Adventures of Tom, Jan and Peanut: Florida's Forgotten Coast

Florida's Forgotten Coast is located along the Gulf of Mexico in the North Florida's panhandle along the Big Bend Scenic Byway. It consists of Apalachicola, St. George Island, Eastpoint, which is a stones through away from Apalach and areas surrounding them. We visited this area by car and now by boat. They are rich with history and as quaint as can be. Gone are the tall condo's and hotels seen along the panhandle and in South Florida. What you will find are fishing villages, beautiful old homes, great shops and lots of yummy sea food.
Apalachicola was established in 1831. Shipping cotton was it's biggest industry and it soon became the third largest port on the Gulf. By the 1950's the waterfront was lined with brick warehouses used to handle the shipping of cargo for Europe. Now they are quaint shops and resturants. The industry soon turned to lumber from the areas cypress forests and then to oysters and seadfood. Apalach(as the locals call it) is known as the Oyster capital of the world. Their oysters are known to be the cleanest and healthiest that exist and Tom can attest to their beauty! Apalach and its neighbor Eastpoint make up Franklin County. They harvest more than 90% of Florida's oysters and 10% of the nationwide supply. If you enjoy a layed back vacation without the fancy beaches and hotels you may want to check out Apalachicola. They have lots of great events throughout the year and a very active theatre that brings in major plays and concerts.
St. George Island is really a tourist area. The island is long and consists of many rental houses along with a plantation of very large summer homes for stars. Once on the island everything is there that you need and you can get around by bike rather than car. There is a great park at one end of the island for hiking and exploring. We spent a spring break there and really enjoyed it as it never felt crowded, we could walk to the local watering holes, restaurants and shops and we had the gulf on one side and ocean on the other.
Carrabelle is not really an official part of the Forgotten Coast but there is so much history there and it is a quiet sleepy little town so I chose to include it. The town of Carrabelle was incorporated in 1893. It had an eclectic beginning which included the production of turpentine, maritime shipping, sponge diving, moonshining and military training. Carrabelle was the sight of military training for WWII's landing at Normandy. As we stood by the plaque on the beach commemorating the training sight it wasn't hard to imagine the boats and men charging the shore over and over again in preparation for that historical event. Carrabelle is also the home of the worlds smallest police station. It was actually used as a police station for years. The shops there are interesting and the area fun to explore.