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Sunday, February 17, 2002
 As you have probably already guessed Alligator Point is not the vacation spot for everybody. When we asked a local resident how far it was to Disney World and the response was "not far enough" and that about sums it up. If you are looking for tee shirt shops, putt putt golf, loud beach bars, or crowds this isn't the place for you. You can find whiter sand, clearer water, and more people to go with them a lot of places but we don't think you'll find a quieter more beautiful sunset any where than on our deck. You can walk miles of beaches with shelling, and wildlife viewing as spectacular as it comes just by going out the door. Don't get us wrong, there are lots of things to do around Alligator Point. You can make a 2 day trip and take in Disney World if you want to, but most of the things we like to do have more to do with the outdoors than tourist traps. We've listed a few of our favorite things, and some info to help you get started, but you will soon find that there is more to do than you have time for. The Alligator Point Tax Payers Association has recently developed a website it is at http://tlh.yourvillage.com/community/alligatorpoint/ we couldn't get everything to work, but did find it interesting, they seem to have some updated info on the marina and things.
Swim and enjoy the Beach! The beach here is wonderful. It is a clean sandy bottom and great clean salty water. If you know Alligator Point you know that some of the beaches can be muddy but this one is not. It also has no rocks, just shells and sand. Rob grew up on the Gulf in Florida and never had a problem with an occasionally soft bottom, however Kate is a Utah native and likes her bottoms hard. Our first Alligator Point house, the Gulf Breeze had a nice beach, but sometimes mud would collect behind the sand bar. Rob never noticed but Kate did and that is part of why we bought the new house and call it Kate's Dream.. no mud, no soft bottoms. It's the nicest beach on Alligator Point. The water is not rough and for some a bit too quiet; no surfing except during hurricanes. There is also little current and the water is relatively shallow. At high tide you usually find water over your head within a hundred feet or so of the beach, but at low tide you can often wade out much farther, but even at low tide the water is swimable depth, about chest deep depending on your height. So swim, and swim often, in summer Rob usually swims first thing in the morning, and several times during the day. Kate always takes a dip just before going to bed at night, and often swims with Rob during the day. The beach can really consume your time. We often go down with great plans for fishing trips and river expeditions that never happen; we just spend the days on the beach.
More on the Beach: We get asked a lot about the beach, how does it compare to Panama City, is the sand white, is the water clear etc. It is not the same as Panama City or Destin because of the Ochlockonee River. The Ochlockonee is a fairly large alluvial river that originates well up into Georgia. It discharges a lot of freshwater and sediments into Ochlockonee Bay and the Gulf about 7 miles east of our house. In this part of Florida the long shore currents are east to west, so the fresh water and sediments that come out of the Ochlockonee make their way to the west, this is the source of the sand that makes up Alligator Point. In contrast there are no significant alluvial rivers near Panama City or Destin. The result is we are closer to the source of the sediment and our sand is not quite as white and our water not as consistently clear as it is a 100 miles or so to the west. This same river water brings nutrients and so we have more fish than around Panama City or Destin. If you know Alligator Point and Bald Point we are about as far west, away from the Ochlockonee as you can get on the point, so our sand is whiter and water clearer than Bald Point and than most of Alligator Point. Our sand is pretty nice, it will look pretty white to you. Kate brings the sand home and uses it in "sand tray therapy" and her clients say it looks like sugar. But if you put it right next to Destin sand you will see a difference. The beaches between Panama City and Pensacola probably have the whitest sand in the world, a high standard to compare to. When the weather has been dry, or in winter our water can be crystal clear, but in summer it usually is not. Typically our water has a greenish color and 2 to 4 feet of visibility. We have no mud, just nice sandy bottom on and off our beach. What Panama City and Destin have that we don't are lots of people, tourists and development. We wouldn't trade Alligator Point for anything between Panama City and Pensacola. We were just down in Ft Lauderdale and can tell you our sand is a lot whiter and water just as clear as we saw there.
Rent a Canoe: There are lots of canoe trips you can take. The Canoe Shop in Tallahassee (1115-B W. Orange Ave. Tallahassee, FL 32310 (850) 576-5335) will rent you a canoe and carrier equipment for the week and if you like to canoe there are lots of possibilities. We have written about a few of our favorites below, if you go to the website at http://paddlenorthflorida.com/trips.html you will find a lot more. You can also rent canoes for shorter trips locally at the hwy. 98 bridge and other places. Kayaks are becoming increasingly popular and although Alligator Point is about 30 years behind the rest of the world we are starting to see a few kayaks. You may be able to rent them from The Canoe Shop as well. We are not kayak people so we don't know much about them, but the people we see in them seem to get around faster and easier than we do in our canoes.
Wakulla Springs: The biggest fresh water spring in the world. This is at the top of our list. No one should visit this part of the country without seeing it. You should take the river trip and see lots of alligators, birds and snakes in the wild. There are 2 boat rides both are worth doing. If you only do one, we recommend the river trip rather than the glass bottom boat. You can also swim (they have bathhouses) or have dinner in the restaurant. This is where the early Tarzan movies were filmed. For info call 222-7279 or maybe 922-3633, the lodge/restaurant is at 224-5950, all the phone numbers in the region are area code 850, just recently changed from 904.
 The Wakulla River: You can rent canoes on the southeast side of the highway 98 bridge where it crosses the river (the bridge is also a great place for kids to jump into the river, its a drop of about 20 feet, but the river's deep). You will see lots of wildlife anytime, in the warmer months look for manatee. The Wakulla News, a local weekly paper sold in most of the local shops, has a Manatee watch section to help you find them, and the lady who rents canoes is a real big help. We don't usually see them, but have seen as many as 14 on a single trip. If you do find a manatee just look and don't harass them. They are quite endangered, only a few hundred left in the world. We have never seen an adult without numerous propeller scars. Out board motors are hard on manatees. In summer manatees are actually scattered throughout Florida, that's the problem it is not possible to protect their entire habitat. We have had occasional sightings of manatee all over, but no where as consistently as in the Wakulla. As far as Rob is concerned, no one should visit this area without seeing the Wakulla.
