The islands 2

Seahorse Key

North Key

Thanksgiving this year was a break from tradition for us. I enjoy cooking a turkey, making dressing and gravy and all the vegetables, but this year, instead, on Wednesday night, we loaded up the kayaks and I made turkey sandwiches.

Starting Thursday morning aroung 9 am, we paddled ten miles around the islands, launching from Cedar Key's downtown beach. The wind was onshore from the north, so we headed for Seahorse Key first. We ate our turkey sandwiches on the beach there. Among the stands of sea rocket we saw Gulf Fritillary, Monarch, Painted Lady, Great Southern White, and Cloudless Sulphur. Then we paddled behind Seahorse and Deadman's Key to North Key, where we landed on the birds' favorite strip of sand. White pelicans, brown pelicans, Caspian terns, common terns, double-crested cormorants, and the usual little sandpipers were there. Lots of basket sponges blown up on the beach during the last storm. The wind shifted slightly as we were heading back between 3 and 4 pm from North Key to downtown Cedar Key, so we didn't have the wind on the beam as we expected.

After trailering the kayaks and sprucing up a bit at the outdoor shower near the dock, we walked a few blocks to the Island Hotel for dinner. It was our first time to try the Island Hotel and we walked in to find a pleasant atmosphere and a rich and elegant Thanksgiving menu. We both chose Grouper Elizabeth accompanied by, my husband insists, two dozen side dishes. Really I think it was only one dozen. He asked the waitress, so do we choose 2 or 3 of these? She said no, you get all of them. It's Thanksgiving! The servings were modest, but it was still a generous meal and tasty. We'll definitely be going back to the Island Hotel.

The cats forgave us for being late as soon as we fed them; however, only three showed up for dinner. I followed a hunch and sure enough, Daisy had been locked in the closet all day. Her favorite game is to dash in the closet when we go in to change. It's not the first time her hide-and-seek has resulted in a long session. She was more cautious about running in at bedtime, but today she's back to her game.

We could not have asked for a more beautiful day on the water. What a great way to be reminded that we are grateful for our lives on this earth.