To:     UTC Faculty & Staff in need of a break...

Several months ago I posted a notice on Raven about a condo my wife and I
own in Cedar Key, Florida expecting the wrath of the purists who want
nothing but serious business on the site.  For some reason the notice was
well received and several folks asked that I repeat it, so here goes.
Actually, in my twenty-four years on this campus I have never seen a
faculty more in need of a break since many of us are not only overworked,
but feel that there is little hope for much improvement.  Most of us like
to work hard and feel committed to excellence in our endeavors.
Unfortunately, we work in Tennessee, a state which has a pathetic record of
supporting both K-12 and higher education.  That's another story.  What to
do about this situation?  One option: get away from it for a while!!

So, what's this Cedar Key place?  The town and island of Cedar Key are
located about fifty miles west of Gainesville on the gulf.  It is a
community of about one thousand folks on an island about four miles off the
mainland surrounded by salt marshes and other islands which are part of the
Lower Suwanee Wildlife Refuge and the Waccassa Bay Nature Preserve.  The
town has wonderful restaurants, art galleries, shops, and almost nothng to
do expect look at beautiful sunsets, take walks and settle back with a Dos
Equis on the balcony directly overlooking the gulf.  There are plenty of
places to rent sea kayaks (even for novices) or outboards to explore the
out-islands.  Cedar Key has also been rated the second best fishing village
in the State of Florida after Islamorda.

Our condo, and other two bedroom condos at Old Fenimore Mill, rents for
$130 a night or $105 if there is just one couple (one bedroom condos also
rent for $105.00).  It is fully furnished.  You won't need to take a thing
except very casual attire and your Jimmy Buffett tapes.  If you are
interested, you can contact Joyce or Linda at 800-767-8354 and inquire
about vacancies.  Our unit, 5-F, is on the top floor and, of course, we'd
like for you to stay there but the other units are excellent too.

To really investigate Cedar Key log on to www.fenimoremill.com and make
sure you explore the Cedar Key home page found at the bottom of the
Fenimore Mill site.  Now, if you are really curious, call me up and I'll
tell you about the restaurants the tourists don't know about, the ones to
avoid, where to find bald eagles, osprey, ibises, egrets and herons (you
can find the pelicans yourselves),the best art galleries and other tidbits.
This truly is a wonderful place to decompress.  It takes about 7 1/2 to 8
hours to get there and those of us who don't have Navistar systems in our
cars (who among us can afford it) will find that all you have to do is head
south on I-75 to Gainesville, turn right on Florida 24 and relax for
fifty-five minutes until you smell the gulf.

I've been going to Cedar Key for over 25 years.  It hasn't changed and
remains a wonderful place to get away, settle down, take stock of your life
and come back ready to work for a bit longer.

Dan Baker
4140