The Wacissa River: This is a smaller and much less known version of the Wakulla River. It's a little further to drive, but well worth it. Drive east on 98 about 10 miles past the St. Marks river bridge. Then turn north on 59 and go about 12 miles to the small town of Wacissa (not much of a town, just a few houses). You'll come to a stop sign and have to turn one way or the other, turn right to get to the springs, it's less than a mile from the stop sign. At the springs there is just a small county park with no services; there is a small launching ramp, a high dive, and a great (but probably dangerous) rope swing. The park has no attendant, so no fee and no lifeguard either. Just going to the springs and swimming is great fun, but more interesting is canoeing or taking a small (very small) boat down the river. If you do have a boat there are a number of small springs you can get to that are worth seeing, Rob's favorite is about half a mile down stream. On the left as you go down stream there is a small tributary, you will see the tell-tale sign of a spring in the noticeable flow of crystal clear water coming out of it. Follow up it about 200 yards and you'll be on one of the most beautiful springs we've ever seen. Someone has anchored a small swimming platform and put a really hazardous looking rope swing here. If you go to the Wacissa on a week day you'll have it virtually to yourselves, on the weekend it becomes something of a red neck dipping vat, but that can be an interesting cultural experience, the natives are usually friendly. The Canoe Shop people (576-5335) in Tallahassee sometimes take a trailer of canoes down to the springs to rent, and can even arrange pickup down river. This is worth doing; the Wacissa has no Manatees (that we know of), but is one of the most virgin rivers in the south. You can rent canoes and car top carriers for the week from The Canoe Shop, this is worth considering there are lots of places you can canoe where canoes are not rented. When it's calm we even canoe short distances into the Gulf in front of the house.
Other rivers: We have three basic kinds of rivers, alluvial rivers, black water rivers, and spring fed rivers. Geologically most of Florida is karst limestone full of caves and fractures covered with a thin layer of sand. Most rain tends to soak into the ground rather than run off so unlike most of the eastern part of the US we have lots of springs and not many alluvial rivers. We do have lots of low lying areas where the groundwater intersects the ground surface, these are usually swamps and the rivers that drain these are the black water rivers. The Wakulla and Wacissa are the largest spring fed rivers in the area. Spring fed rivers are clear and the water tends to be at a constant year round temperature of about 70 degrees. The flow in spring fed rivers is more constant than in either of the others, after very heavy rains the flow in the Wakulla may be two or three times low flow. Spring fed rivers are many people's favorites. Alluvial rivers like the Ochlockonee and Apalachicola are rivers with large drainage basins originating well up into Georgia. Florida really has only 3 major alluvial rivers, the other being the Suwannee. The Suwannee however is really a mix of all three kinds of rivers, part alluvial, part spring fed and part black water. Alluvial rivers are the largest rivers in Florida and carry the most sediment. Their flow will vary greatly depending on season and rainfall; variation from high to low can be ten or one hundred times or more. Black water rivers are rivers like the Sopchoppy or New River that drain cypress swamps and low land, the result is that the water has a lot of tannic acid and is dark. These tend to be low flow rivers, and during a dry period they may nearly dry up. The Fenholloway River that flows from Perry to the Gulf (about 80 miles from Alligator Point is probably the blackest water you will ever see in a river, unfortunately it is not all natural. The Fenholloway is naturally a black water river, but it has been getting wastewater from a paper mill for many years, this is a very black discharge and has turned the river even blacker. It is a shame, the Fenholloway is a beautiful river, but it is now the only river in the state of Florida with a major industrial pollution problem.
A true redneck experience: A couple of years ago Rob had just licensed a boat and needed to put numbers on the boat, he went to a local (it will remain unnamed, but if you spend a week at Alligator Point you will probably stop there) marine supply store. Now this was not a new business, they had been selling a somewhat eclectic collection of boat supplies for over 50 years. When Rob asked where the numbers were he was directed to the back of the store. Against the wall was a collection of various numbers and letters, lots of everything except F and L. Now if you have never registered a boat you may not know the first two digits are always the State's abbreviation, in Florida F and L, in Georgia G and A, etc. They probably had over 50 of every other number and letter. Rob went back to the store manager and asked about Fs and Ls the manager responded: "yes sir, we are always running out of F's and L's, we never run out of anything else!" When Rob pointed out that every Florida boat needed at least one F and one L, the manager looked a bit surprised and said: "Is that right? No wonder we always run out of em, be we don't like to reorder while we still have so many of the other numbers and letters left". That happened a few years ago and last we looked they still have no F's or L's, lots of other numbers and letters, and the same manager.
A note on the use of the word "redneck": Rob uses the word frequently and it is not meant in a derogatory sense, in fact he is a Louisiana native raised in Florida with southern roots going back over 200 years. You don't get much more redneck than Rob himself. So if you are a redneck don't be insulted, you and Rob have something in common. If you aren't, Rob knows wherein he speaks. You may detect that Rob has the Southerner's fascination with history and heritage. One of Rob's greatgreatgreatgrandfathers was John Lee Williams the founder of Tallahassee about 1820. Williams was founder of modern day Tallahassee anyway, it was founded in the early 1600's and abandoned in the early 1700's by the Spanish, and was a major Native American settlement long before that. Rob has other family history in the area that is not so glorious. He has a copy of a letter written by one of his Tallahassee ancestors that refers to "needing to sell Sara". A reminder of some of our southern history we are not so proud of, but probably need to remember. So prepare to hear tidbits about local history and lore, some of which are most certainly true. Kate by the way is a native of Utah, and while she really likes Florida and the area she can get tired of the history lessons and redneck stories, and thinks sometimes Rob writes too much. So when we use the term redneck or joke about rednecks don't misunderstand us, we like the locals here, they are friendly, good people.. if they weren't we wouldn't have a house here.
