Posted later because of no internet connection on St. George Island.  Written 1/31/2012

Well, I spent the better part of the day today (1/31/12) in Apalachicola, which is just as sweet as can be.  Lots of odd shops (many with various kinds of sea sponges for sale), antiques, and an impressive array of outfitters.  But there is nothing self-important about this town, and I really liked it for that.  Spent the first part of my visit doing (for a change) EXACTLY what I had planned – enjoying a latte at a funky internet café with a beautiful picture book on the area’s wildlife.   Then I just wandered, finding little galleries here and there, and finally a really, really nice bookstore (Downtown Books) whose owners make the very best of their modest space.  Going into places like this makes me guilty of my Kindle, and I always buy a decent book to ease my conscience . . .  More about the Kindle, though, at some point down the road. . .

Apalachicola is a real fishing village, right down to the smells.  The catch is largely shellfish – shrimp, clams, and oysters from large bays, fed with fresh water from several rivers.  Small processing plants sit all along Water Street, without apology to whomever might want to grab that waterfront land for mansions on stilts. My café was looking out on a couple of them.  It reminded me of a miniature, nicely scrubbed Cannery Row; or even more of Petersburg in Canada which, as far as I recall, can only be reached by plane or boat.

  Shopkeepers and sidewalk sitters were uniformly friendly and unhurried.  Maybe summer is a nightmare of speed and congestion here; but today (and it was a beautiful one), all seemed peaceful and admirably self-contained in Apalachicola, which, by the way, has (like Provincetown, MA) a ban on franchises – no McDonald’s (etc.) here.  At least for now.  The whole “Forgotten Coast,” or Apalachicola Bay area, is in struggle to keep from becoming over-commercialized.  So far, from what I have been reading and seeing, they are succeeding. 

Went from the village back to the east and on to St. George Island, which is also part of the Apalachicola Bay area.  The ride over the bridge to the Island took care of my missing the drive out to the Keys this year.  Nice big lanes, nice big shoulders , and nice big water on both sides for at least 4 miles.  (I think I said earlier that the island is 9 miles out on the Gulf.  Mistake.  It is somewhere over 4 miles out and, I be3eive, 9 miles long.)The Island itself is not yet overwhelmed with development.  There are lots of those teetering manses, of course, hogging most of the beach access. But they are not (yet) overwhelming the landscape.  And  then even that stops with  the perfectly wonderful state park at the eastern end of the Island.  The ride into the campground is, I believe, another  4 miles of  absolutely beautiful windswept dunes.  Reminds me of the Province Lands, outside Provincetown on Cape Cod (one of my favorite places since I stumbled on it in 1971). It also reminds me of the northern part of Long Beach Island (NJ) back in the 1960s, before the development kicked in (although the north of that island is still not nearly so bad as the south in that regard).

 The beach here is supposed to be gorgeous (for a full 9 miles); and from what I have been reading in the book I got from that neat bookstore in Apalachicola, there are all sorts of wild things on the Island.  Tomorrow, I will go out exploring.  Our good friend, Sue Strong, who has come here a number of times, says one has to walk from the campground past a pond with alligators.  I’ll let you know about that.   If you don’t hear from me in a post dated tomorrow, you will know where to look . . . 

Apparently, St. George Island  is also a well-known breeding ground for Loggerhead turtles, some of which weigh over 300 lbs.  Apparently, these sea turtles never die of old age, but always of some discernible disease.  Too early in the season for the breeding; but I would like to come back some time when it’s going on. Apparently, one can sign on to the effort to get the babies away from predators and launched  to sea.  My kind of project, if ever there was one . . .

Now in the campground, I find it very nice, even though my particular site is not as rustic as some.  It’s marked as a “handicap” site, has a concrete pad, and is directly across from the loo and showers, which come complete with a ramp.  (I guess I looked  that old and feeble to the ranger checking me in. . ). . But my neighbors (once more, in their breathtaking rigs) are all friendly and busily walking their dogs much of the time, donning exactly the right gear to match the weather and temperature.  It  occurs to me that nearly everyone has at least one dog, and most have two (matching) dogs.  These are almost uniformly small dogs (e.g., King Charles Spaniels and Shih Tzuhs [sp?]),of the typese (certainly not Jack Russell terriers)  who tend to look perfectly bewildered at why anyone would be taking them away from their most comfortable rigs.  So, I was surprised and more touched than I can say when this evening an ancient couple came walking along with two equally ancient and impeccably groomed collies. 

           But again, the dogs makes me miss home.  Maybe I should have at least brought Yoshi the parrot with      me . .

I’ll stay here for the next few days, just taking it easy before heading for Tampa.  Haven’t an internet connection out here at sea, so I’ll be posting this sometime in the future.  This is really a great place.  Wish you were here.