Here’s some car eye candy from the car show on Sunday. Courtesy of Terry and his iPhone! Nice pics!
nature coast
Nature Coast of Florida
Friday Meanderings
Happy Friday!
I’m still pretty excited about the Public Hearing on Wednesday with the Board of County Commissioners where they unanimously voted against the 110-room hotel on wetlands on Halls River Road. I have nothing against progress, but there’s a right way to do it. So encouraged with the turnout at the meeting and how the commissioners voted.
I followed up with the county last week asking about the status of the sidewalks in Old Homosassa on Yulee Drive. Mostly got the same response…”we are considering your suggestions” but I did get this email from Walt Eastmond
Good afternoon Kathy – The consultant is continuing to work on the project. The construction plans are progressing to the 90% phase and are expected to be sent to us for review in May. About a month or so ago the consulting engineer and I went to the site to review the tree and sidewalk conflicts to try to determine an alternate route for the sidewalk and yet still meet all of the Federal requirements. I want to say that we were successful in resolving all of the conflicts; however, I need to hold off on my optimism until the design and engineering analysis is complete for the new sidewalk route. If the design and engineering can be accomplished as we have proposed in the field then we will be able to work around each of the trees.
Hope this is helpful.
Let me know if you have any other questions,
Sincerely,
Walt Eastmond
Transportation Project Manager
Engineering Division
Mr. Eastmond made me feel like someone is actually reading my emails! Thank you Mr. Eastmond! Looking forward to reviewing the “90% plan.”
You know those “yard sales” we had out on 19 last weekend from 98 to Crystal River Mall? Does anyone else think that’s a bad idea? One of the busiest roads in Citrus County bordered with yard sales. And people driving willy-nilly to get the bargains? And this is now semi-annual. Crazy Cakes. I don’t know how that is improving our lives here in Citrus County.
Hey, if anyone wants the new Old Homosassa Heritage Council T-Shirts, the Watson Art Gallery will have some available. They are VERY nice! And the money goes to a good cause–preserving and enhancing our community!
Have a great weekend!
Kathy
Market Day with Arts and Treasures at Heritage Village
Terry and I along with friends Tim and Connie did some traveling in Citrus County on Saturday–from the west to the east.
We started out in Crystal River at Heritage Village for Market Day with Arts and Treasures. I’ve been to many of these market days over the past few years and expected to find sidewalk vendors with produce, crafts and art.
Not so. A few tents. No produce. Just like a regular Saturday on Citrus Avenue.
The only reason I knew that it was Market Day was my musician friend, Paula Bateman, gave me a flyer at our last acoustic meetup. She was performing at the gazebo with a friend of her son.
And it’s a really cute gazebo.
As you can see from the above snap, there weren’t many in attendance. There wasn’t even a place to sit. A couple of benches and a few rocking chairs would have been a welcome addition.
Crystal River has a lot going for it with the influx of tourists coming to see the manatees in the winter, scalloping in the summer, and fishing all year round. So why aren’t these visitors shopping at Heritage Village with all of its little shops, art gallery, and cafes?
Even our local newspaper reported that there was an exodus from Heritage Village to downtown Inverness. An article that was a coup for Inverness but very discouraging for Citrus Avenue.
I can only believe that it’s a marketing issue. While Heritage Village does have an updated website, I see little advertising elsewhere.
This is a really nice area and I love shopping here. I bring our guests here plus I’ve bought many unique gifts over the years (sometimes for myself). Now I’m concerned that more of these stores will be closing down.
We did a little shopping, listened to Paula, and then headed on to our next destination.
Which I’ll tell you about tomorrow.