On the way or the way back from the Wacissa you can take the dirt road from 59, about 5 miles south of Wacissa to the Natural Bridge monument. This is kind of interesting, the St. Marks flows underground into a limestone sink hole, and reemerges about half a mile away. The sinkhole is right next to the road and interesting; you can't really get to the spot where it comes back up. This is also the site of a Civil War monument, the Yankees lost the battle for Tallahassee here. Not much really happened in Florida during the war, and this is one of the few monuments. From there we like to drive south on the dirt road to Newport, just before you get to Newport you pass by the Newport spring. Another small limestone spring, kind of interesting, but not in the same class as Wakulla or Wacissa.
 The St. Marks Wildlife Refuge: Much of the land north and east of Alligator Point is in the Refuge. It is worth a visit to the headquarters on highway 98 east of the St. Marks River. We recommend that you continue on down the road past the headquarters building to the lighthouse. You'll see lots of wildlife along the way, and there are numerous hiking trails on the levee system that start from the road. Call 925-6121.
Apalachicola, the Franklin county seat, is an interesting old town. Apalachicola ("Apalach" as some of the locals call it) is at the mouth of the Apalachicola River, the largest river entering the Gulf of Mexico east of the Mississippi. Originally built as a cotton port in the 1820’s and 30’s (rumor has it the original slave auction house is still standing) it went though economic hard times after the civil war. In the late 1800’s the town enjoyed a second boom as a result of the timber industry. Logs were floated down from north Florida and Georgia. Offshore sponging was also big here about then. Apalach was at its heyday around the turn of the century. Today it is a sleepy town of less than 10,000, but many of the older homes and buildings remain and some have been restored. You may notice the Bubba Crum for Sheriff sign in the house, we aren't really political, but when Bubba ran for office we had to take one of his signs. Unfortunately, he lost to his brother, Sonny. Hopefully not for the loss of one sign.
When in Apalach eat at the Gibson Inn, an elegant restored old Hotel for a very nice dinner, the only kind of expensive one in the area (653-2191). Or at Boss Oyster’s and get a table on the dock where you can feed seagulls from your table, not formal or expensive.
Tallahassee, the state capital Lots of things to do here we think the old state capital, and FSU are worth seeing. If the archeological exhibit at the old St. Lewis site (the remains of an old Spanish mission built in about 1630) is open its worth seeing a bit of Florida's Spanish history. On this subject, Florida's pre US history is interesting but not well known, Florida was a part of the Spanish Empire for over 300 years, and has only been in the US about 175! Tallahassee also has shopping malls, dept. stores etc., almost like a big city.
Rent a canoe, houseboat, bike or kayak to explore, fish or exercise, from Gulf Coast Excursions, call 984-5895, or you can rent a canoe or kayak with car top carrier in Tallahassee at The Canoe Shop, 1115-B Orange Ave., 576-5335. The Canoe Shop rents canoes by the week, and if you rent several you can get a canoe trailer as well. If you enjoy canoeing we suggest you consider getting one for the week, you can use it in the Gulf right in front of the house on many calmer days, and there are lots of other places to canoe in the area.
Go horseback riding on the beach. We have never tried this, but there is a place that has horseback rides on the beach. It is down at Cape San Blas and you can contact Indian Pass Recreation (850) 227-9534 if you are interested.
Monarch Butterflies: In September and October Alligator Point and Bald Point fill up with Monarch Butterflies. This seems to be a jumping off point for them in their migration across the Gulf to Mexico. Sometimes the sand dunes get covered with them, and we have seen them many miles offshore flying south. The Monarch has a fascinating life cycle and migration cycle. Apparently they all over winter in a relatively small area in Mexico, in spring they fly north to populate the US with Monarchs and then return to Mexico in the fall. This takes several generations, it's not the same butterfly that leaves and returns. If you are down in the early fall look for them.
Cape San Blas is a state park about 1 hr. west on highway 98. The beach here to the northwest of the campground is spectacular, undeveloped and only accessible on foot. You can walk for miles and see almost no one. The bay side of the park is a good place to snorkel and see the grass beds. In the summer you can find scallops in the bay. Call 227-1327 for information.
Visit St. George Island: Drive west on 98 and turn south before Apalach. The island is the closest thing you'll find to a classic Florida beach resort in the area. There is a State Park on the east end with nice beaches and a bathhouse (at least there was before Hurricane Opal, its probably been repaired and rebuilt by now), call 927-2044 for info.
Fly: There are a couple of pilots at the Panacea airport who will take charter flights and it's a great way to see the area and get a feeling for things. The Panacea airport consists of a grass landing strip, nothing else but there are a few homes with small hangers around and that's who flys. Sometimes you will see a guy sitting by the road with a sign offering scenic flights for $10 or $15, we've never been up with him, but expect it's a short ride. We have flown with John Haberson he has 2 small planes and when we went he charged $50 per hour for one with room for 1 passenger and $75 for the larger plane that can take 4 passengers. You better check. On a dry day he may be willing to take you to Dog Island and drop you for the day. John has a house in Panacea and one in Tallahassee as well so he can be hard to reach email him or leave a voice mail message. His phone is 850-984-5832 and email is jth@polaris.net.
