Google said Stump Pass State Park on the south end of Manasota Key on Florida's west coast was the mecca for finding shark teeth . I was on my way up the west coast , headed to the Big Bend area so I figured I could stop and pick up a few for the grandkids . Somebody beat me to them . Nary a single tooth but I did manage to catch a few shore birds in action .
Driving along the waterfront in Carrabelle , I came upon a little park and a boat ramp . The fishing seemed to be pretty good for this brown pelican .
S.R.98 runs along the edge of the water through Eastpoint . Of course you could never tell what goes on here if not for the piles of oyster shells and the paraphernalia associated with said shells .
The working boats looked a little rough around the edges , some more than others . Oystering ain't for sissies . The boats are built for a specific purpose , economy being one . There are a few great youtube videos of oystering out there if you would like to see one in action .
The long handled tongs you see on the boats are some times called misery sticks . That's probably one reason folks don't worry too much about them being stolen . Kind of like when I was in construction I never had even one pickaxe stolen . Go figure ,
Most of y'all who have the pleasure of knowing my better half and her group of cohorts , confidants , and sister ya yas will understand why I have included the next pics .
Going further around the bend , some would say in more than just one way , I rolled into Appalachacola , or Apalach as the locals say . This ancient village has been on my must visit list for a while . It didn't disappoint even though it was getting late in the day when I got there .
Since it was later in the day all the touristy bo-teek type stores were closed . You cannot imagine my disappointment . No shopping . OH , horror of horrors ! I did manage to find the local working dock area to console myself . . Not sure why I have such a fascination with these boats . Guess I'm just weird that way . I recognize the shrimp boats but I'm thinking some of the smaller boats similarly rigged could be for scalloping . Oysters , scallops, crabs , and shrimp !! Now there's some things a fella could sink his teeth into !
These boats represent an incredibly hard way to make a living . Their ranks are diminishing every season . Along with the harshness come an extraordinary pride with a good measure of humor thrown in .
These huge barges pushed by powerful tugs are used to return the empty oyster shells to the water for oyster spats to grow on . Another circle of life .
This made me go hmmmmm . If they had painted it blue I may have had a chance of enticing the old woman to take up part time residence . There are a multitude of old Florida style houses here as well as a few big houses .
Finishing up the day along the Gulf , headed towards PC , most of my shots were silhouettes . Still a pretty peaceful way to end a great day .
Only an hour or less from the Redneck Riviera , I can't wait to go back and enjoy this laid back section of old Florida .
No comments:
Post a Comment