I went to the beach to take a hike in the woods.  Abundant contrasts and outdoor choices fill the Florida county called Franklin, which is pleasant to discover through its communities: Apalachicola, St. George Island and Carrabelle.

    Walk the stretch of beach bordering the Coastal Highway, or drive this Big Bend scenic byway; either way the Gulf of Mexico is breathtaking at dawn, dusk and the sunshine in-between.

    Water on one side, some houses now and then, with a few for sale, and thousands of acres of forest on the other side. That startling beach-to-woods contrast repeats itself all day long.

    Here I was at the beach in November, walking in Tate’s Hell State Forest, immersing myself in saw palmetto and bald cypress trees, 200,000 acres of good habitat for red cockaded woodpeckers and bald eagles.

Easy for me to think only of the woods and poor sad Cebe Tate whose one-day hunt in 1875 turned into four days lost and attacked by snakes, bees, bears and hunger, only to die as he emerged from the forest, declaring he’d been to hell.

    Startled myself emerging from the light-filtered woods directly to the sunshiny Gulf beach. Big contrast face-to-face.

    Works the other direction too.  One early morning I drove along the sunny coast to find Journeys, an outfitter and tour guide center managed by Australian Dayle Flint because I wanted to kayak on the New River within Tate’s Hell.

    That’s dark tannin water, clean but colored by the cypress trees. These woods double charmed me—dense forest on either side as I skimmed along plus tree tops reflected in the smooth waters. 

    Contrast is what the famous Apalachicola oysters like too—salt and fresh water both to grow to the desired three inch size ready for steaming and sometimes toppings of cheese, garlic, spinach, horseradish, hot sauce, lemon and other concoctions.

    I’ll confess to eating some of mine raw but that comes with lots of warnings about troubled livers and immune systems.

    Sure are good every way local oysters are served here, so fresh. No oil spilled in Apalachicola Bay but local harvesters, distributors and restaurateurs agreed together to harvest heavily in case the oil arrived.

    Thankful it didn’t, they say, but sad to have reached in to their crop of little oysters that now won’t be around to mature for the next season.

     I ate a steamed dozen oysters topped with spinach and parmesan at Captain Snook’s right on the Bay in Eastpoint with a bowl of shrimp bisque for lunch one day, and another dozen at Harry A’s on St. George Island with a bowl of red pepper and gouda soup for dinner.

    Steamed oysters prepared by Chef Bill Rowles at Pit Stop, the most unlikely name for a fine-cooking place on Highway 98/319 with oysters, the best roasted Brussel sprouts ever, grilled portabella mushroom, flounder served whole body style and an amazing miniature crème puff tower.

    Stop at this Stop in Carrabelle for certain.

    Breakfast was a main meal for me too in Apalachicola because I was waking in the Coombs House Inn.  Apple strudel strata.  Breads of pumpkin, cinnamon, raisin and berry. Quiche generous with ham.  Melons, pineapple, grapes and citrus.

    Romantic. Elegant. Substantial this 1905 Inn.  Black cypress walls, carved oak stairway, gracious balconies with wicker chairs, all the rooms filled with antiques and a few period reproductions.

    My exceptionally comfy, firm and sturdy four-poster bed required a two-step stool to get in and out, and the private bathroom fit so well in my room with bead board ceiling and 12-inch molding that I thought the Coombs family might have ordered it 105 years ago.

 Lynn Wilson is the reason why.  Drawing on a lifetime of renovating grand hotels and designing luxury properties all over the world, she added intuition about Apalachicola to her vision for this home.

“I felt the charm of this community when I first visited in 1978, and believed a proper renovation of this empty elegant property would spark more good things,” Wilson says.

Seems it did.  She and airline executive husband Bill Spohrer hired local carpenters, craftsmen and painters—good for community–and today the Coombs House Inn is featured in the Select Registry of Distinguished Ins of North America and considered one of the “30 Great US Inns” by Travel + Leisure magazine.  

    Don’t stay away fearing the price. Architectural and antique details are the same year round and prices can start at $99 or go up to $229.

    Plus, if you like meeting people as much as I do, you’ll enjoy these low-key owners with distinguished life journeys, and Lynn’s mother might pop in for fresh afternoon cookies or weekend wine.

    You’ll sort of recognize her—Alice Jean Gibbs was one of the first Rockettes, called Roxys, and the model in the early Coca Cola ads.  She teaches art in Apalachicola too.  Her photo is on a vintage Coca Cola tray on the second floor.

    Good place for longevity perhaps, this stretch of Gulf beach, forests, fishing and small communities.  Local folks like to point out 85 percent of their county is public land, good for outdoor activity and outdoor art.

    The community college in the next county devised a “green guides” curriculum, 90 hours of classes I think it is, so people like me can make a call and take a walk with someone who knows a bunch about the place.

    Lesley Cox was my certified Green Guide one afternoon on the High Bluff Coastal Trail in Tate’s Hell State Forest and on a boardwalk into a swamp of dwarf cypress trees.

“With a million acres, everything that was ever here, still is,” Cox likes to say about the state and national forests, pointing out wildlife, roots connecting saw palmettos hundreds of years old and the location of vast pitcher plant prairies, not blooming when I was there but something for which to return.

Certified guidance on the high seas is available too on a vacation in Apalachicola, Carrabelle and St. George Island.

Traveling husband and photographer G. W. Tibbetts went 13 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico with Capt. Chester Reese on Natural World Charters to catch amberjack, grouper and king mackerel around K Tower, one of many in the area the Air Force uses in aerial training.

Fish seem to like the towers too. Reese has been helping BP Oil all summer, transporting officials to inspect boomer operations.  Pleased Reese that no oil was spotted in his waters except for a bit off the tip of Little St. George Island and it never reached the beach, he said.  

Dog Island was one of G. W.’s destinations on the fishing trip, accessible only by boat or small private plane.  Maybe a hundred houses for part-time living here, plus a small inn.

Bring in all your groceries if you book a room on Dog Island.

I don’t know how to fish so I headed that day for the new science research center showing connections shared by the river, bay and Gulf shore here.  A blend of aquarium, museum, scenic view, ongoing research and enthusiastic science staff, this is actually one of 28 research reserves in America.

Second largest, according to director Seth Blitch, with 247,000 acres. Only Alaska’s is larger, and the newest one is on Lake Superior in Wisconsin.

The name is big too and hard to remember: Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve.

Call it what you like and just feel the enthusiasm behind it, and the seven and a half years of design and planning to make it so good.

Silver LEED certified too, with simple signage throughout the grounds and building showing how they save energy and giving some ideas to apply at home.

“Apalachicola Bay is more than water,” Blitch says and videos, displays, murals, five aquariums, interactive button-punching exhibitions and big views of forest and water helped me interact more with these waters as they connect with one another all the time.

Local people are connecting in new ways too, changing downtown spaces into galleries and art studios as more and more artists select Apalachicola and St. George Island as home.

“We are refocusing our energies on things handmade, on things that come from our area,” says Joe Taylor pointing to his store brimming with painting, sculpture, jewelry, pottery—formal and folk art, and the businesses throughout town.

Big claim he makes that “We’re on the edge of a resurgence of people believing in handmade, locally made beautiful items.”

I believed him after an afternoon that wasn’t long enough to visit and view all the art spaces, and chat with the artists and owners.

Sure do like discovering a place calling me back even before I leave.