Go fly a kite: A beach is a great place to fly a kite and our property manager Carmella Davis is a professional kite person. She sells a wide variety of kites including some really high tech kites. She also gives lessons, so if you want to learn to be a competition class kite flyer talk to Carmella, her business is "The Sky's the Limit" and sometimes she rents a store front in Panacea or on St. George's Island in summer. To buy a kite, arrange kite lessons, or just talk about kites, contact Carmella the kite lady at 850-349-2019. She is also our property manager so you will be talking to her.
Eat some boiled green peanuts: This is something you probably can't get at home. All along the road side you will see little stands selling boiled peanuts. The most common is Buddies Boiled Peanuts, he seems to have a franchise that provides road side entrepreneurs with a trailer a propane burner, a big pot and a sign, you will see them everywhere. These are a local delicacy available only (that we know of) in this corner of North Florida and South Georgia. Kate is tormented when Rob even suggests stopping for these, and when Rob is being honest he'll tell you he doesn't really like them much. But you might.
Tate's Hell Swamp: This is a large and very difficult to traverse swamp located a few miles northwest of Alligator Point. You will see it on area maps, the only way in we know of is by boat, canoe is probably the most practical. Part of it is a legal wilderness so no motorboats, but then you probably couldn't get a motorboat through anyway. Legend has it that in the 20's a logger got lost in the swamp and for days wandered in waist to chest deep water and mud. He was bitten numerous times by snakes, probably water moccasins. Finally he stumbled out to the Gulf Coast near East Point and when he was found he said: "My name is Tate and I've been to Hell". Then he died. We can't stand behind the historical accuracy of the story, but we like it.
Myths from the Internet: Here are a couple of items we found of questionable veracity, but no more so than some other advice found here, perhaps Alligator Point is closer to Eden that we had thought!
Tate's Hell - "Where bull gators beller and panthers squal, this is the place to be shun' by all!"
As legend is told, more than 125 years ago 'ole Cebe Tate emerged from the grasp on Tate's Hell starved, crazy-eyed, and near dead. His reply to the men who ask where he had just come from was, "My name is Cebe Tate and I've come from hell." This swampy land known as Tate's Hell has challenged anyone that dared enter its path. Located between Sumatra and Carrabelle in the northern section of Franklin and Wakulla Counties it consists of approximately 200 square miles of tangled vines, boggy muck, endless pine forests, snakes, alligators and biting mosquitoes. There are many versions of this legend. One is that old 45-year old Cebe went into the swamp looking for stray cattle or after a panther that had killed some stock. The panther led Tate's dogs to exhaustion and struggling after his dogs Tate became mired into quicksand and lost his rifle. The was then bitten by a moccasin and wandered for 10 days until he finally emerged a battered man. We've heared tell his once brown hair was plum' white. Other legends tell of men swallowed up with their horses and cattle. You may even hear about a "lost civilization" where a stone monument guards a long dead city. Tate's Hell has been tamed somewhat by logging but folks still beware its potential grasp!
Garden of Eden - Based upon 60 years of research by E. E. Calloway, deceased, who resided in Bristol, Florida.
According to Mr. Calloway, the garden of Eden was smack dab between Bristol and Chattahoochee, Florida and east of the Apalachicola River. He spent over 60 years of personal time and resources to obtain his information to produce his book "In the Beginning" (out of print). A copy of his book is located in the reference section of the Evelyn and Maxwell Harrell Public Library in Bristol, Florida. Mr. Calloway used accounts from the Holy Bible to define certain facts, joined by nature and science. According to Genesis, the Garden was "Eastward" and a river was described as flowing forth from it and dividing into four streams. Callaway felt that the water systems here better suited than those of the Tigris and Euphrates. Further support of his theory comes from the existence of a rare gopher wood found only along the Apalachicola River banks and matches that also in biblical records where Noah built the ark of gopher wood.
Both Tate's Hell and Calloway's Garden of Eden are real places. Tate's Hell swamp is north of Carrabelle, about a 20 minute drive from Alligator Point and was just recently acquired by the state of Florida and is being turned into a state park. We don't know much about the new park, but it is probably worth looking into, maybe you can hear some bellerin. Calloway's "Garden of Eden" is actually an unusually attractive wooded area along the Apalachicola River. There are sandy bluffs overlooking the river that over the years have become eroded by an interesting process of groundwater transport of fine sand. The result is that the bluffs literally erode from beneath and canyons or hollows form as the ground collapses. This area is vegetated by beautiful temperate appalachian forest and looks to many people like a garden of eden. Torreya State Park is a little visited state park located in this area and has some nice hikes into "Eden". It is about an hour's drive from Alligator Point.
Go see San Marcos de Apalache in St. Marks: This is the site of the original Spanish mission in the area. It was established about 400 years ago. You will see that the town of St Marks claims to have been established in 1527, if this is true it would make St Marks the oldest European settlement in the US. The old fort site a state park and has an interesting visitor's center. When in St. Marks eat at Posey’s "home of the topless oyster", the smoked mullet is very good, and of course the oysters can't be beat. This is a genuine Florida redneck experience. There are people who believe St. Marks to be the oldest inhabitation in the US. No records exist to prove it was inhabited before the early 1600's but there is some evidence. In 1519 Ponce de Leon may have landed there, and many believe that Wakulla Springs was his famed Fountain of Youth. Cabaza de Vaca probably spent the winter of 1528/1529 here. Cabaza de Vaca landed with a party of about 300 men near Tampa, with the objective of finding gold and conquering. The ships were lost and he made his way mostly overland from there to Mexico City over a period of about 8 years, of the original party only 3, including Cabaza de Vaca survived. Anyway there are people who believe Cabaza de Vaca's group left settlers at St. Marks, this is the basis for their claim to the 1527 date. There are also those who believe that when DeSoto passed the area in 1540 he left settlers. In some of the early reports of the 1604 missionaries who landed at St. Marks there appears to be reference to Spanish already living in the area. If in fact St. Marks was first settled before 1604 it was most likely by someone from Cabaza de Vaca's party. If so it is the oldest European settlement north of Mexico City, but even if it was not settled until 1604 it was still an important port and settlement many years before the first Englishman set foot on Plymouth Rock. Little remains today of the early settlement, and St. Marks population is probably no more than it was in 1650, but the oysters are still just as good.
