Anybody in or familiar with Appalachicola, FL?

We're going for about two weeks in February, because Bob thought it looked like a great place for fishing and not freezing to death while avoiding the crowds of warmer south Florida. We're also on a scouting mission, to find a place to stay for about 3 months next winter (Jan-Aprilish).

We're staying in a house in Alligator Point on the water. We'll have kayaks and do some hiking along with day trips to St. George Island and surrounding areas.

Is anybody located in that area who can tell me where to eat, and what to do? Thanks!

You like oysters? Maybe harvest some? I know nothing of the license required or if there is a 'season' but...they has oysters.

Wish I could help but the panhandle is an area that I almost never visit except for PCB when I was a kid.

YooperBrew said:

We're going for about two weeks in February, because Bob thought it looked like a great place for fishing and not freezing to death while avoiding the crowds of warmer south Florida. We're also on a scouting mission, to find a place to stay for about 3 months next winter (Jan-Aprilish).

We're staying in a house in Alligator Point on the water. We'll have kayaks and do some hiking along with day trips to St. George Island and surrounding areas.

Is anybody located in that area who can tell me where to eat, and what to do? Thanks!

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Spent some time down there a couple years ago cleaning up some parks.

It'll be nice during the day, but it gets real cold at night. You may have an 85 degree day and have it be 30 at 3am. I think I was down there in march?

LOVE oysters, and plan on getting them as often as I can.

I know it'll be cold in February, so I'm a little ambivalent about going. I'm always cold, as it is, so I know I won't be getting a beach vacation.

I told Bob that it might only be in the 50s while we are there, and I was concerned about that. He pointed out that it'll still be at least 50 degrees warmer there than here. I thought he had a good point, so I agreed.

I usually love the tropics, and love Eleuthera (not really tropical, though), Belize, Barbados, St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, etc. I'm still hoping for a short stay in Vieques next winter, but we have a big dog and little money, so we can't rent someplace out of the country for 3 months. We can probably afford Florida Panhandle, possibly the Gulf coast of Texas, etc.

We MUST have water. No Arizonia for us- fishing, kayaking, wading, snorkeling, canoeing, etc, is required.

YooperBrew said:

We MUST have water. No Arizonia for us- fishing, kayaking, wading, snorkeling, canoeing, etc, is required.

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hey now - we can do all of that in Arizona!

it's not just a desert with a bunch of tumbleweeds blowing around and cowboys shooting each other!

Just across the bridge from Alligator Point is the small town of Panacea. There you will find Angelo's Seafood Restaurant. Excellent Seafood. Expensive, but wonderful. I recommend it.

In Appalachicola, there's the Gibson Inn a hotel/restaurant. Never been there, but I hear it's nice. You also might like checking out the antique shops there.

If fishing is your thing, I can recommend an excellent guide for in-shore fishing. I've been on a few grouper (off shore) charters from this area over the years, although I don't usually fish in the cold of February.

Farther north is Tallahassee, the largest nearby city (State capital & home of Florida State University). Tally has your usual collection of restaurant chains, a couple of malls, Imax theater downtown. Other local points of interest around there include:

Mary Brogan Museum of Arts & Sciences
http://www.thebrogan.org/

St. Marks Trail (hiking)
http://www.bigring.com/Trail/trail.html

hiking trails around Leon County Sinks Geological Area
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/gwt/guide/regions/panhandleeast/trails/leon_sinks.htm

MacLay Gardens
http://www.floridastateparks.org/MACLAYGARDENS/

Bradfordville Blues Club
http://www.bradfordvilleblues.com/

Fermentation Lounge
http://www.thefermentationlounge.com/

Liquor Loft (excellent variety of beers)
http://www.ll100proof.com/

Ray's Steel City Saloon
http://www.rayssteelcity.com/

Marianna has the caverns to explore:
http://www.floridastateparks.org/floridacaverns/

Hope this helps; not sure what you are specifically interested in. Lemme know if you have any questions.

Cheers!

AZ_IPA said:

hey now - we can do all of that in Arizona!

it's not just a desert with a bunch of tumbleweeds blowing around and cowboys shooting each other!

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I didn't mean to imply it was! I lived in AZ for a while, and loved it there. Of course, I was in Ft. Huachucha and thought the climate was perfect.

We're very much into small bodies of fresh water, with streams and rivers. I love the beach, but usually we will kayak and fish in small lakes. I like south Florida a lot, but Bob hates crowds even more than I do so we're not thinking about that beyond visiting.

I have never heard of it so I did a search and they say it is a place where you can see Florida "as it was", that sounds cool. Must have been an unusual place for the first northerners to settle down there many years ago, today it wouldn't seem to be that big of a deal. When I go down to the Jersey shore you can tell which houses were there for a very long time and they were probably pretty isolated, not today.

I like those off beat places myself especially if the are by water.

YooperBrew said:

I didn't mean to imply it was! I lived in AZ for a while, and loved it there. Of course, I was in Ft. Huachucha and thought the climate was perfect.

We're very much into small bodies of fresh water, with streams and rivers. I love the beach, but usually we will kayak and fish in small lakes. I like south Florida a lot, but Bob hates crowds even more than I do so we're not thinking about that beyond visiting.

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Yeah, not much water down by the Fort!

You'd like the Pinetop, AZ area - lots of small bodies of water for fishing, canoeing, etc.

yeah, there's not much in Alligator Point but a campground & marina with a bar/restaurant.

St. George is beautiful, but I assumed you already were planning on going there:
http://www.floridastateparks.org/stgeorgeisland/

And since you mentioned kayaking, you'll probably be interested in the Ochlockonee River State Park which isn't far from where you will be staying:
http://www.floridastateparks.org/ochlockoneeriver/default.cfm

Man, A granny and winters in Florida. You ARE getting old

IrregularPulse said:

Man, A granny and winters in Florida. You ARE getting old

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Jealous, huh? :rockin:

The only "sad" part is being away from my hockey team from January-April. I will probably still play October- January, though.

IrregularPulse said:

Man, A granny and winters in Florida.

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Does that make her a GILF?!




...granny I'd lend Fuggles...

Wish I had seen this thread before, I thought I was paying attention.

It looks like tallybrewer filled you in on the highlights. +1000 on Angelo's!
Apalachicola is not too far and fun to walk around. It has slowly evolved into a fishing and artist community.

As far as kayaking, there are plenty of good places within an hour or so of Aligator Point.

My Favorites:
Wacissa River
St. Marks/Wakulla River
New River/Carabelle River

If you like relaxed, you are heading to the right part of Florida. If it were anymore relaxed, it would be uninhabited. But I love the area.

Enjoy!

Swmbo and I rented a place on Cape San Blas - just 15-20 miles west of Apalachicola - a couple years ago. This was in late Jan/early Feb and the beaches were nearly deserted. It was warm in the day but chilly at night. Best part about where we stayed? DOG FRIENDLY BEACHES! Our German Shepherds were welcome both in the rental house and on the beach...

We did make a day trip to Apalachicola. Had some tasty po'boys and took in the sights. We spent most of our week exploring the area parks and beaches. Cape San Blas turns into this super long peninsula which is home to St. Joseph Peninsula State Park. We would head into Port St. Joe for supplies, beer (Sweetwater 420 was easily available), fresh seafood, and the local Mexican joint for burritos and margaritas. It was nice to have those fairly close but to be able to leave it all behind...

I'm sure you're familiar with vrbo.com That's how we booked our place.