Life in the Slow Lane (The Pearl): Oct. 20

Apalachicola City Wharf

"We who adventure upon the sea, however humbly, cannot but feel that we are more fortunate than ordinary people, for we have something which we cannot tell, nor they understand" -Claud Worth

We've been on the move for 12 days straight...the last three have been very long days, so today we slept in, had coffee on the aft deck and only traveled 26 miles. After yesterday we really needed a day to relax. We are docked at the city wharf in Apalachicola, right in the middle of all the shops, restaurants and shrimp boats. As soon as we docked we walked over to Boss Oyster for lunch. We each had a Poor Boy…the best shrimp and oysters we’ve had in a long time. We spent the afternoon wandering around town looking in the little shops and visiting with people.

Apalachicola’s history is tied to cotton production and the fishing industry. It provides 90% of the oysters consumed in Florida and a sizable chunk of the national consumption. It’s called the Oyster Capital of the World, but oystering only became king after the local cotton industry began to wane and the sponge industry moved down the coast after depleting local sponge colonies. Before the development of railways in the Gulf states, Apalachicola was the third busiest port in the Gulf of Mexico (behind New Orleans and Mobile). Today the town also has a growing industry in tourism, offering quaint B&Bs, waterfront parks, wonderful seafood restaurants and cute little boutiques. Apalachicola means "land of the friendly people" in the language of its original Native American inhabitants and it is certainly what we’ve found the two times we have been here. You can definitely tell you are back in the south when you visit with the local people…everyone is very friendly, courteous, helpful and has that southern drawl. It’s nice to be back in the south.

We've seen a record breaking number of eagles this year...we "almost" don't get excited anymore (almost).