Go see George the Potter, a good bad weather day activity. George is a real artist who somehow ended up making pottery in the woods near Sopchoppy. His place is well marked; it's down a dirt road south off of 319 just east of Sopchoppy. The turn off is marked with a visible sign; he also has a sign at the 319/98 intersection in Medart. We think George does some real interesting things and all of his work is unique, it is a good place to pick up a nice bowl, or coffee mug, we buy a lot of wedding gifts there. If you go, pick up a "Been to Sopchoppy met the Potter" bumper sticker. Sopchoppy is probably the closest town to Alligator Point and the quickest way to get there is to take 98 west across the Ochlockonee Bay bridge and then turn north on surf road just after crossing the bridge, Sopchoppy is about 6 or 7 miles north of the intersection. Sopchoppy is one of our favorite local place names, it's origins are unclear, but in the local Tocobaga Indian language sokhe meant twisting or convulsing and the word chapke meant long. The Sopchoppy River that joins the Ochlockonee near the town of Sopchoppy is certainly long and twisting, so some believe the town name is derived from the Indian name for the Shoke Chapke River. We can imagine that pronounced by Florida crackers 100+ years ago that would come out Sopchoppy. The town has little to offer, there is a grocery store, gas station, antique shops, and a nice hardware store of the kind you may remember from 40 years ago (if you are old enough). A few years ago the City fathers tried to put out a kind of a tourist brochure. It was just typed and reproduced on an old mimeograph, they then folded it and put it in a few local greasy spoons, it didn't seem to turn the town into a destination resort. It did brag that "In the 1880's Sopchoppy was an important rail stop between Tallahassee and Apalachicola with 3 hotels and a newspaper, today the town sports a cinder block city office building". All of which is true. The railroad was abandoned years ago, there is an effort underway to turn the right of way into a trail. Last time we were in Sopchoppy some feeble efforts had begun to renovate the old railroad station.
Look for white squirrels: This may sound odd, but there are white squirrels in the area, we have seen a couple and the area between Alligator Point and Sopchoppy is know for its concentration of white squirrels. We don't know why, but here is an explanation found on the internet, who knows maybe it's true:
The Legend of the White Squirrels
Years ago I saw a book about the history of Sopchoppy. This books described the legend of a Chinese Princess being on a ship that traveled up the Ochlockonee River to the old railroad trestle to unload. She was carrying her pair of pet white squirrels. As the legend goes (if I remember correctly), the squirrels got out of their cage and survived. According to legend, this is how the Franklin County side of the river from Highway 319 to St. Theresa has white squirrels-today. They are not albinos. They breed with gray squirrels but the white is dominant. County Road 370 a/k/a Cow Creek Road, Boat Ramp Road, White Squirrel Road, and currently Rio Vista Drive parallels the river where the squirrels are located.
Diving; A lot of people ask about diving so we'll tell you what we know. This is not diver paradise, except maybe for the odd cave diver who likes lots of dark mazes and has more SCUBA gear than sense. The water off the house is not dependably clear enough to snorkel in and when it is about all you see is sand bottom. The most interesting snorkeling is probably in the fresh water springs and spring fed rivers. These are crystal clear and full of interesting things to see. At Wakulla springs you can snorkel, but the area you are allowed to swim in is limited. You can go down river to either bridge and go into the river there and see more. Rob likes looking for alligators while snorkeling but others are not so brave, or perhaps fool hearty. The Wacissa Springs and river are also a good place to go, a lot of people hunt fossils in the Wacissa you can find mastodon bones and teeth, but we never have tried so don't really know where to go. For salt water snorkeling the grass beds in Alligator Harbor or off of St. Marks Lighthouse can be interesting, and in summer you may find scallops. The best grass bed snorkeling in the area is found off of the state park on Cape San Blas in St. Joe Bay, about 1 hour to the west of Alligator Point. Just go in off the beach at the park.
We know even less about the SCUBA diving, Rob learned to SCUBA dive in the early 60's with an old Royal Master double hose regulator. The kind that the bad guy was always cutting the hoses on in Sea Hunt. Rob's father, Al, was one of the really early divers, in the 50's before you could buy SCUBA gear he made his own regulator out of an old war surplus aircraft pilot's regulator. Fortunately he had the sense not to use it much and waited for commercial gear before he really started to dive. Well to make a long story short Al is in his 70's and still an avid diver, but Rob hasn't done it in many years. We know people do SCUBA dive here, but we don't see many of them, there is a new dive shop between Tallahassee and Crawfordville, and are probably some in Tallahassee. If you have your own gear there are both natural rock formations and artificial reefs in the area, but all are offshore. Any local charter boat captain could put you onto some of these areas. We have also heard that there are some large freshwater springs off shore that can be interesting diving. Lastly there is the cave diving. The area around Tallahassee and south is honeycombed with caves, most under water. These caves daylight lots of places, locally called sinks these are just holes into the subterranean karst limestone, some are large and people use them as swimming holes, others are small cracks that are hard to get into. This is the only place we have seen divers hiking into the woods carrying their gear, to some crack in the ground (sink) no doubt to go cave diving. Some of these people even come out alive. A recent National Geographic special highlighted exploration of the caves at Wakulla Springs, but these are off limits to the public.
