Apalachicola

Before we left Torreya, we did a little exploring - of course! I took one day to drive down to Apalachicola - due south of the park. Remember? That was the day I heard Tim McGraw sing his 'Southern Voices' song on XM radio. Sure it's a really great and popular song, but what are the odds exactly on hearing McGraw croon "Apalachicola" on my way to Apalachicola?!!!! I mean, c'mon!!!!!

Wanna see something really weird?

On the way, I stopped to investigate this unusual wildflower! Maybe there are some of you who will recognize and know what this is, but I sure didn't!

If anything, it looked like maybe an alien life form! I mean can't you just hear the sound that one underneath piece would make as it moved down and opened up the flower?!! Some kind of metal, hydraulic, scraping sound, I'd imagine. And then all these weird little things suddenly pop out of the flower, transform into hideous creatures, and take over the planet. No? Well, maybe too many scary movies. But I don't watch those. Things that make you go "hmmm...."

(OK, I later discovered this is the flower for the pitcher plant! So, it is pretty strange after all!!! Those plants are carnivorous!!!!! Their 'pitchers' hold water to drown insects that get lured in by different things, depending on the type of pitcher plant - could be the color, or a sweet, nectary smell, or even a stinky, decaying smell! More photos and factoids here: http://waynesword.palomar.edu/carnivor.htm)

A pretty, and less anxiety-producing wildflower. It looks to me like the kind of flower that colonizes after a burn.

These forests had to be monoculture logging tracts. And it did look like periodic burns must be conducted in the maintenance of them.

Apalachicola wasn't really that big of a deal. I guess it has a mystique and charm because it's a remnant of the "old Florida." I did enjoy it, but it wasn't a wow experience. However, I was wowed by something there - the food!!! At least at this one restaurant...

No, I didn't get any of these. As much as I love chocolate... I was just admiring the outdoor sign from my indoor table, wondering who exactly would see the sign and think "ooooo, YUMMY!!!!!!" And while Bill loves those chocolate-covered caramel and pecan turtles, I'm not sure that these turtles would quite be the same...!?! Ya just gotta wonder...

"That Place Off 98" had absolutely wonderful food. The BEST calamari I have ever had!!!!!!!!!! I've never had it prepared that way. Hmm, I wonder how long it'd take to drive from Quebec to Apalachicola? Or maybe it's on the way back home to San Diego? No? Not even close? Oh well, maybe we should just winter in Apalachicola!!

A stop at Lafayette Park.

A very nicely-kept little park...

with a neat walkway out over the marsh.

Entrepreneur!

Quite the bridge.

A sailor's dream...

A late afternoon stop before the long drive back to Torreya - St. George Island. I loved these cute, tall houses! It was like San Francisco with gaps!

While I'm generally not a big beach person (a mountain person!), St. George was pretty neat. Sand dunes right down to the water, and all unsullied (at least in the park - the rest of the island was pretty developed). The other cool thing about this beach were all the big ol' chunks of seashells - looked like mostly scallop shells.

Pretty water.