Oysters

This past Friday night, I was in a local restaurant serving Apalachicola oysters. Being close to the end of April, I was a little apprehensive about ordering oysters, but I knew the restaurant to have a good reputation for freshness and quality. So with worries aside, I ordered a dozen on the half shell. With the exception of one that seemed to taste a little funny, I thoroughly enjoyed the delicacy.

The wonderful thing about food from one's home is that there are so many memories and associations. To me this is "Soul food". Now, I have never harvested an oyster in my life so I can't claim to have the same experiences as those who lived by working the oyster bars. Nonetheless, I like to think that my being from North Florida gives me a unique association to oysters.

I think about Granny making oyster soup and how she revered it as a delicacy. I also remember my first job out of college at the Leon County courthouse and how Buddy Holmes would tell stories about eating oysters in the old County courthouse parking lot on payday. Then there was local woman famed for being the World's Fastest Oyster Shucker. She was featured on a TV show called "That's Incredible". I can’t remember if it was before or after her being on TV, but she worked briefly down at the bottom of the hill at Lewis Seafood.

I’ve also heard stories about how my Grandfather would gather oysters in the back waters of the bay between St Teresa and Alligator point. I only know my Grandfather through these stories, so it is through the oyster that I can imagine a man who probably shared the same feelings of being blessed to experience St Teresa and this part of the Gulf coast.

Map of St Teresa

I found a cool way to link a map of St Teresa to this blog. Thanks to the folks at Wayfaring it is pretty easy to create a map and set up points of interest. Look for updates to the map to show all the nearby sites and attractions.

Afternoon Reading

On sunny days, it is a good idea to minimize your sunburn risk. The last thing you want to do is get a bad sunburn early in the vacation. I actually like to use the middle of the day to make any necessary preparations for fishing later in afternoon. Sometimes this means making a run to Crum's MiniMall for ice, tackle and snacks.

Of course this is always a good time for a little pleasure reading. So it's a good idea to bring a book or two to read, or else you will find yourself reading one of the Lewis Grizzard books that has found a permanent home at the beach house. Of course, it's not a bad time to take a nap either. All that fresh air can really take it out of you.

Turtles

Over the last couple of summers, I've started seeing more and more sea turtles on the Alligator Point spit. I don't ever remember seeing them growing up out in the water other than the occasional baby turtle you might see swimming along the grass line. I would guess that the re-emergence of the turtles in the bay is directly due to the net ban enacted back in the mid 90s. I still remain opposed to the net ban because I think it does more harm than good. Franklin County was home to a number of commercial fisherman and their families who depended on saltwater nets for their livelihood. Taking away the nets hurt the local fishing industry and as a result forced the county leaders to seek new ways to put the waterfront to use. Long story short, in comes the big development company, which is now transforming the region.

We may see more turtles today, but will that be the case when there are more recreational boats in the water and more runoff of fertilizers and pesticides from the newly developed lawns and golf courses making their way into the Gulf. Not too mention that many of the areas where the turtles would nest will now be challenged by greater human contact.

St Marks

St Marks and Wakulla Springs are two nearby places that are worth taking a day trip. You can check out the links I have posted to get indepth information on both locations, but both places have a strong place in early Florida history. The Spanish landed at St Marks and strategically built a fort where the St Marks and Wakulla Rivers meet. Out from St Marks is the National Wildlife Refuge and Lighthouse. If you want to see a real gator in the wild, a trip into the park will almost guarantee at least one sighting.

Near the fort is the world's famous Posey's Oyster Bar. I'd recommend sticking to the "R" months on the oysters. It has been a couple years since my visit, but my buddy Wayne got a bad oyster when I was last there. Fortunately it all came out before we got to Woodville.


Wakulla Springs is known for being the largest freshwater spring in the world, or at least in terms of gallons of water that it pumps out on a daily basis. It is also the location where the old Tarzan movies were made as well as "Creature from the Black Lagoon". The Jungle Boat ride is always entertaining and well worth the ticket price. If we are lucky, the guide Christa and I had will still be giving the tour... "Ice cococola"

Wakulla Springs was also a home for St Joe Paper Company Founder Ed Ball. I guess Ed Ball really enjoyed the wild natural beauty of Florida. Too bad St Joe and Arvada don't see it that way today.

