I hadn’t been to Cedar Key in a while. It’s one of those places that like Key West struggles with gentrification and Air B and B but seems to have retained quite a lot of its fishing village ambiance.
Driving through the woods across the state the idea was to stop for lunch and give Rusty a chance at his favorite urban walking ambiance.
On the way from Potts Preserve I stopped to buy some berries at a Publix. As I walked Rusty around I spotted an oil change shop with a high roof, necessary for a van with GANNET2’s 9’3” clearance (2.80 meters). We are coming up on 60,000 miles so it was close enough to time for the next 5,000 mile oil change. Then I saw a high roof car wash next door…It wasn’t the greatest but it did the job.
On the way to the coast I stopped and checked out the camping at Goethe State Forest for future reference. It was okay with rather small spots stuck a bit close together. There were five camping spots packed like sardines in a vast spacious forest. Go figure. But they had the usual “ non potable water” made potable by our Berkey filter, so…
The one and a half gallon Berkey costs nearly $300 but the filters can be simply scrubbed clean with a sponge or a toothbrush if they get clogged and they should last ten years. It’s very simple and requires no spare or replacement parts which for overlanding abroad is ideal. I’ve put pond water in it so dirty it clogged the filters but the filtered water is clean and delicious.
Anyway the water tank was full again with 30 gallons and we drove on.
I ended up not eating in Cedar Key. There was no outside seating and it was a lovely sunny day. I decided to make my own picnic on our way north. We walked about an hour through the village in the sunshine though I have to say there weren’t many people about. Rusty loved it!
