Apalachicola

Tuesday we decided to take a drive over to Apalachicola...that's east of here in the curve of the Panhandle. Only a 200 mile drive over and back...a short little excursion on Highway 98! Jean and Gary had been there over Thanksgiving last year and had told us what a quaint little town it was so we decided to see for ourselves.

After getting through the morning traffic in Panama City, the drive wasn't very exciting. Tyndall Air Force Base owned much of the property along 98 and there was nothing but long stretches of pine forests. We didn't see any wildlife like the fox or black bear we had seen on previous outings. We did see F-18s practicing maneuvers, though.

The scenery picked up along 98 as we approached Mexico Beach. Then we were running along the coastline of the Gulf...Lots of little coastal towns. Port St. Joe was the largest. Lots of beach front property with lots of beach houses sitting right on the road. Good place to buy if you wanted to really get away from it all! A little to secluded for us, though.

Apalachicola is a small quaint little village that gets very touristy in season ...the summer months in the Panhandle. The feel of the place is almost like being in a smaller Savannah. Lots of little shops to browse and many cafes and restaurants to choose from. There are also several bed and breakfasts to enjoy instead of the normal chain of motels.

Learning that the time had changed back to Eastern Time Zone, we went in search of lunch. Asking some shop keepers for their suggestions, they all agreed that the best place was The Owl. We were not misled! The Owl was a two story recently renovated restaurant. Crisp white linens were on the tables and seating overlooked the channel and pier where the old fishing boats were docked. We settled in for a leisurely lunch...it had only taken us a 100 miles to get there so why not enjoy!

Frank had the special of the day...scallops and shrimp with marinated vegetables in a garlic and herb pesto sauce. I chose the sauteed medley of fresh vegetables with shrimp served over the most delicious cheese grit cakes. Delicious!! They also had the best house dressing that I am going to try to copy...Green Garlic Ranch. We certainly enjoyed our luncheon and wish we were closer to Apalachicola to try some of the other menu items at The Owl. It all looked so good!

After lunch we walked the streets stopping in the little shops to browse. We needed the exercise after such a lovely lunch. We didn't buy much...just our magnet. We keep souvenir magnets on our fridge in the coach reminding us of our travels...getting to be a rather large collection! There was also a fudge shop that I couldn't resist so we picked out one piece each of a favorite treat. Later in the afternoon, we stopped by this little corner cafe for a piece of Key Lime Pie...we shared!

After leaving the village, we decided to drive over the bridges to St. George Island. There is a system of long long bridges that span over the inland waters that connect to the island. The bridges are about 3 miles each in water span. There really wasn't much on the island...just lots of beach houses, but again, just too isolated for us!

So the day was a long one...driving, eating, and driving again. I don't think we would ever make the trip back over from Destin, but we would go again if we just happened to be in the area.



Apalachicola Fishing Boats


Crossing the Bridge