June Vacation

Since we are just two months away from the trip to Saint Teresa Beach, Florida. I thought it would be helpful for everyone to get a taste of what to expect. I am very excited about having guests to a place that is very special to me.

For this introductory blog, I will begin by sharing the important information of how to get there and some tidbits on things you need to think about before you head on down. Look for future blogs to list the nearby attractions and activities ofthings to do while in the area.

Getting There
The closest airport to St. Teresa is the Tallahassee, FL airport. Looking at fares this afternoon, both Continental and Northwest are running just over $300 per person round trip. The airlines that fly in and out of Tallahassee are the forementioned two airlines plus Delta and US Airways. The other airports that are nearby are Panama City (70 miles), Valdosta (100 miles) and Jacksonville (180 miles).

What to Expect...

The Weather
June is a great time of year to be on the Gulf Coast. The weather is usually pretty nice as temperatures will range somewhere in the 90s with maybe a day or two over 100. Hurricane season doesn't officially begin until June 30th, so I don't expect tropical weather to be a factor. We may get a thunderstorm while we are there, which can be pretty entertaining if you have never been in a real thunderstorm before... KA-BOOM!

The humidity will be something that will hit you and take a day or two to acclimate. As soon as you walk out of the airport, you will feel the sweet thick Florida air. Don't expect too many good hair days, but at least you will know that your skin is going to benefit from the moist air and swimming in salt water.

Living with Nature
We have lots of insects in Florida, but there are really only 3 that you need to take precautions against: Mosquitos, Yellow Flies and Deer Flies. There is plenty of bug repellant and spray at the house. These pests will attack any time you are outside, but you tend to be safer the closer you are to the beach. If you are out in the yard or especially behind the house, you are more likely to get bitten.

The bugs also tend to come out in greater numbers in the early morning and late evening or any time immediately after a rain. We also have sand fleas or "no-see-ums" which you can't see, but just give you this general sense of itchiness. Avon makes a product very popular in Florida called "Skin So Soft". If you don't mind smelling all sweet and flowery, it does help on all the bugs. Whenever there is a breeze out we don't have to worry about bugs.

The other thing that you may notice is that the biting bugs might bother one person, but not another. What you eat is what you sweat, and what you sweat is what either attracts or doesn't attract the bugs. My advice to you if are prone to attracting insects is to avoid sweets and increase your intake of onions, garlic and vinegar both before the trip and while you are there. We'll also make sure to have some antihistamine as that can help relieve any itching and swelling with the bites.

You can also expect ants (if you leave food out), non-biting bugs drawn to lights, and the occasional cockroach. People get freaked out about cockroaches, but they don't bite and want to get away from you as much as you want to get away from them.

Smoked Mullet and Crackers
Get ready for some great seafood. One of the best parts about vacationing in Florida is the abundance of fresh seafood. You won't find fresher seafood than what you caught hours earlier in the day.

Fishing in the bay can be really exciting for those who don't mind casting a line. Either of the nearby flats can be good for Speckled Trout, redfish and flounder. Sometimes you get lucky and even pull in a Spanish Mackeral, Pompano, Cobia or Grouper. Going a bit further out to the reef, we can troll for Spanish Mackeral and Bluefish. The action out there can be tremendous.

Anyone who plans to fish in Florida is required to have a saltwater fishing license, which is a reasonable $16.50 for a 7 day license. We have a couple of trolling rods to take out to the reef, and I believe that there are a couple of spinning rods in working order for those who would rather fish on the flats. For anyone who wants to learn how to catch mullet (the fish not the fella in the picture), we have a couple of cast nets.

Living in 3/4 Time
Life is a lot slower in North Florida and especially along the Coast. Aside from the guaranteed boating adventure, it should be very relaxing and a good time to catch up on reading or just sitting on the front porch in a rocking chair and taking it all in.