For nightlife go swimming or wading at night, in the summer the bioluminescence is indescribable if you do this you'll never forget it. Pick a dark spot, on a moonless night and go in at least waist deep. This isn't dangerous and in the summer the water is plenty warm. Walking the beach at night is nice also, take a flash light and look for ghost crabs, they wont bother you but seeing them is fun.
Walk the beach; shelling at low tide is usually good, you should find lots of sand dollars, an occasional conch, and lots of other shells. To the east is 10 miles of more or less unobstructed beach to walk. It is really nice, there are only single family homes on the beach and no public access for the first 3 miles so you don't see a lot of people. The walk to the west is nicer, but harder. This is a great place to go, the last 2 miles or so of Alligator Point are owned by the Nature Conservancy and access is very difficult, there is not legal public access. From the house you just walk a few hundred yards west and there you are. The problem is that you have to get by several rock jetties. The easiest legal way is to wade in front of the jetties and stay in the water, at low tide this is sometimes dry, at high tide it may be 4 or 5 feet deep, usually it is no more than waist deep. Alternatively you can climb the rocks but there are a lot of rocks to climb. The problem is that legally you can not trespass above the high tide mark, and there is no easy inland route without trespassing. Some of the owners have their lots posted and enforce the no trespassing signs. So you can make it, but it takes some work, which makes it very little visited. We make our way down to the point a lot, Kate walks it almost everyday (sometimes twice a day) when we are there.
Eat out: Two of our favorite places are Julia Mae’s and the Coastal. Julia Mae' s is just a mile or so across the New River bridge on 98 just west of Carrabelle (we think this is the best seafood in the low cost range anywhere, they have their own dock and fishermen unload on the way in). The Coastal in Panacea is very low cost; lots of all you can eat seafood plates, and more than a bit redneck. In the middle cost range we like Angelo’s at the west end of the 98 bridge (call 984-5186, they’re closed a lot); the Harbor House (984-2758) in Panacea (but not on 98, its by the marina on the bay); or Harry’s Georgian in Carrabelle (697-2279 or 3400). The Spring Creek Restaurant in Spring Creek (the restaurant is about the only thing in Spring Creek) is a surprisingly good mid cost restaurant (926-3751). Apalachicola has some good restaurants as well.
There are no expensive restaurants nearby. Just a note on this topic, there are no pizza (or anything else) delivery places on or near Alligator Point. Chester Fried Chicken at the KOA is the closest thing to fast food on the Point. Carmella, our property manager (349-2019) can arrange catering or cooking services for you.
Spend a lot of time on the beach and in the water, in fact you may find that you don't want to do anything else.
Read one or more of Jack Rudloe’s books. They include "The Wilderness Coast", and "The Living Dock". Rudloe lives in Panacea and writes primarily about this area. This is good preparation for your visit. On early morning walks you may find Jack and his dog out looking for seaweed, he eats it and the beach in front of the house seems to be a favorite spot for him to find it. Rob’s tried it (Kate won't) and found it to have an "interesting texture", but doubts you'll be seeing it soon in famous restaurants. A note here, some of Jack's best books now seem to be out of print, it's worth a visit to the library to get them and read them before you go down. Recently we have found ebay and half.com to be a good source of Jack's books, they are used but usually a bargain.
Visit Jack Rudloe’s Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory in Panacea, it costs a few dollars but is well worth it, Rob calls it the very poor man’s Sea World of Panacea. Read about it on their web page at: www.gulfspecimen.org, you can also order his books here.
Go hiking: There are a lot of really nice hiking trails in the area. This part of Florida is about 90% government land, or paper company land, and is open to public use, so you can hike a lot of places. Some of our favorite hikes are on the levees in the St. Marks Wildlife Refuge, but you can find trails in the Apalachicola National Forest, and in most of the State Parks mentioned else where in this document. Other than beach walking this is mostly a winter activity for us, the reason is that in the summer we find lots of other things to do, and honestly hiking inland can be hot and buggy in the summer. In winter temperatures are often perfect for hiking, and the bugs are much less numerous. Don't let us discourage you though, with the right clothes and bug spray summer hiking can be fun.
We think one of the most interesting places to go is the St. Vincent’s Island Wildlife Refuge. This is about an hour’s drive west, and you need a boat to get there. We don't know of any public ferry, but it doesn’t take much of a boat, we have crossed by canoe. You can rent a canoe for about $15 from the Cape San Blas Camping Resort, near the island (call 229-6800). The pass from shore to the island is only a few hundred yards wide, but currents can be strong. The island has something like 50 miles of roads, but the only vehicle on the island belongs to the Refuge people, so walking is the only way to get around. St. Vincent’s is a more substantial island than most of the barrier islands, it has a fresh water stream and a couple of fresh water lakes, and it also has spectacular rarely visited beaches. It also has a couple of really unique animals; the Red Wolf, and the Sambar Deer, a large deer native to India. The deer were brought in over 100 years ago for the amusement of rich hunters, and have survived. The wolves are part of an effort to reintroduce the Red Wolf to its original habitat.
If you make it to St. Vincent’s you'll find lots of things to explore, but no services or amenities, we have never even seen anyone who works for the Refuge out there, usually we don't see anybody, but ourselves. Call 653-8808 for more info.
