down to the dock where we got a boat to take out for four hours. Jim had a giant backpack on his back carrying all of our stuff. We got our boat and headed out onto the water to see the birds and the islands and the lighthouse and DOLPHINS! First we passed by a place just a little bit out in the water where tons and tons of pelicans hang out. Then we went out to Seahorse Key, where the lighthouse is. After the lighthouse tour and a little walking around the key to see the old cemetary there, we hopped back on our boat and were headed to another of the keys - I was driving a boat for the first time in my life. That's when we spotted a group of dolphins closeby. We headed over to check them out. There was probably four to six of them. It appeared that they were teaching a young one how to hunt. One of them caught a BIG fish while swimming around our boat. It didn't eat the fish though. It was just swimming around with it, tossing it around. One of the dolphins was smaller than the others and had much younger/healthier looking skin too. :) Anyway, having our own boat was key in this amazing experience. We could stay with the dolphins for as long as we wanted. It was great.
After we left the dolphins, we headed over to a white sandy beach on another island to relax, eat, and explore. It was so beautiful. It was almost like being on Gilligan's Island. We munched on the food we picked up at the grocery store, jim went for a little dip, and then we walked along the beach looking for uninhabited shells and just enjoying the beauty of the area. The weather was so perfect all weekend. It really couldn't have been any better. After getting the boat pushed back into the water, which was receeding with the tide going out, we headed back to the dock to drop off the boat. We took our bikes through the rows of vendors selling stuff on the street (this weekend was also the annual Cedar Key Seafood Festival) and then headed back to the market to get food for dinner.
We got back to our house just before sunset, and it was a beautiful one. Jim made me frozen strawberry dacquiris and grilled up the steak on the deck. We had steak and broccoli by candlelight on the deck. It was really just a perfect end to a perfect day. We showered and headed to bed early because we were both pooped from the day's events. At one point, Jim asked me what time I thought it was. "Ummm, 11?" I said. He laughed. "One?" I asked. He laughed again. "Nine o'clock," he said. We both felt like it was like midnight and it was only nine!
Sunday Jim rode his bike down to the coffee shop to get me another muffin, which I ate out on the deck while taking pictures of all of the birds that had come to find food in the shallow waters of low tide. The water had come almost all the way back up by the time we left. We went down to the Seafood Festival for a bit. Lots of very red neck, very strange people there. Then we headed up to Gainesville.
First we went to the Butterfly Rainforest at the University of Florida's Museum of Natural History. It was Jim's first time at a butterfly place. He loved it just as much as I do. We spent a good amount of time enjoying the exhibit and then headed out to get some food and see a bit of Gainesville. It was my first time in Gainesville. We were killing time while waiting for sunset when the bats come out of the University of Florida Bat House. There's a nice little wildlife area across the street from the bat house where we could enjoy the shade of the trees and see the turtles and fish in the water. The bat emergence at sunset was not as impressive as the last time Jim was there and saw it. Some of the signs there that had educational information said that the best viewing of the emergence is in late spring to early summer. That must have been the time of year that he was there when he saw it for the first time.
I took 941 pictures this weekend. It's going to take me a while to sort through them all, but keep an eye on photobodvie for dolphins and sunsets and birds and butterflies and even some bats!
This was really the best trip ever. Jim thought of every detail and everything came together perfectly. He done good. :)
Jim told me we were going away for the weekend. I didn't know where or what we were doing. I didn't know we were going to Cedar Key until we were there. And even then, I didn't know what was in store; I just knew what town I was in.
He explained that this island was the only one of these keys that are inhabited. The rest are protected for migratory birds who lay their eggs on them. The lighthouse that is on one of the islands is only open to the public twice a year, and this weekend was one of those times.
We pulled into this place called "Nature's Landing." Jim went into the office and I waited in the truck. The place looked alright, nothing overly exciting. He got back in the truck and said, "You thought we were staying in these crappy places, huh?" :) We drove up the road to a house called Sunset Cottage. It was amazing. Full dining room, kitchen, living room, master bedroom, big bathroom, gorgeous deck, our own dock, and another smaller living quarters downstairs! I was like, "Uh, and how are you paying for this?" It was just gorgeous. The mullet were jumping out of the water, the birds were varied and plentiful and the view was just so relaxing.
