We stopped in Tallahassee on our way to Cedar Key to have dinner with some fellow RVers from Mountain Falls Motorcoach Resort. They took us to a local restaurant, ‘A La Provence’. The chateaubriand, crab cakes, fried tomatoes and dessert was fabulous. We boondocked in a church parking lot just down the street from our friend’s house. It was very convenient. In the morning we continued our journey to Cedar Key.

Cedar Key is a destination location, an island 50 miles southwest of Gainsville, Florida. It sits three miles out into the Gulf of Mexico. There is one road into the small village where just 800 people reside full time. As you come into town you cross over salt marshes. The area is a haven for outdoor people with tons of fishing, bird watching, nature trails, and kayaking. The Cedar Keys form a chain of barrier islands which migratory and shore birds love. Some of the surrounding barrier islands are federally protected sanctuaries for birds.

We spent a week in Cedar Key, at ‘Low Key Hideaway.’ This is a motel with a handful of parking spaces for RVs. We loved the location, as we had a beautiful view of a salt marsh and the sunsets were spectacular. The motel has a pretty hip tiki bar that was popular with the locals, as well as the renters.

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During low tide we would have a lot of birds feeding along the salt marsh, in front of the RV:

Our spot was within walking distance to the village of Cedar Key so each morning we would walk a few miles and tour the area.

‘the view along our morning walk’

Down by the shore we would find the clammers and fishermen at work.

We spotted many Osprey. Often times we’d see them up in the tree with a fish in claw. We spotted one male feeding and then when he was about half way through the fish he picked it up and flew over to the nest where the female was waiting for her share.

We even spotted an eagle.

There is a nice park in the village; Cemetery Point Park. I liked that their work-out equipment was situated so that you could exercise with a view.

Next door to the motel / RV park is Southern Cross Sea Farms. Charlie and I took a tour of the facility and learned a lot about the history of Cedar Key and the process of clamming. In short, the state of Florida banned the use of gill nets in state waters back in 1995. That put a lot of commercial fisherman out of work, but also opened up new opportunities, such as clamming. Due to Cedar Key’s rural location and exceptional water quality it quickly became one of the largest producers of farm raised clams in the country. At Southern Cross Sea Farms they spawn clams in their hatchery and then harvest, process and ship them all over the country. The process takes about 2 years. It was a very informative tour.

We tried various clam dishes while in town. Our favorite was clam chowder from Tony’s. We liked it so much that we bought a few containers to freeze and eat later.

It was a very restful week and we enjoyed it very much. We would return to this area again.