Gone

Apalachicola, Florida:

I left Tuesday morning, April 28, at 8:30 am. I was ready. There was no reason to stay home any longer. My leaving was quiet. I simply packed a few last minute things, locked the front door, got in the car, and drove north taking my 62 year old single self on the road. I expected to be giddy with joyful anticipation, I expected to be dancing in my mind, but instead I was sort of nothing at all, just leaving, maybe even a little apprehensive.

I silently drove for about two hours, trying to get out of familiar territory, having traveled this route along US 19 toward Tallahassee dozens of times with my ex-husband over the years. However I knew I would be spending my first night, not so far from home, with memories still surrounding me. I turned the radio volume up, way up!

I stopped early, about 1:30, and camped in Manatee State Park in Chiefland. I have never camped alone, so it was a new weird experience. It was my tent's first time out of the box, but I encountered no problems. It only took a few minutes to get setup, then I put on my sneakers and hiked a few trails around sink holes and along a swollen creek that forced me to make my own trail through the woods to keep my feet dry. Dinner consisted of a pear and orange, peanut butter and crackers, and a glass of wine. I knew I shouldn't have, but I shared a cracker with a brave squirrel, company for dinner! A bright red cardinal sat a few feet from my shoulder. I read a few pages of Blue Highways, feeling as if William Least Heat Moon, the traveling author, and I were companions. I sat and listened to the birds and watched deer and armadillos scavenge. I could see no other campers and I felt quite by myself, so if a bear were to suddenly appear from the woods and attack, it would have been a quick end and a short trip, but I comforted myself with the thought that there are no grizzles in Florida. It was woods quiet all evening and night. I sobbed a few tears for who knows what (loneliness, I think), laid my head down at nightfall, and slept reasonably well till morning. Packed up and drove till I found a cup of coffee at MacDonald's.

At noon I got a room at the Coombs House Inn in Apalachicola. The inn is a large romantic Bed and Breakfast in an elegant Victorian mansion. Very opposite last night's accommodations.

I walked around town stopping for lunch at That Place and had a beer and fried oysters. I don't even like oysters, but I'm in Apalachicola and it seemed like the thing to do. I still don't like oysters, but I'm glad I ordered them! You know..."when in Rome.."

Apalachicola is a small town with a lot of history, having been established in 1831 and soon becoming the third largest cotton shipping port on the Gulf of Mexico. Today the area harvests more than 90% of Florida's oysters and 10% of the oysters consumed in the nation, thus my oyster lunch.

The Inn had bikes available, so I later pedaled my way down the side streets past large old gracious southern homes and returning to the inn for cookies and tea in the late afternoon. Other than the charming manager of the inn who had a wealth of historical information, I didn't have any significant conversations with anyone. But I enjoyed treating myself to the luxury of the inn, sitting on the veranda sipping wine, watching TV (which I haven't done since the divorce nine months ago), and climbing into a tall queen sized overly fluffy bed and falling into a perfectly fine sleep until 5:00 this morning when I woke up and decided to make myself a cup of coffee, turn on the computer and write this blog post.

My first two days on the road went by fast. So far so good. Today I will drive to Gulf Islands National Seashore in Mississippi. At least that's the plan. But breakfast first.