He said we could go and get some dinner and then we had to be back in an hour because we had somewhere we had to be. So, we went to Annie's Cafe and ate and then headed back to the house to change clothes. I had to wear sneakers that could get muddy, shorts, and whatever I wanted for a shirt. We had a little trouble finding the place we were headed, so at about 7 PM he had to let me read the directions (which also described where we were going) and help find it. We were going KAYAKING! Today is the full moon, so Friday night was the kayaking trip down Rainbow River by moonlight. We made it in time to meet up with the leader and others on the trip. I've never been kayaking before. It was so much fun. I got the hang of it pretty quickly. The trip up to the stopping point was rather brisk, but the paddling back was much more mellow. The water is so clear there you can easily see the bottom and anything swimming around in there. Mmmm, I slept GOOD that night. When I woke up in the morning I thought I was at home for a minute.
Saturday, Jim rode his bike down to the local coffee shop and got me a delicious cranberry nut muffin for breakfast. After eating that and relaxing for a few, we rode our bikes down to the grocery store and got some essentials for a picnic and then continued down to the dock where we got a boat to take out for four hours. Jim had a giant backpack on his back carrying all of our stuff. We got our boat and headed out onto the water to see the birds and the islands and the lighthouse and DOLPHINS! First we passed by a place just a little bit out in the water where tons and tons of pelicans hang out. Then we went out to Seahorse Key, where the lighthouse is. After the lighthouse tour and a little walking around the key to see the old cemetary there, we hopped back on our boat and were headed to another of the keys - I was driving a boat for the first time in my life. That's when we spotted a group of dolphins closeby. We headed over to check them out. There was probably four to six of them. It appeared that they were teaching a young one how to hunt. One of them caught a BIG fish while swimming around our boat. It didn't eat the fish though. It was just swimming around with it, tossing it around. One of the dolphins was smaller than the others and had much younger/healthier looking skin too. :) Anyway, having our own boat was key in this amazing experience. We could stay with the dolphins for as long as we wanted. It was great.
After we left the dolphins, we headed over to a white sandy beach on another island to relax, eat, and explore. It was so beautiful. It was almost like being on Gilligan's Island. We munched on the food we picked up at the grocery store, jim went for a little dip, and then we walked along the beach looking for uninhabited shells and just enjoying the beauty of the area. The weather was so perfect all weekend. It really couldn't have been any better. After getting the boat pushed back into the water, which was receeding with the tide going out, we headed back to the dock to drop off the boat. We took our bikes through the rows of vendors selling stuff on the street (this weekend was also the annual Cedar Key Seafood Festival) and then headed back to the market to get food for dinner.
We got back to our house just before sunset, and it was a beautiful one. Jim made me frozen strawberry dacquiris and grilled up the steak on the deck. We had steak and broccoli by candlelight on the deck. It was really just a perfect end to a perfect day. We showered and headed to bed early because we were both pooped from the day's events. At one point, Jim asked me what time I thought it was. "Ummm, 11?" I said. He laughed. "One?" I asked. He laughed again. "Nine o'clock," he said. We both felt like it was like midnight and it was only nine!
Sunday Jim rode his bike down to the coffee shop to get me another muffin, which I ate out on the deck while taking pictures of all of the birds that had come to find food in the shallow waters of low tide. The water had come almost all the way back up by the time we left. We went down to the Seafood Festival for a bit. Lots of very red neck, very strange people there. Then we headed up to Gainesville.
First we went to the Butterfly Rainforest at the University of Florida's Museum of Natural History. It was Jim's first time at a butterfly place. He loved it just as much as I do. We spent a good amount of time enjoying the exhibit and then headed out to get some food and see a bit of Gainesville. It was my first time in Gainesville. We were killing time while waiting for sunset when the bats come out of the University of Florida Bat House. There's a nice little wildlife area across the street from the bat house where we could enjoy the shade of the trees and see the turtles and fish in the water. The bat emergence at sunset was not as impressive as the last time Jim was there and saw it. Some of the signs there that had educational information said that the best viewing of the emergence is in late spring to early summer. That must have been the time of year that he was there when he saw it for the first time.
I took 941 pictures this weekend. It's going to take me a while to sort through them all, but keep an eye on photobodvie for dolphins and sunsets and birds and butterflies and even some bats!
This was really the best trip ever. Jim thought of every detail and everything came together perfectly. He done good. :)