Leaving friends behind

We left Low-Key Hideaway in Cedar Key Florida this morning but we both agree we will go back!

Last night at the Tiki Bar there was a gathering of old friends, new friends, dogs and a lot of good food.

I'm not going to tag all these folks, they know who they are!
Most everyone comes here for the sunsets too. Last night we had a pretty one


HI Pat! thanks for the goofy face my friend












Our drive to Tampa was good. We even traveled on I-75 for a bit to avoid a toll road. We stopped for a bite to eat and Subway was our choice. I had a veggie delight and Jim had one with meat.

We drove through a brief shower before arriving in Tampa and then we had some rain. It didn't last long. But looking at the radar the whole bay was filled with rain. We finally arrived at MacDill Air Force Base and found the fam camp. Stopped at the office which we knew would be closed and a sign on the door directed us the camp hose in site 73. He wasn't home but a note on the door said to check in at the marina. Well it was raining again and I didn't want Jim walking in it. We drove over and took up a good chunk of the parking lot. They didn't have a clue about the campground.

So we drove around the campground picking out a couple sites then went back to the camp host site. He was home! Told us where we couldn't park and told us to find a site and check the office tomorrow.

The rain had mostly stopped by the time we parked and in no time at all we were set up.

So now we need to figure out how long we want to say. No views of the water here although we are close to it.

I think Cindy and Pat at Low-Key Hideaway have spoiled us......we will miss the friends we made and hopefully we'll see all of you again....

Homosassa Springs Wildlife SP

What a fun afternoon! We've talked about going to this park for the past couple weeks. After getting out of bed just before 10 am Jim says lets go! So we drove down through Crystal River to Homosassa Springs. The drive was lovely. We stopped for lunch in Crystal River.

We had mostly overcast skies. After taking the tram over to the wildlife park the walk was on paved walks or boardwalks. We walked the circuit and saw the exhibits of mostly birds

of course there were gators! it is Florida
red fox
flamingos
young white ibis

there were three eagles in this enclosure, I'm sure injured at some point
there was a small island with pelicans nesting

We see Cara Cara's when we stay in Mission, funny we had to come to Florida to get a picture!







Of course there were manatees, there are several who have been here 30-40 years. Injured at some point but enjoying life here. These three ladies had there medical check-ups today. We also saw two young ones that they plan on releasing later this year

Sunset

I couldn't decide which one to post so I included all of them!

The sunsets here are almost always spectacular. If you ever find yourself in this area you need to come to Low-Key Hideaway in Cedar Key Florida, www.lowkeyhideaway.com

I have a brand new laptop! Jim spent all afternoon setting it up and it still needs some work but I'm a happy camper :) We also bought a new printer and it has some features we'll need to learn. Apparently you can put apps on it....I wonder if we can find a use for the old printer...I hate to throw it out.

Island life is easy livin'

Let's see, where do I begin? We're pretty much not doing anything that isn't necessary. We usually have rain sometime during any given 24 hours so planning anything outside is iffy. But who cares? :) It's raining as I type this.

Thursday around noon Jim, with some help from two young, strong guys (Pat and Dave) got the air conditioner up on the roof. Pat, the manager here at Low-Key Hideaway has an extension ladder that the guys used to lift/shove the ac up. Just had to get it over the railing and get it installed. But it was mid day so Jim got everything ready for Friday.


Friday we were up early thanks to Boo, for some reason he wants us up around 0700! It worked out because I got to see the full moon set in a bank of clouds over the Gulf of Mexico.

What's really fun is having the lens of the camera steam up when I take it outside! I have to 'warm' up the camera!!! I took about a dozen pictures and after each one I had to wipe the lens.

I was afraid the moon would set before I got a decent shot.

Because I was up and Jim was sorta awake I suggested he get up and get the work done on the roof before it got hotter than Hades up there. So he got up knowing he could nap after the work was done.

I can't begin to tell you how nice it is to have both air conditioners working again. We've been using the smaller one plus fans to keep it comfortable in here. It's also nice not having to listen to the fans all day!

When Jim finished I told him to clean up and I'd buy him lunch. But he opted for a nap. Not sure he slept much and after we had coffee we decided to go into Cedar Key for a bite to eat. He wanted to try the burgers at Neptune's Lounge in the Island Hotel. He had one with blue cheese....I opted for a grouper sandwich.

Once we got home we took off our shoes and headed to the Tiki Bar. We were the first ones there but soon there was a crowd of people! Some old friends, some new friends and a lot of fun. Us old folk left just before 2200 and apparently things got better after we left if you can believe everything you read on Facebook!

Today more of the same old chores. Then we headed to Steamers for lunch. Jim had a Spotty Bottom (true!) with his lunch of Blue Crab Portobello while I had Yuengling with my crab cakes.

We will be moving south to Tampa at the end of the month. Now that the AC is fixed it shouldn't be a problem :)

what a difference a week makes

This was sunrise on Friday, lots of pretty clouds and not much sun. The clouds moved in late Thursday when a fast moving storm rolled over us and dumped a lot of rain. It was neat watching it come from the southwest out of the Gulf of Mexico.

The sun soon went away and the rains started. Good day to stay indoors and read!

We played games, watched tv and read. We also took delivery of our ac unit. Now for a dry day to install it! Jim says he can do it but first we need strong bodies to get it on the roof. Our leak is back in the bedroom. Another job for a dry day.

I think I heard some rain during the night. No matter, I like the sound. When I got up this morning it was wet and dreary and shortly after Jim got up the rain started again. Last week at this time we had sunshine. We were also waiting for Sonsearae and Chris to arrive in the afternoon.

Behind the motel there is a natural pool of water from the rain. It looks inviting, perhaps we should go play in the rain! Once again we have a river flowing in front of our rig