Gulf Coast
My first day out of Paisley I was hoping to make it to St. George Island, but it wasn’t meant to be. When I called from about an hour away they only had 2 campsites left. So I stopped at a state park I stayed in last year on the Ochlockonee River. Hearing from a couple of people that nearby Apalachicola is famous for it’s oysters I decided that sounded better than cooking. The drive was a bit longer than expected, but since I have a car now it’s a lot easier, and cheaper, than it used to be. I guess I was expecting Apalachicola to be a little bigger than it is. I was thinking it was going to take me a while to choose from one of several seafood restaurants serving up the finest oysters. Well, let’s just say I spent more time driving around thinking “where is everything” than I did deciding which place to go. I had a 50-50 shot so I went with Boss Oysters’ and it did not disappoint. I know raw oysters are supposed to be some kind of delicacy but I prefer mine cooked. So I was a bit surprised when I ordered a half-dozen flame-broiled oysters, with some topping I can’t remember now, that the oysters were still raw. Only the topping gets cooked. Oh well, they slid down nice and smooth regardless.
The coast along the panhandle is kind of funny. It seems to me that it is either nearly deserted, or is booming like crazy with huge high-rise condo complexes. In hindsight, I should’ve left the coast after passing through the nearly-deserted sections, but I made the mistake of following the coastal route all the way to Pensacola. Now I know why I didn’t want to tow a car the first two years. On the open highway, it’s no problem, but when you’re in a crowded city and not knowing which way you’re going to have to turn next, it is a real pain. You can’t just shoot across two lanes of traffic at the last second. Not to mention that I was paranoid that I was going to turn down a dead end street and would have to unhook the car in order to turn around. It didn’t help that I arrived in Pensacola at rush hour, but I finally made it through to the other side. My destination that night was Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, AL. Normally, this wouldn’t warrant much of a mention, but this was the first time in my life that I had stayed the night in Alabama – my 48th state! 3 ahead of my brother, Michael, I might add. I got a little nervous when I saw this sign in the campground while walking Abbey in the morning, but we made it out unscathed. On the way out of town I stopped at a fish market and bought some of the freshest fish and shrimp I have ever had. If you had blindfolded me I don’t know if I would’ve been able to tell there was fish in the bag. When I pulled it out of the bag that night to put it on the grill I couldn’t smell a thing. If nothing else I’ll remember Alabama for the Red Snapper.
Lake Charles, LA, on the other hand, probably won’t stick in my memory too long. The state park I stopped at wasn’t bad at all, but the area around there isn’t the most memorable. It was at least a quiet, safe place to stay and we were off early the next morning headed for Austin.