Life in Carrabelle

As we sit in Carrabelle on the day before Thanksgiving (freezing our butts off) it is a good time to reflect on what I am thankful for.  

• I am thankful that we were able to do this trip which has enriched our lives in so many ways.
• I am thankful for the wonderful people we have met and the friends we have made along the way.
• I am VERY thankful for our family who have supported us and encouraged us in doing this.
• I am thankful that although we cannot spend Thanksgiving with our family we are lucky enough to be able to spend it with new friends, a like minded group of people who love the water and have learned to embrace a simpler life.

Carrabelle is a very small town.  Really, you can pretty much see the entire commercial part of town in fifteen minutes on a slow walk!   Cammo clothing is everywhere, and the people are very friendly even though the town is like a lot of small towns on the water, pretty depressed. One of the cruisers wanted to go shopping on Black Friday...well good luck with that ....the closest "mall" is an hour away in Tallahassee.  

One odd thing, on the main intersection of town there are not one but four different real estate offices. You have to wonder how they support themselves.  Although we are seeing it in inclement weather...make that damned cold weather...and any snow birds are probably, like us, hibernating.

The people who work at this marina have gone out of their way to make us feel like one of them. They are including us in their Turkey potluck dinner for us for heavens sake.  One of only 2 marinas that we know of that are doing that. We don't have to eat turkey cooked on the grill...how lucky are we!!!

The IGA or as Angela and Daniel who are from Brazil called it the "EEGA"

House???   Nope, this is the Fisherman's Wife. One of 4 restaurants we've seen, of which one was in the BP gas station and one was closed for the season.  It's a good thing we don't eat out much.  

We couldn't figure out this sign.... these must be really HIDDEN because we sure haven't seen them.

 

This is the Carrabelle River taken from the bridge going to Appalachicola

Also taken from the bridge our boat is just behind the green marker sign.

The river at low tide behind our boat

Angela looking very content in a rocker on the porch at C Quarters  'the porch' seems to be the hub of information with locals stopping by all day to drink beer and swap stories.   

I had to laugh this morning when I got an email from my sister saying we probably spend a lot of time in the marina's "clubhouse" staying toasty warm.  THIS is it folks...the "clubhouse"

And the toasty warm part.....

We had quite an interesting talk with Chuck at the marina today.  Several of the guys wear these lanyards around their necks with an apparatus that they are puffing on all day.  I found out that they are actually "vaping"  which is a new way to quit smoking with an electronic type cigarette system

The lower portion of "the pen" is a battery and the clear cylinder holds flavored nicotene (yuck)...They say it is smoking nicotene without the carcinogens in tobacco. The battery heats the liquid in the cylinder and then they suck on the end and "smoke" the vapor. It smells like whatever 'flavor' they mix it with.  

It doesn't sound healthy to me but to each his own on kicking that habit.

And onto other habits......

This is the only bar in the downtown area.... cool old place reminiscent of "No Name Bar" on Deer Key 

Although the bar tender wasn't too glad to see the eight of us...she said " I go home in 10 minutes", we're like whoop dee do!

 from L to R ..Chris & Richard (former Michiganders) Daniel & Angela (from Brazil), Gary, Tom & Melissa (from N.C. and one of the boats we were with our first night into the Champlain Canal you may remember her 90 year old dad Hank the former marine whom we talked with in Port Edward N.Y. he looped with them from North Carolina to Chattanooga where he lives.

Yesterday, a miserable rainy day...stayed aboard all day.

One of the marina "mousers", isn't he a handsome one.

Guess I'm not going to get any fresh shrimp here either...looks like they're all taking time off....DARN!

The 'World's Smallest Police Station"...a phone booth actually served as a police station here in the 60's

                        http://carrabelle.org/things-to-do/worlds-smallest-police-station/

 Funky little sandwich shop with lots of memorabilia....like this guy....."It's Howdy Doody Time" started running endlessly through my head!

Main Street 

As you can see, Gary doesn't have to worry about me and Black Friday....    
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!