Cedar Key and Manatee Springs/Suwannee River

I paddled a new location today, Saturday, July 25, 2009. Cedar Key. And an old one, Manatee Springs and the Suwannee River. This Tale may take a while to tell, as being the first one about Cedar Key, I want to provide details on directions, history, and so on. Not to mention a lot of cool stuff seen while paddling. The first time I've see sharks. Small, but have to start somewhere. The first photo is a shark.

This was my third visit to Cedar Key. My last visit was so long ago I can't recall when it was. To bad I can't remember the Kentucky Derby that year. I watched it in a little bar. Or was it the Preakness? Those were my pre-yaking days, and I enjoyed exploring interesting places throughout Florida. Cedar Key, located on the Gulf, in Levy County, south of the mouth of the Suwannee River, north of Crystal River. Back then, I thought Cedar Key was scaled down version of the Florida Keys. One road leads in, State Highway 24. Once off the mainland, the road continues over a series of bridges connecting keys. Just 4 of each for Cedar Key. Like Key West, Cedar Kay has a rich and colorful history as an early Florida port city. Both strive to maintain some of what made the town unique. Here is a Cedar Key street scene.

Back in the early 90's, I thought, Cedar Key is like Key West twenty years ago. Today, 10-15 later, it still is. Which isn't necessarily a good thing. From the water, I noticed a lot of new homes, condos, ect. The roads buzzed with golf carts. I don't recall those in the early 90's.

BLOGGER SUCKS. Or maybe I do. Just lost a a few hours of downloading pictures and creating a Tale. Here we go again.

I woke up at 4:30. I-4 , 408, Turnpike, 27, Alt. 27, 24 is the route to Cedar Key. My path was a bit different. I missed the US 27 exit off 75 in Ocala. Took the next exit, took Marion County Road 326 to 27. May have slowed me down a bit, two lane 55 mph instead of the divided, 4 lane 65 mph 27.

I put in at Cedar Key Beach. A small launch area is at the edge of the beach, next to a marina. The restrooms were open when I arrived. Welcome after the coffee fueled 149 mile drive. Two parking spaces nearest the beach are reserved for kayak loading/unloading. I got the yak ready, then parked. No fee. In the water at 8, I paddled across the half mile channel to Atsenea Otie (AO) Key. AO's occupation by whites dates to 1836 when the US Army, under Zachary Taylor, established a supply depot. After a hurricane in 1842, the Army left AO. Later in the 19th century, utilizing the then abundant cedar forests along the nearby Suwnnnee River, saw mills, one run by the Faber company, were established. Another hurricane, in 1896, destroyed the mills. Today, some ruins, and a cemetery can be viewed. As it was such a short paddle, I did not land.

I thought of circling the key, but once on the backside, I saw two keys in the distance. I set out for the closet, Snake Key. Closer, but a longer paddle than the City Beach to OA crossing.

More problems witth blogger, so I posted two reports on the Green Wave Forum.

http://www.clubkayak.com/greenwave/treports.asp?trip=391 for the Cedar Keys portion of my day.

http://www.clubkayak.com/greenwave/treports.asp?trip=392 for the Manatee Springs/Suwanne River. Read it for leaping sturgeon.