Rain..rain..rain but that does not stop these intrepid Loopers from exploring. Apalachicola is a town steeped in history and charm. It has undergone feast to famine cycles so many times from cotton, lumber, salt, fish and oysters (90% of FL oysters are still from here) and now to tourism. There are a number of Victorian houses, B&B’s, and interesting galleries, shops and restaurants. Fresh fish and oysters are readily available and we went to Papa Joe’s for our fill. The chocolate mousse cake at Café con Leche is not to be missed. There was a musician at Gibson House playing jazz alto sax which added a sultry dimension to this rainy afternoon.
There are a number of museums to be explored. We toured the Orman House which is part of the FL Park system now and received a $300,000 grant for restoration. It has had a colorful history with Thomas Orman, the original owner and transplant from Syracuse NY, mirroring the town cycles of fortune and misfortune in the 1800’s. At 6’7”, he was a robust man who regularly had a breakfast of eggs, ham, grits, biscuits and 2 dozen oysters at the dining room pictured above. His last descendant, Miz Andrews, lived into her 90’s and kept a horse in the parlor and a shotgun under her bed.
We also toured the Gorrie Museum which featured the ice machine invention by the venerable Dr. John Gorrie. This is the antecedent to modern refrigeration and air conditioning which he developed to help the suffering of patients afflicted with various fevers. We had wanted to tour the Maritime Museum but it was closed so we headed to the 2nd best—the Tin Shed which features all sorts of nautical bric-a-brac.
Lest you think that we are all play and no work, Bob changed the impeller which sorely needed it. He also tested the long distance capabilities of the Ham radio and made contact with the maritime Ham network in Toronto, Canada. We will need this when we go to the Bahamas to get weather and make any emergency calls.
There are a number of museums to be explored. We toured the Orman House which is part of the FL Park system now and received a $300,000 grant for restoration. It has had a colorful history with Thomas Orman, the original owner and transplant from Syracuse NY, mirroring the town cycles of fortune and misfortune in the 1800’s. At 6’7”, he was a robust man who regularly had a breakfast of eggs, ham, grits, biscuits and 2 dozen oysters at the dining room pictured above. His last descendant, Miz Andrews, lived into her 90’s and kept a horse in the parlor and a shotgun under her bed.
We also toured the Gorrie Museum which featured the ice machine invention by the venerable Dr. John Gorrie. This is the antecedent to modern refrigeration and air conditioning which he developed to help the suffering of patients afflicted with various fevers. We had wanted to tour the Maritime Museum but it was closed so we headed to the 2nd best—the Tin Shed which features all sorts of nautical bric-a-brac.
Lest you think that we are all play and no work, Bob changed the impeller which sorely needed it. He also tested the long distance capabilities of the Ham radio and made contact with the maritime Ham network in Toronto, Canada. We will need this when we go to the Bahamas to get weather and make any emergency calls.
