An island in the sun...

We're back from our trip to to Cedar Key and it was heaven. As always, I felt refreshed and relaxed being back. I love driving around the island on the golfcart, running into old friends. I love that no matter where you are, you're only a couple of blocks from the water. I love the water the way some people love the mountains - it just feels like home. I feel so at ease there and it always makes me a bit sad that I'm so far away and can't visit more often. Cedar Key is knicknamed "The island that time forgot" and I think it's quite fitting. There are no traffic lights and no fast food restaurants or chains, only locally owned businesses. Although it always changes a bit with new development and things, to me, it's still the same place I grew up. As I watched the palm trees swaying in the wind and the sunlight glistening off the water, I was thinking how lucky I was to grow up in such a beautiful place.
Mostly the weather was beautiful, mild and sunny - a nice welcome break from all the snow. We did have a couple of days of rain while we were there, but we passed the time playing cards and watching movies. We had a great time just hanging out, visiting old friends and going for nice long walks every day. My brother Josh came up from St. Pete Beach for the weekend to hang out with us. We hired a sitter on Saturday night and had dinner at our favorite local restaurant. We had plenty of Cedar Key favorites - grouper, crab bisque and shrimp. My mom, Wyatt and I spent a day shopping in Gainseville at some of the American staple stores that we don't have in Canada, like Target and TJ Maxx and picking up a few other sundries that aren't sold in Canada, like grits and A & D Diaper Ointment. We made a couple of trips to the library, attended church with my Grandma and even went to yoga class. The weather was perfect for eating our lunch outside every day and just watching the water. The best part of course, was just hanging out with my family.

I wasn't ready to leave, except that I was really starting to miss my husband. If I could figure out a way to ship him down, I could have stayed for the rest of the month. But now it's back to reality and it's time to trade the flip flops for the furry muk luks...

Click play to see a collection of photos from the trip!