Our week started off sitting at the Ford dealership in Gainesville, FL.  On the way home from our snorkeling trip, the check engine light came on the truck.  We thought we may have had some bad diesel fuel, as there is only one gas station in Cedar Key, and another person in the campground was having issues attributed to bad diesel.  Parks Ford was the only dealership in the area (about 55 miles away) that had a certified diesel technician that could get us in.  Fortunately, our problem was caused by a bad DEF (diesel exhaust fluid sensor) that was still covered under warranty.  We were there about 5 hours, but it was nice to have a “free” visit.  We would recommend this dealership for service.  And we did get to see some of the University of Florida campus on our way back.

Tuesday we had Poi dance lessons, given by Cherie (www.technomadia.com).  Poi dancing originated with the Maori people of New Zealand, and it involves swinging tethered weights in a rhythmic and geometric patterns.  Many advanced dancers, like Cherie, use fire in their dance.  She has been doing this for 8 years, and it was fun to see her dance with fire.  Given how many times I bounced the bean bags off my head and legs, I don’t think I will ever be playing with fire!!

After our dance lessons, we headed next door for another glorious sunset at the Tiki Bar to celebrate Susan’s birthday.

 

After that, we headed back to the campground, where Cherie performed a Poi dance, with fire.

 

 

The next day we headed to Tampa, to pick up some friends from Wisconsin that flew in for some “warmer” weather.  We gave them the quick tour of downtown Cedar Key.

Each day they joined us for our 3 mile roundtrip walk to downtown and back.  Although they did not get to snorkel with the manatees, Mike did get to have some fun with them.

The other Mike was more interested in the mermaids!

 

 

And no trip to Cedar Key is complete without stopping to watch the sunset.

We stopped in at Tony’s restaurant, which is famous for their clam chowder.  Tony’s is a three-time world champion winner of the clam chowder festival.  Once you win three times, the recipe is no longer eligible for entry into the competition.  We all thought the chowder was good, but surprisingly spicy.  Not sure if they just used too much pepper on the day we visited, or if it was supposed to taste that way.  We do plan to try it again before we leave by the end of the month.

On Sunday, we were able to spend a bit of time with Gail and Jim, whom we met working at Amazon.  They are making a slow trek to the Houston, Texas area, for a work camping job starting in March.  They  walked Makena every day that we worked, and Makena was very excited to see them.

We had a great time getting together with friends, both old and new.  Our door is always open if anyone wants to come and visit.  We hope the weather will start warming up even more.

Quote for the day:  “A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same.”  – Elbert Hubbard