Apalachicola & Carrabelle

Wednesday, October 19 - Saturday, October 22, 2016

Finally, we think we will get a weather window by the weekend and are on the move east.  We pass through a couple of land cuts / rivers, similar to those between Panama City and Port St. Joe.  Lake Wimico, shown here, lies between the cuts.

After an uneventful 30 mile, 4 hour cruise we arrive in Apalachicola.  The view from our dock on Scipio Creek illustrates the working seaport character of this small town.

l

The other face of this town is an upscale tourist destination with gorgeous, restored homes and city buildings dating to the 1830s when this was a major cotton shipping center.

Dr. John Gorrie practiced medicine in Apalachicola in the 1850s.  Motivated to relieve the suffering of his yellow fever patients, he designed the first known ice machine as a

way to cool the air in paient's rooms.  Although his motive was altruistic, his first public demonstration of his invention was at an elegant dinner party where his ice cooled many bottles of French champagne.





One of numerous historical buildings in town is the St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church.  Founded in 1866, the church is still active.

Lots of fun shops cater to a mix of tourists coming from all over the southeastern states.  Robert found lots to look at, including a fly fishing shop and this high-end outfitter.

Boka even found her favorite shop.  Free treat samples - yum!










Lot's of old, restored buildings offered important items for purchase.










We had a delightful dinner at this upscale restaurant.

Our marina provided a golf cart to get around town.  We had a blast exploring.








This nice city pier extends into Apalachicola Bay.

A small but well maintained botanical garden was Carolyn's favorite stop.  She also enjoyed a gallery opening on Friday night.

We stayed in Apalachicola for a couple of nights longer than our original plan to wait for a cold front to blow through.  We are now heading to Carrabelle for our final stop in the Florida panhandle.

Our route crossed Apalachicola Bay and St. George Sound - lots of open, choppy, muddy water to dirty the boat, as the north wind is still blowing pretty hard.  After 30 miles and about 4 hours, we are at the mouth of the Carrabelle River.

At our marina for the night, we are invited to a big fish fry setting up right next to our slip.  Turns out the marina owner organized the event for a few of the local boaters and his friends.  We ate great locally-caught fish and met some interesting people.

The "looper" boats are starting to catch up to us.  Two other boats are planning "the crossing" in the next couple of days.  We are now safely in Clearwater, but I will save details of our passage for the next post.  Stay tuned ...