Visit to Apalachicola

This morning we headed out on our next RVing adventure.  After leaving Panama City, we crossed the bridge towards Tyndall AFB and were on our way east through the Mexico Beach area.  This area became known as the Forgotten Coast but it is definitely worth visiting.  There are a lot of state parks and forests which are a lot less crowded than the Emerald Coast from Panama City west and every bit as beautiful.  Hwy 98 runs along the coast.

There are pine forests and palm trees and miles of uncrowded white beaches.

You might see someone para-sailing in the Mexico beach area.

Steve and Helen's mascot joined us in New Orleans and was along for this trip as well.

Our first stop was in Apalachicola.  “Apalach“, as it is known by locals, was established way back in 1831.  It was once the third largest port on the Gulf of Mexico but is a small oyster and fishing now.  Known for it’s fine oysters.  Apalachicola harvests over 90% of the oysters sold in Florida and 10% of the nationwide supply. Smaller open bay boats, are either moored or trailered each day, and go out to hunt for oysters in the shallow areas of Apalachicola Bay.

We found a great place to park the truck and 5th wheel in the shade under the large bridge heading out of town.  It was right across from the city offices, a park, and a boat launch and mooring area and only two blocks from the main area of town.  We fixed a quick lunch of sandwiches before we headed out to see the local sights.

There are many historic buildings and homes in this town as well as a couple of museums.  Although we didn't have time to visit, the first ice machine was built here and there is a museum.

Down near the bay, we found this ancient boat "moored" on Water St.  Looks like it has been beached for some time.

There are also some interesting stores to visit including some antique stores.  Morgan was quick to spot this unusual place.

We found another interesting garden type store that was outdoors right on one of the main streets.  In addition to plants, they had lots of interesting garden and patio type items.  The owner was making more items in an open air work area at the back of the "shop".

If you look closely just to the left of the stop sign, you will see something interesting.

It is a "retired sponge diver".  The store had all kinds of natural sponges in addition to handmade soap and antiques for sale.

This was one of the many boats moored along the dock area.

It was another really hot, humid day in Florida and we were glad to find this old-fashioned soda fountain.  Between the five of us, we sampled a chocolate soda, root beer float, cup of ice cream, and a real fountain cherry vanilla Dr Pepper.

We stopped to play for a few minutes at a nice little park close to where we were parked.

In case you were wondering, the Traveling Longdogs (Willy, Gretchen, and Harley) were hard at work guarding the RV while we were touring the town.  Actually, they were comfortably snoozing in the breeze pulled through the RV by the MaxxAir fan.