Tag Archives: convergence

2014/01/23-24 (R,F) A Gathering

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On Thursday morning we followed our usual home routine; breakfast, computer work (for me), cross-stitch (for Linda), a walk around the park, and a light lunch.  We walked by the clubhouse / pool / pond / pavilion area to check on the progress of the deck being built along the north edge of the pond.  The deck construction was finished and the landscaping was being installed. We continued on to the rear entrance to check on the new landscaping that was being installed the day before.

The new deck by the pool at WCRVresort.

The new deck by the pool at WCRVresort.

The new landscaping by the rear entrance.

The new landscaping by the rear entrance.

Mid-afternoon John and Marian Hagan drove up in their car from their home in Dunnellon for a visit.  It was the first time they had been to Williston Crossings RV Resort and the first time they had seen our converted bus.  Shortly after John and Marian’s arrival David and Marie Ross walked over from their motorhome, which was parked just around the corner from ours.  Linda had set up all six of our folding chairs and our one folding table, but it was just too chilly to sit outside and talk.  Our coach will accommodate six adults for seated conversation, but just barely.  We had met the Hagan’s last week for the first time and the Ross’s just yesterday for the first time and this was the first time the Hagan’s and Ross’s had met but we quickly settled into a long comfortable chat.  This has been our experience to date with every member of our FMCA Freethinkers Chapter that we have had the pleasure of meeting.

Around 6 PM we took the conversation down the street to Angelina Mia, the only Italian restaurant in Williston.  Once again Linda and I had a pizza and side salads.  This time, however, we had a Manhattan Supreme “white” pizza with olive oil, garlic (lots of garlic), spinach, sweet basil, tomatoes, and mushrooms, hold the cheese.  It had a thin, crispy crust the way we like it, and was a very acceptable vegan pizza.  Everyone else had regular Italian dishes, and like the last time we were here, they all indicated that the food was pretty good.  We stayed at the restaurant two and a half hours eating and talking.  John and Marian headed home directly from there and we dropped David and Marie back at their rig.  A little more chat in the brisk evening air and we decided to call it a night, but not before agreeing to go out to breakfast the next morning.

L-to-R Me, John, Marian, Marie, David, and Linda at Angelina Mia’s in Williston.

L-to-R Me, John, Marian, Marie, David, and Linda at Angelina Mia’s in Williston.

Friday morning the Ross’s picked us up a 9 AM and went to Melanie’s.  The parking lot was so full we had to park across the street by a vacant building.  Linda had rye toast, dry, and I had a plain bagel, dry; a pretty typical breakfast out for us.  David and Marie had regular breakfast fair, and seemed pleased with their choices.  We lingered and drank coffee, but eventually had to go back to the resort as they were expected at Fort Wilderness in Orlando, Florida that afternoon.  We said our “until next time”s and left them to concentrate on t heir departure routine.  A final wave as they drove out and they were gone.

Living in an RV, even part-time as we are doing, can be an isolated, even lonely experience if that’s what you want it to be or if you fail to take some action to make it otherwise.  Cherie Ve Ard and Chris Dunphy of Technomadia and been full-timing for at least seven years now and have put a lot of thought and energy into the issue of “nomadic community.”  They have run into people all over the country, both randomly and intentionally, and then used their knowledge of communications and social networking technology to stay in touch and forge enduring relationships.  Cherie’s most recent post discusses the difference between what they call a “convergence”, which is what is occurring in Cedar Key, Florida at the moment, and an RV rally or other such organized event.

We have some busy days coming up, so I took the opportunity to do a load of laundry mid-afternoon while Linda went for a walk.  I think she planned to go for a long stroll, but cut it short because it was just too chilly to enjoy even with sunshine.  We planned to eat dinner early and go over to the Friday night bonfire at the fire pit but Linda did feel like going, so I went by myself for a while.  Part of living in a RV is that it has to be OK to not always do everything together.