Shopping? If this is your primary interest go some where else, but if you get desperate, or need something to do with bored teenagers, or to do while you're curing a sunburn, or on a rainy day we’ll give you some ideas, but don't expect too much. There is a little gift shop next door to the BP station just over the Ochlockonee bridge on 98 as you go towards Panacea, and across the highway. The last time we looked there was an interesting driftwood art kind of place next to and in the same building as the Oaks Restaurant (also a nice place to eat, low cost and good breakfasts). Sometimes there is a little gift shop open in the same building as the Campground office, nearby on 98 right next to the bridge.
There are a many tourist shops in Apalachicola, and even closer, Carrabelle also has a few shops. Check out the Two Gulls Gift Shops next door to Harry’s Georgian Restaurant. We know there is some tourist type shopping on St. George’s Island but don't know much about it (try and call 927-2044 for info).
We just got back from a trip down and it seems several new antique and related kinds of shops have opened in Apalach, you might want to visit them.
Panacea doesn’t have much; you'll find a small IGA for groceries, Crum’s Mini Mall (not like most mini malls you're probably used to) for gas, fishing supplies, intermittently marine supply and auto parts. On the far end is Earl’s hardware, not a bad small hardware store. There are a couple of other marine supply and fishing tackle shops. On 98 at the far end of the IGA’s parking lot (opposite end from Crum’s) is an interesting little second hand store. On the far end of Panacea, going away from the Point, is a liquor store, and next door was a new second hand store. We think the best things in Panacea are the seafood shops, at least 4 at last count. These are small places, but they get fresh seafood directly from fishermen every day, its really good stuff, and more reliable than going fishing yourself. Crawfordville, a little further up 98 has a little more real shopping; a full sized grocery store, a drug store, etc. Tallahassee has a full size shopping mall, department stores, etc.
Got a boat? Bring it! There are 2 boat ramps on Alligator Point; one is about 3 miles east of the house on the bay side. It is a mediocre ramp at best; you can only launch anything bigger than a 14 foot Carolina skiff at medium to high tide. There is very limited parking. It is a little hard to spot if you don't know where it is, it's visible from the main road, and it just looks like a road turning to the north that leads into the bay. It is right across from the only public beach access you will pass, but this is not easy to spot either. If you want to look for it just explore a bit and you will find it. There is no charge for this ramp. The other ramp is at the marina almost within walking distance of the house on the bay side. It is located on the far side of the marina from the house down the dirt road that goes towards the bay. This is an even worse ramp at low tide, but depending on your boat size you should be able to get in and out most of the time. We have a 14 foot Carolina Skiff, and a 17 foot Sea Pro. We can always get the Carolina Skiff in and out at either ramp, and usually the Sea Pro as well, but at low tide we have to crank a lot. The marina launch is not always free, kind of depends on the current status of the marina. We understand that the road and ramp are on county property and that the county put in the launch, but that to turn around or park you have to drive on marina property. In the past this has sometimes lead to the marina charging as much as $10 to launch. We don't know what is fair, sometimes we pay, sometimes we don't, when we don't we don't park at the marina. The marina also has a launch lift that you can pay to use; we have never done that and don't know how much, read on about the marina below.
The Marina: About 300 yards north east of the house is the "Pride of the Point Marina". It is on the bay side of the point, and if you look you can see it on the aerial photo at the end of this write up. The marina also has a restaurant and bar, they only have a restaurant's liquor license, so the bar is limited in it's sales they are only supposed to serve diners. Since we first started going down to the point the marina has never been economically viable. It seems to undergo annual bankruptcy followed by excited new management that then goes bankrupt again starting the whole cycle over. Maybe it is just too far away from a population center to make a go of it. The restaurant has been open no more than about 25% of the time over the last 10 years, and both it's food and service has varied from awful to good, so who knows what will be going on when you go down. There is also a small marina store that is intermittently open selling a few boating and fishing supplies and sometimes gas. In the summer of 2000 the store had some nice ocean kayaks for rent, but we have never seen anyone in a kayak at Alligator Point. The marina usually has someone operating it (or at least someone there collecting money) no matter what it's bankruptcy status you can usually make arrangements to tie your boat up there. In the early fall of 2000 a new owner bought it at a sheriff's foreclosure auction and since we don't know what has happened. So the marina may or may not offer you useful services, but you can count on it's business being slow enough not to bother you.
Special Events and Festivals: There aren't any, well not many. On Alligator Point the big day is the 4th of July, the volunteer fire department puts on a parade. It's no Rose parade, but some of the locals decorate their vehicles and it's fun anyone can enter. The first year we participated in the parade was 1996. The kids wanted to make a float so we decided to take Rob's old 12 foot aluminum boat on a rusty old trailer and turn it into our entry. Kate and the kids spend the day designing and making pirate costumes; even the dog got an eye patch. Just to be sure everyone got the message we made a large cardboard sign that said "Pirates" for the kids to hold. As the time approached it was a bit stormy, and just before the parade was scheduled to start we got one of our great afternoon thunderstorms. It blew over quickly so we loaded the pirates, about 6 nieces, nephews, and cousins along with the dog into the pirate ship and drove down to the marina, where the parade was supposed to start. It was wet, but the worst of the storm was past. When we got there we were told the fire department had canceled on account of rain. It goes without saying the kids were greatly disappointed, but after talking it over for a few minutes we decided to have our own little one float two car parade. As we started down the point others who were also disappointed at the rain out began to follow us. To our amazement in a few minutes we were leading a parade of 20 or 30 makeshift floats down the street. As we passed the fire department we were given a good scowl, but were not stopped. As word spread the crowds, lining the street at up to one person deep came back and we lead a great parade. We have been in parades since, but it was never the same again. If you are down on the 4th and have young kids look into the parade.
