Yeah, Yeah.....I know.  It seems like I'm always gushing about Cedar Key.  But hey, the truth's the truth, and it was only proven to me once again last week.

When people found out I was going to St. Simons Island, many said, "oh, you'll love it."  I'm afraid they were wrong.  I did not.  I'm a firm believer of "to each his own" so I can understand that they liked it.  But it wasn't my kind of place.  Actually, I was disappointed because I thought it would be.

As you saw from the photos, approaching the island was very pretty---marshes on both sides of the road, water, boats, bridges and causeways.  And then--Four lanes of traffic leading on to the island. (You have to remember, the approach to Cedar Key is not only beautiful with salt marshes, dots of other islands off in the distance and the water, one drives over four small bridges on a two lane road)  We have no traffic lights here on the island and never much traffic.  So I was a bit surprised at how crowded St. Simons was.

But beyond that, all week something nagged at me about why exactly I didn't care for St. Simons and I couldn't put my finger on it.  Yeah, it was pretty touristy, but it wasn't just that.  By the end of the week, it suddenly hit me.  There was no downtown area per se.  They had the area called the Village Pier--but that wasn't a bona fide "downtown."  It was touristy with gift shops and restaurants lining the sidewalk down to the pier.  They also had another area called Redfern Village....same thing.  Touristy.  And the Shops At Sea Island.  Yup.  Same thing.  I guess I hadn't expected that.  I expected something more quaint.  This was quite spread out.

Maybe now you can see why I was so captivated with Brunswick.  It was exactly what I liked.  A proper downtown area, where one could stroll and browse and say hello to people on the sidewalk who lived there.  Like Cedar Key......where we have 2nd Street (more like our Main Street) where we have our City Hall and Library and Post Office, in addition to shops and a few restaurants.  Where if you come to visit here, you'll see some of us residents out and about doing resident type things.  To me, that's the heart of our downtown area.  Where I will always see somebody I know to give a wave or stop and chat with. 

So once I figured this out, why I didn't care for St. Simons, it got me thinking some more.  Why did I feel so drawn to Cedar Key and similar small towns?  What is it about this island that captured me the very first time I visited here years ago?  And then I figured it out.........

I grew up in a medium size town, Salem, Massachusetts.  Certainly nowhere near as small as Cedar Key, and yet, there were many similarities.  Our "downtown" area in Salem when I grew up there in the 60's was Essex Street.......where the banks were located, lot of small shops to browse, Almy's Department Store where one could walk to the back and have lunch or a cup of coffee at their counter, or maybe pop in to Martha's Sweets, the perfect place for meeting your friends from high school for fries and cherry cokes.  And once I had children, Essex Street was the place to push them in the carriage, because you always knew you'd bump into somebody familiar and you might even go to the small, lunch-time restaurant Moustakis's for coffee knowing your carriage would fit perfectly in the aisle, as you gabbed with your friend.  And if the weather was good, you'd plan to meet the other young mom's at Salem Common, a wonderful place with grass and trees and benches and even a popcorn vender to sell you bags for the children to feed the pigeons. And the water.  Salem is on the coast and all I'd have to do is walk to Derby Wharf or Salem Willows or many other parts of Salem and there was my water. (Don't forget, I'm a Pisces)

That, to me, is the soul of a downtown area.......a place that over many years has soaked up the energy of the people that lived and worked and loved there.  A place where one just naturally feels that they are in their element.  And a place where memories are made and can be lovingly recalled instantly, because that sense of place was so strong.

Now I know why I didn't resonate with St. Simons.  And that's okay.  There's very few special places, but for me, Cedar Key has always been one of them.  I sometimes think I didn't find Cedar Key.....but rather, it found me.  Because living here for almost four years (in February) has made me come to understand and value the fact that I've now truly come full circle.

See you here next time..............