Oysters, Gelato, Good Times at St. George Island

What better way to celebrate my birthday than to meet Joe and Judy at St. George Island?  It took them five hours to get there but I think they agreed that it was worth it.  It is a beautiful place to spend a weekend (or longer).  We got a tantalizing e-mail from Joe Thursday evening that had a picture of water and the message, "Wish you were here."  I e-mailed back, "Where?"  It turns out they were able to get away on Thursday so they were there a day ahead of us.

When we arrived Friday around noon, we ate lunch together.  Bubba had smoked his first ham and we were eager to try it in sandwiches.  It was so good.  After lunch, Joe and Bubba were anxious to try oystering from their kayaks so they suited up and headed out.  Judy and I visited a while and then went for a long walk on the beach.  The weather was perfect -- cool, but not too cool.  

Meantime, Joe and Bubba, had launched their kayaks and paddled to an area that looked like there would be an oyster bed.

They had a lot of fun with no mishaps.  They actually got a nice size bucket of oysters.  Although I have nothing to do with raw oysters, they pronounced that they were good but very small. 

 Later that evening we went out for supper.  We wanted to take Joe and Judy to Captain Snook's which is one of my favorite places to eat seafood.  That plan didn't work out as Captain Snook's was closed for the season.  Then we chose to eat at The Hut.  Bubba and Joe had the mullet basket and Judy and I chose the shrimp and grouper basket.  I still like Captain Snook's best, but The Hut was still a good birthday meal.

When we returned to the campsite that evening, we built a fire, roasted marshmallows and enjoyed visiting for a while.  Bubba and I are probably not much fun in the evening.  We are so used to going to bed early and getting up early that we usually fade out before it gets too late.  (We plan to lose this habit when I retire.)

The next morning after Bubba brought me my coffee in bed, he went outside for breakfast -- hot chocolate and oysters.  How gross!  He seemed to enjoy it though.  

A lady at The Hut told us that downtown Apalachicola was having an outdoor market Saturday and we decided that we would go.  I was waiting outside when Joe and Judy came over to wish me happy birthday with a card and a balloon.  

We shopped and shopped, but did not buy a thing from the vendors set up on the street.  I saw things that I liked, but I have reached a point where I want to get rid of "things", not add to them.  Just wait until I retire.  There will be a very big yard sale.

Judy treated us to our first gelato.  It was in a rustic building downtown.  I wish I had taken a picture of it.  There were so many flavors to choose from that it was almost impossible to decide.  Finally I chose Coconut White Chocolate for Bubba and me.  Judy got Coconut and Joe, out of all those choices, picked vanilla.  Bubba used to be "dull" like that but he has livened up some in that area.

We went back to the campsite for some more of those good ham sandwiches. Then we all went for a walk down to the Apalachicola Bay side of the island.

Sadly, we all got up Sunday morning and headed our separate ways.  It was a great weekend in every way -- good times, good food, and good company.  I couldn't have wished for a more enjoyable birthday.  While we were out Saturday, Amelia called me on the cell phone and sang "Happy Birthday" to me.  That was the icing on the cake.  Every time we have a weekend like this, we are grateful for the opportunity to spend this kind of time with family.  We're already looking forward to next time.  Thanks everyone for making my birthday so special.