2019 Oyster Tours: Oyster Tour #3

Day 1, Feb 13th

Every Spring a few of us gather for a kayak trip down one of Florida's great rivers. This year we chose the Wakulla River, mainly because everyone wanted to spend the night at the Wakulla Lodge.
So, my plan A was to ride to Camp David Saturday and then head over to the Lodge Sunday. But weather but doubt into that plan. Another major front was coming through on Sunday just like last time we rode to the Lodge and I had no real desire to repeat that drenching lightning event. So, Plan B was to take the car. Plan C, however, came into play. I was still undecided mid-morning on Saturday, so I called the Lodge to see if any rooms where available. The last check there was a reunion and a tour booked in and it was full. Sandy said let me check, and then told me there were two rooms that should have been released but she could not confirm one until 11. This would let me go straight to the Lodge and not have to worry about tomorrow's weather.

The only scooter in the garage at the moment is my beloved "Scoot", my original Vespa, the "million dollar scooter" , LX 150. It might only make 55 mph, but that is fine with me. I loaded up and hit the road.

The down side is I had to take US19 instead of the toll expressway. I had not put any hard miles on Scoot in awhile and did not want to get caught in 70 mph traffic so I was on 19. US19 was not as bad as I expected. Mild temperatures made a big part of that. It was only in the low 80's as I headed north. There is about a 20 mile stretch in Pasco county that can be like pulling teeth. Four lanes in an urban environment with lights that are timed for you to stop at everyone. Once past the "Richies", Port Richey and New Port Richey, things got much better. I arrived at the lodge about 5 o'clock, checked in, had a little libation in the room and went down for dinner. The place was very noisy with 150 of the class of '64 from Leon High School in Tallahassee and a couple of small groups. There are only 27 rooms in the Lodge so there were a lot of people that had driven in from somewhere.

Day 2, Feb 14

This is what I was avoiding.......

But for now the weather is good. So after talking to the front desk for a free breakfast coupon I went for a walk around the park. I caught the 9:40 tour boat on the river. It was kind of fun and we saw wild children, considerate parents, and abandoned tourist. Then there was all the normal stuff, birds, alligators, deer, raccoons etc. The boat got back just in time to for me to make it to the Ball room for breakfast before the 11 closing time.

There is no TV in the rooms and the one in the lobby was acting up so I did not get to watch the masters tournament. I killed time in the lobby where I met some of the class of "64. Some interesting people. In the room I did some reading, but by 1:30 or so was getting a stare crazy and decided to go for another walk. At the top of the outside stairs I spotted Bill parking his scooter and before I reached him Dave and Larry drove up in Larry's truck. It was all quite serendipitous.

After they checked in we all met in the Ball room (Ball is the name of the gentleman that built the lodge) for lunch. Having recently ate I and Larry restrained from adding more to our bellies but Dave and Bill dove in. The rain came in in a roar and we all withdrew to our respective rooms for rest.

That evening we did a walk and dinner and another walk and called it a day. We planned to meet in the morning for breakfast and meeting about the weather and the kayak trip.

Day 3, Feb 15

Our morning meeting over breakfast brought a majority opinion that, at 57 degrees and 10-15 mph winds, it is way to cold to go kayaking for us tourist. So we launched on a tourist tour. First through the St. Marks Federal Park to the lighthouse. Beautiful ride and only one group of birds watchers. One individual bird watcher was set up on the side of the road. He had his high powered binoculars and camera set up behind his pickup truck. He looked like, and was in fact, a Harely rider standing in cold weather with his wife beater t-shirt and worn jeans. But never judge a book by it's cover. He was and extremely knowledgeable birder and was egar to share with us. He was watching an eagles nest that had been taken over by a horned owl and it's two offspring. Who knew that owls trump eagles. From there we headed off to the Rusty Truck Graveyard near Crawfordsville. This is a roadside attraction that I have described many times before. A farmer has parked all his old trucks on the side of the road. Trucked up we headed to the town of St. Marks to have lunch. We went to the Riverside Cafe. Location was great, food was not. In fact Bill and I rejected our oysters. There was no taste and did not taste right. Fortunately, we did not die from eating the few we sampled.

We said so long to Dave and Larry and they headed back to Newberry and Bill and I headed for Cedar Key. It was a great ride in cool temperature and clear skies. We arrived at the Dockside Motel on the waterfront of Cedar Key just before 5. Once again, there was a new man running it. Management here has a checkered past. The owner lives in Alabama and we think when one of his nephews is released from prison he sends them to Cedar Key to run the motel. Judy, who I don't think is a released prisoner, has run it twice when the mangers disappear. The two managers after her first visit, ended up back in the big house. Evidently, Cedar Key looks down on cooking crystal meth in the motel kitchen. The manager of the month is Robert. He said the job came along just in time as he had just got a speeding ticket. The first one in 50 years. Not sure what that means but the room is reasonable and clean. A drink the deck of one of the local bars and a bowl Tony's chowder and we called it a day.

Day 4, Feb 16

One of the many reasons we come to Cedar Key is to start the day at the Daily Grind, a coffee shop that has been around a few years and is a big hit. Unfortunately, the owners had taken ten days off for a vacation. What the heck?

We had breakfast at Annie's, a great second choice. We rode back down the loooonnnnng straight 29 miles out of Cedar Key to US19 where Bill and I parted ways. Bill loves to ride fast which he had been able to do while following me on Scoot who's top speed may be 60 if we have tailwind. He is now set free to ride with the wind on his way back to Jacksonville. I turned south and rode home with a great smile on my face under pleasant skies.