Golf: We aren’t golfers, and there really isn't a whole lot down here for golfers, but there is a new course in Wakulla County, about 30-min east at the Wildwood Country Club, it's right on Highway 98. The golf course is open to the public. We have had good reports on it. Franklin County really has no real golf courses. In Lanark Village, about 10 min west on 98 there is a three hole course that looks like its nothing but a big field with 3 holes and 3 flags. Last we knew cost was 50 cents for non members, we've never actually seen anyone playing golf there, but if you get desperate……
Tennis: We don't play tennis either, and there probably isn't much in the area, but we know that there are 6 newly lighted tennis courts at the Wakulla High School that we understand are open to the public. The High School is about 25 min east on 98, kind of across from the Golf Course.
Go see the Tallahassee Downtown Marketplace: Fine arts, crafts, authors, writers/poets, live jazz, chefs, historic chats, children's storytelling and farmer's market, plus special events throughout the season. www.downtownmarket.com Saturdays. Downtown/Ponce de Leon Park at Park Ave. call 850-980-8727 for info.
Go on an antebellum home hunt. Before the Civil War this area was not as well developed or rich as much of the south, but there was little fighting and destruction here and little economic development since the war so there are some interesting old mansions still intact. The corridor between Tallahassee and Thomasville, Georgia has the greatest density of still standing antebellum homes found anywhere in the south. Unfortunately for the tourist most of these are privately owned, owner occupied, not open to the public, and not easy to find or see. Here is a list of some of the places we know of: Goodwood Plantation, 1600 Miccosukee Rd, Tallahassee 877-4202; Nicholson Farmhouse (it's been converted to a restaurant 200 Coca Cola Avenue / SR12, Havana, FL . 539-5931 (Havana it self is an interesting old town); Pebble Hill Plantation on 319 about 5 miles south of Thomasville, Ga and 25 north of Tallahassee (912) 226-2344 www.pebblehill.com; and the Meginniss-Munroe House, now an art museum run by the LeMoyne Art Foundation 125/133 N. Gadsden St., Tallahassee 222-8800. There are lots more if you do some research, we have never seen a good list of the antebellum homes in the area.
Tallahassee, the state capital: Tallahassee is a town of almost 150,000 that is basically a southern town, it has little in common with other Florida cities like Orlando where most people are recent transplants from elsewhere, or Miami often called the northern most city in Latin America. For one thing Tallahassee is a lot smaller, and it has a lot more in common culturally with Georgia or Alabama than most of Florida. Florida used to be more like Tallahassee, it's the rest of the state that has changed while Tallahassee has stayed stagnant. There are lots of things to do here we think the old state capital, and FSU are worth seeing. If the archeological exhibit at the old Mission St. Luis site (the remains of an old Spanish mission built in about 1630) is open its worth seeing a bit of Florida's Spanish history 2020 W. Mission Rd, Tallahassee 487-3711. The Museum of Florida History, 500 South Bronough Street, 488-1484 is worth seeing. On this subject, Florida's pre US history is interesting but not well known, Florida was a part of the Spanish Empire for over 300 years, and has only been in the US about 175! Tallahassee also has shopping malls, dept. stores etc., almost like being in a city.
Go to Tallahassee and take a tour: Tours with a Southern Accent does Historic Tallahassee van tours daily at 10 am and 2 pm ($20). Specialized tours include Plantations, pre-Columbian & Spanish Colonial, Lafayette, Napoleon & Wine, Art Museums & Galleries, Antiques, Proud Black Heritage, Civil War and more. Full receptive services, multi-lingual guides. Mon-Fri 9 am to 5 pm, (Sat by reservation). Corner Monroe and Brevard streets . 513-1000. We have never done this but if you get really bored or need a break from the beach.
While in Tallahassee don't miss the graves of the Prince and Princess Murat the son and daughter in law of Napoleon's great General Murat in the old Episcopal Cemetery.
Birding and Butterflying: We aren't "birders" but we do enjoy watching them. For birder information on Alligator Point look at: http://www.badbirdz.com/guide4fr.htm We do know that the place is popular with birders. A related phenomenon we like is the Monarch Butterfly migration. Every year in September what look to us like millions of butterflies collect on the beach and fly south to Mexico (we guess that's a long way for a butterfly!). We haven't really been able to find anything written about it, but you can see it, and on some days in September you'll see lots of them well off shore into the Gulf of Mexico.
Before you go look up the tides, you can find them for Turkey Point (very close to Alligator Point) at: http://tbone.biol.sc.edu/tide/nph-tideshow.cgi Print the tides out for the time you will be there, plan your walks and shell collecting at low tide, and swimming and fishing at high tide.
 The Kitchen looking North
. The kitchen is long and narrow so you are only looking at half of it in the picture, behind the camera is the kitchen table and chairs and sliding glass doors to the screened in porch and a great view of the beach, you can wash dishes and watch the beach at the same time.
Go Visit Disney World or any of the tourist theme parks. You will notice we left this for last. Rob is old enough to remember Florida before Disney and he doesn't like many of the changes the last 30 or 40 years have brought, Disney is of course not to blame for all the development and spoiled beaches, but they are a good scapegoat. Before you go Rob recommends reading Team Rodent : How Disney Devours the World or Sick Puppy or another of Carl Hiaasen's books; at least it will put you in the right frame of mind. Seriously though Disney World and the Orlando attractions or Busch Gardens in Tampa are not a day trip from Alligator Point. If you want to go to these places you will need to plan to spend the night there, it might be best done either before or after spending a week at Alligator Point. We know how hard it can be to bring young kids to Florida and not take them to Disney World, when one of Rob's brothers kids were younger we had to be careful not to tell them that Alligator Point was in Florida.
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