The three boats Trinity, Sirius, and us woke up to a beautiful sunrise. We were all leaving at about the same time, so off we went! The trip today is about 66 miles, so we have a long day ahead of us. We will be traveling on the Intracoastal Waterway, crossing a few lakes and bays, until we reach our destination. Once we get to Apalachicola, we will be close to the end of the Intracoastal Waterway until it starts again farther south in Florida at Tarpon Springs.
We had a fairly uneventful trip and got to see some beautiful country. The dolphins would pop up and scare the crap out of me when they jump out in front of the boat without warning. Sometimes they would swim alongside of us and we would see them and expect it, but when they jumped out of nowhere it always startles me. I know its silly, but I feel like I’m going to run them over, even though they swim three times as fast than we’re actually moving. We tried getting pictures but of course every time we get our phone or camera ready, they would disappear. The palm trees, winding rivers and setting in general is quintessential Florida. Although the temperature hasn’t been hot yet, we definitely feel like we’re in Florida. Sirius had to slow down to fix a fuel issue they have been having and Trinity stayed with them while we continued on as the scout. We stayed a few miles ahead of them, but not too far.
Once we got to our destination, we called the marina to verify our dock number. They informed me they have moved us to another slip, and we will be in the first slip we come to. As we came down the river, it was hard to tell where their slips actually start. We accidentally passed it a bit on the approach, and I was trying to turn the boat around, which wasn’t easy as I was fighting a current and wind. I had the boat turned and was in a good position to back it in, when Lauren yelled out “don’t forget about the dinghy!”. Crap- I had forgot it was back there and backing in was a no-go with it back there. At this point all I could do was keep trying to get turned around so we could pull right in. There were several people at the dock waiting to assist us, and today we were the show! I finally got us turned around and headed back toward the dock and was able to bring us in with only a slight bump, but definitely in need of the extra hands waiting to assist. Once we got secured, our friends Trinity were turning into the river where the marina is. I walked down to assist them at their dock and watched as they struggled with the current as well. They got secured and we knew Sirius was not far behind. I went back and re-adjusted our lines and bumpers and made sure everything was ship shape. Sirius was pulling in and I walked down to assist them as well. They pulled in with no issues, like there wasn’t even a current or wind. Good for them!
Apalachicola is located in what is called “The Forgotten Coast”. This was coined in the early 1990s, by the Apalachicola Bay Chamber of Commerce. The name is most commonly used to refer to a relatively quiet, undeveloped and largely uninhabited section of coastline stretching from Mexico Beach on the Gulf of Mexico to St. Marks on Apalachee Bay. Once we were all settled, we agreed to meet for dinner at one of the local restaurants. Lauren and I were excited for the oysters, as more than 90% of Florida’s oyster production is harvested from Apalachicola Bay. We all met at the restaurant Up The Creek Raw Bar. We had oysters and sandwiches and thoroughly enjoyed our time together there. After dinner the others retired back to the boat while Lauren and I went on to see what else is around town. The town is quite charming and everyone was driving golf carts around. We walked around and found what else but a local brewery! Oyster City Brewing Company was on a corner as we toured the town. We decided to stop for one, because why not!? They were getting ready to close up, as a lot of the shops and restaurants in town close early. This was a Saturday night and it was only 8pm! We got two beers and sat outside on their patio table on the sidewalk while they closed up shop. They told us to take our time and not worry they were closing, but to enjoy ourselves. The people in this town are overly friendly and nice. We had our beer and decided to move on. We heard some live music around the corner and went to check that out. We ended up at the Bowery Station, a cool little bar with live music. We had a couple of $2 beers and enjoyed the music. We sat on the patio for a bit and just enjoyed the evening. Eventually we decided to head back to the boat, and as we were close to the marina, we could hear more live music coming from down the street at the next marina over. We looked at each other and decided to check that out too. We found ourselves at the Half Shell Dockside at the Scipio Creek Marina and had a beverage and listened to their band for a bit. Finally we decided we had better head back to our marina and get some sleep. We had booked a few days here due to some rain and weather that was heading our way, so we knew we could sleep in. As we were leaving the marina, a golf cart came zipping up from behind us and I put out my thumb, being funny. The cart came to a slow roll and the guy yelled out “tuck and roll! I’ll pick you up, but I ain’t stopping!” Lauren and I hustled over and the cart had a few people on it but there was room on the very back. He did stop and let us get on, then asked where to? We told him the Water Street Hotel, which is where our marina was, and he dropped us off there. We laughed the whole way there, and once he stopped to let us out I thanked him and he said “That’ll be ten bucks!” My mouth must have dropped open because he laughed and said “it’s all good- just messing with you!” and took off down the road. When I say they have nice people here, I cannot emphasize that enough.
Day 2- The next day was Sunday, and we hung out while it rained and watched the Browns beat the Steelers. Wait- they lost. I could go on about this, but I’ll try to not let it ruin my day again. Lauren kept telling me to stop yelling and swearing so loud as people were around to hear. I tried, but the Browns made me do it. After that debacle was over, we went for a walk around town again, this time with Frank. We walked around and ended up stopping at another local place Apalachicola Ice Company. They were very dog friendly and we sat on the patio and relaxed while they started up some karaoke. We hung out for a bit then went back to the boat for dinner. The rest of the night was uneventful and Frank enjoyed every minute of attention he received and his time on land.
Day 3- The rain had started overnight and continued a bit the next morning. When it finally stopped raining, we took the bikes for a tour of more of the city and surrounding areas. The town only has a population of about twenty two hundred, so its not that big. We rode around and saw a museum which is where the first patented ice machine was developed. This was also the beginning of the air conditioning invention, right here in Apalachicola, Florida. We continued on to the public pier and then to a cemetery where a few famous locals are buried and memorialized. We stopped and picked Frank up some homemade treats at a local pet shop and grabbed some supplies from the Piggly Wiggly market. We even rode to the next town to find an oyster shucker, which we found in an ACE Hardware for $5, whereas all the shops in town had them for $26 or more! We planned on getting a bag of oysters to shuck tomorrow before we leave, as when we stopped today we were told they wouldn’t have any oysters until tomorrow, so we want to be prepared. As we were heading back we received a call from our friends that they were at the Ice Company and we should stop there to join them, so stop we did. We enjoyed everyone’s company then a blues band started playing. They were great, but it was too loud for conversation, so we all went on our way back to the marina and our boats for the night.
Tomorrow we will be heading to Carrabelle, which is the last stop on the Intracoastal Waterway before we jump across the Gulf and down south to pick it up again.