Things to do in Sopchoppy

Image by Sopchoppy.net

Last month we picked a Friday evening to tryout the Backwoods Bistro in Sopchoppy. The pizza was good, but what I remember most was the tiled alligator inlay counter. We have a bit of an alligator theme in our home so it was a lot of fun to see some clever decorating on the part of the Bistro folks. They also have free wireless internet, which is very helpful if you just can't wait to send out photos of a prize fish caught earlier that day.

June is obviously a busy time for restaurants along (or not too far from) the Gulf Coast, but you can't help but feel like Sopchoppy is a little town that might be primed for a bit more traffic. The town is only 11 miles north from the coast and it is nestled in between the Apalachicola National Forest and the Sopchoppy and Ochlockonee Rivers. I was hoping to grab the kayak and paddle a part of the Sopchoppy River one afternoon, but I didn't get a chance on this trip.

There is a new train depot under construction/renovation in town as well. I haven't been able to find out through Google what might be going in there. With the convenience of the internet, you often take for granted "word-of-mouth" information.

We also stumbled upon an open microphone bluegrass jam at Butterfield's Roadhouse (aka The Frog and Hummingbird Co.) It was a packed room and with a small toddler we didn't intend to stay more than a few minutes. We found out from the owner that jams take place the second and fourth Thursdays each month. If you like folk music, I would highly encourage an evening of pizza and music in Sopchoppy.

For more on Butterfield's Roadhouse, click here.

Morning Dew

Last month I was having some difficulties with my job. As a result, I would wake up early in the morning unable to fall back asleep. On one particular morning, I used my insomnia and the ethereal calm to take a walk on the beach. I grabbed the camera unsure subconsciously feeling like there might be something to be captured.

I captured this photo one morning when I couldn't sleep. It reminds me that sometimes when things aren't going your way you need to stop and appreciate the world around you. If I had been able to sleep that morning, I would have missed it.

Original Inhabitants

I've been debating over the past few weeks whether to make this post. After a lot of thought I've decided to go ahead as it is a very interesting chapter in North Florida History.

Earlier this month, I came across a spot in the shallow water where I found approximately 50 pottery sherds. My initial thought was that the period of inhabitants who were the most likely creators of this pottery to be Muskogee. After a bit of layman's research into the pottery patterns, it seems more likely that the shards are Apalachee, which dates the pottery to be at least 500 years old. I reached this conclusion after research on the following sites:
Mission San Luis Collection
Shell Point History
Swift Creek