 

2014/01/20 (M) Cedar Key (FL)

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[Note:  I had enough photographs from today that I put them in a separate Gallery Post with today’s date.]

With a forecast of sunny skies and high temperatures in the mid 60’s we decided to head to Cedar Key today.  Mid-morning I e-mailed Cherie that we were headed that way and would drop by the Sunset Isle RV Park and Motel mid-afternoon after checking out the town.

From Williston we took US-27 Alt WNW to Bronson and then took FL-24 SW to Cedar Key, a total distance of 45 miles and approximately one hour driving time.  FL-24 is the route of the old rail line.  Just before getting to Cedar Key we saw a sign for the Suwanee National Wildlife Refuge which is located some miles north of the Cedar Keys area.  When we got to Cedar Key we headed to the Cedar Key Museum State Park where our annual park pass covered the $2 entrance fee for each of us.

We had a nice chat with the park volunteer and learned about the vast amount of land, marsh, tidal flats, and water that is reserved, preserved, and protected along the Florida Gulf Coast stretching far to the north and south of Cedar Key.  We walked through the small but informative museum and then toured the Whitman house which had been moved to the Park as a well-preserved display of housing and domestic life from a bygone era in that part of Florida.  Mr. Whitman was an avid shell collector, and part of his collection was on display the house.

The park was small but had a nice trail that got us down to the shore.  The tide was out allowing us to see exposed oyster beds and large animal footprints leading into the water.  Probably just someone’s dog, but…  We also spotted a mature Bald Eagle soaring overhead.  We then met a woman walking a dog who told us that just down the street behind the museum was the Bald Eagle nest (aerie) up in a large pine tree.  We walked quietly and slowly in that direction.  Bald Eagle aeries are enormous and it was easy to see.  To our delight and good fortune there was an adult eagle clearly visible in the nest.  I took a few photographs and then we left the way had come.

Although the Bald Eagle has been removed from the endangered species list, it is still highly protected as our national bird.  Of more significance to us, however, is that the presence of Bald Eagles is still a marker of wilderness as they require a large area of specific habitat and generally stay away from populated areas.  While Cedar Key is certainly a very remote and relatively small community surrounded by a vast area of protected habitat, the fact remains that this aerie, and what we must presume was a nesting pair of Bald Eagles, decided to live in someone’s backyard.

We drove back to the main downtown/waterfront part of Cedar Key, parked the car, and explored on foot.  Cedar Key is not a big place, but it is old, and very charming, and even a bit “funky.”  We stopped at the only grocery store we had seen, bought some lunch munchies and beverages, and had a quick lunch in the car.  We then headed back towards Sunset Isle RV Park which is actually on a small island just before you get to the main island where most of Cedar Key is located.

We parked in front of the motel and walked around back to find Chris and Cherie’s bus.  (Chris and Cherie blog and write under the name a Technomadia.)  We spotted it right away, but before we got that far we spotted another familiar RV; a beautiful Spartan trailer that belonged to Forrest and Jeri Bone of the Tin Can Tourists.  We first met them at the Arcadia Bus Rally when we attended Forrest’s presentation on the TCT’s and later toured their Spartan trailer during the open house.  Forrest and Jeri actually hail from Gregory, Michigan not far from where our house is located.

We went on down to the Technomadia bus and Forrest came down shortly thereafter.  Chris and Dani then stopped by (they are part of the NuRVers group that converged at Sunset Isle this January) and we had a good visit, Cherie demonstrating a project that she and Chris are working on.  Forrest left to help Jeri do the laundry and Chris/Dani headed back to their rig (a Westphalia camper) to work.  We eventually wandered over to the Tiki Bar at the Low Key Hideaway three “doors” south and hung out there while the bar filled up and the sun went down.  The bar was neat, the people were neat, and the sunset was neat; long and colorful.  We bid farewell to our old and new acquaintances and headed back to Williston.  A quick stop at the Winn-Dixie supermarket for soy milk and the Sunoco filling station for fuel and we were home in time for dinner and some PBS before bed.