One Big Holiday: kayaking in the gulf.

I'm going to go ahead and say that this is probably one of my favorite posts since I started blogging 6 months ago. Sidebar...SIX MONTHS? Seriously, where does the time go? I can't believe we have been here for that long!!!!! OK, back to the topic at hand...

gulf kayaking. cedar key, fl. gorgeous.

This was one of our favorite trips so far and although it required a lot of planning and strategic packing, I have to say that it was well worth it! The Thursday before we left, we loaded the kayak's, bikes, and all other bags that were ready to go in the truck. Clay drove my car to work on Friday and I had a coworker pick me up and drive me to work. Cedar Key is about 45 mins/1 hour west of Gainesville, so Clay got off work early, finished loading our bags, and picked me up from school (15 mins from Gainesville).

THIS is why we bought a truck. We LOVE it!

We were so excited about this trip for many reasons. Clay had researched places online and found this cute little town that was perfect for what we wanted to do. Cedar Key is popular for kayakers & boaters because of the various keys you can go to, the open waters, and the wildlife that's there. They have an entire key (Seahorse Key) that is populated by over 200 bird species and is closed for several months due to their nesting season. The University of Florida has a marine laboratory on this key as well.

We stayed at the adorable Pirates Cove Cottages for an extremely reasonable rate and we would recommend it to anyone!

So cute!

After we arrived and unpacked into our cute little cottage, we drove around the island to check it out. There were so many gorgeous beach homes, lots of seafood restaurants, one little grocery store, a little beach area, a tiny little airport which was one runway and a sign that basically said "Watch out - planes flying," a local museum, and ONE K-12 school. It was so adorable and I found myself thinking (and talking) about how awesome it would be to retire there someday. It had such a laid-back and chill vibe. For the rest of the night, we laid out on the beach and then got ready for seafood dinner number one!

After we were showered and ready, we went to Steamers to enjoy some fresh oysters as an appetizer. This place was in an area right on the water with other restaurants, a few small hotels, a bakery, ice cream shop, and a fishing pier.

For dinner, we walked down the street to another place called Seabreeze. It was your typical fried seafood place with a salad bar, but we managed to find something that included shrimp alfredo and crab legs! It wasn't the best...but we were full!

I think an appropriate caption would be "nom, nom, nom."

I'm not sure if you understand how much I LOVE crab legs.

It takes serious concentration and skill :)

Saturday morning started early with a gloomy bike ride to breakfast. There were some storms coming our way later that afternoon so we were hoping to get on the water and back before they hit!

For those of you who saw our post about previous kayaking trips, you know I usually do a pretty good job of taking photos while we are out on the water. Unfortunately I wasn't as comfortable having the iPhone out this time. It's the first time that my phone stayed IN the waterproof box, wrapped in towels in a bookbag, and in a plastic bag in the back of my kayak. This was also the first time we wore our life jackets. Yep, I got to wear my sweet, sweet camo vest for quite a long time that day. Nope, there were no photos taken to document this splendid attire. We took off across the gulf and spent most of our time on and around Atsena Otie Key. We found an area where we basically had our own private beach to lay out on and relax.

it.was.perfect.

After being out for several hours, we headed back in for lunch and a nap. We slept through all the storms and by the time we got up, we were ready for dinner. We went to Tony's Seafood Restaurant, which is famous for being a three time world champion for their clam chowder. It was really creamy and definitely the best I've ever had! After dinner, we walked over to the waterfront and listened to some live music at a local bar. The lead singer looked like Benjamin Franklin and was quite the entertainer. They played mostly 70's & 80's music and had the crowd singing along with every tune.

see?

On Sunday, we got up and made breakfast at the cottage, got ready, packed the car, and went on a boat tour of all the keys. Clay loves anything related to history and I'm typically the one who is bored easily, but we both really enjoyed this tour. The guide was very knowledgeable and answered any and all questions we had for about 4 hours. He even took an extra 30 minutes tracking down dolphins for us to see! I could see Clay taking over his job in about 30 years :)

Seahorse Key

typical...

We also got to dock at one of the keys and walk around the interior (where we laid out the day before). Since the 1800's, it served as a trading post and a military outpost and also was an important shipping harbor. A.W. Faber built a lumber mill and pencil factory on the key and the town grew on the island. In the late 1800's, a hurricane hit and destroyed the mill and most of the houses and no one has lived there ever since. As we walked around, we could see the remaining bricks from the mill, where the houses used to be and even walked through a small cemetery.