This marker is hard to miss as it is black with white lettering and it stands in front of a…read morebrilliant white building. It is in excellent condition and there is street parking. The marker reads, "The Franklin Guards, a company of Infantry organized in Apalachicola in 1884 by J.H. Coombs and Fred Betterfield, erected the first building in the city to be used solely as an armory in 1898. Made of simulated brick, it was located at the corner of High Street and Center Avenue. On May 25, 1900, fire destroyed it and much of the downtown. On July 3, 1900, a committee was formed to build a new armory. The facility was designed by Frank and Thomas Lockwood of Columbus, Georgia and constructed by John H. Hecker. It was completed in 1901 at a cost of $12,000. The replacement armory features real brick walls and a gable roof with a gable parapet. Solid massing of the walls, slit windows, and a corner tower that resembles a medieval watchtower make this an imposing military structure. Fort Coombs is a unique example of "fortress architecture" in Florida, and has served as the military and social nexus of Apalachicola for more than a century. Units stationed here have been mobilized for service in World Wars I and II, the Gulf War and the War with Iraq. Bronze plaques located on the exterior front wall memorialize the names of generations of Apalachicola and Franklin County citizens who have served their State and Nation." There are a number of plaques on the front of the building listing those from this area who have served their country. [Review 14673 overall, 173 of 2021, number 1239 in Florida.]

This marker is located in front of the Franklin County Courthouse and provides the history of this…read morepart of Florida. The marker reads, "Named for Benjamin Franklin, the county was created in 1832. Apalachicola, the county seat, which dates back to the times of the Creek Indians, was an important center for cotton trade. The county is noted for agriculture, timber, livestock and sea foods. Franklin County men of note include: Joseph White, territorial delegate to Congress; McQueen McIntosh, fiery secessionist; Dr. John Gorrie, inventor of artificial refrigeration; Alvin Wentworth Chapman, botanist; and Cosam Emir Bartlett, editor." Franklin County is the third-least populous county in Florida. After Apalachicola, the next biggest town is Carrabelle. It is about 25 miles east. The city's most recent claim to fame is that it was used as a training base for the World War II D-Day invasion of France. The beaches and islands were similar to the French coastline. [Review 14678 overall, 178 of 2021, number 1243 in Florida.]

Google Review of Collins Vacation Rentals:…read more Title: "If you or a member of your family has HIV, or as Collins Vacations specifies, "AIDs" be sure to read the fine print of the travel insurance upsell offered up and assured by booking agents as a "Smart" investment to protect against hurricanes "or" an HIV/AIDS based Heath History of a member of your rental party. Basically, Collins Vacations endorses insurance protections that requires all attending parties to disclose if they have ever been diagnosed with "AIDs." A term condemned by the Atlanta CDC as disparaging and off-color to describe the condition of HIV. I have been a faithful renter at Collins Vacation Rentals for many years and purchased Travel Insurance from Global Assistance = CSA Insurance sold by Collins Vacations Agents as part of the package to complete my beach rental. The rental insurance is well over $1K and the company, Collins Vacation Rentals uses this as a lucrative "upsell" as you do not want to lose your rental home expenses in the event of a hurricane. What Collins Vacation Rental agents do not disclose is that if "any" member of your party has AIDS (a disgusting term to describe the condition of HIV) you could be disqualified from rental reimbursement on the grounds of heath reasons. Basically, you have to make sure you read the "fine print." My email to Collins Vacation Rental: "Your travel insurance company has no idea how hard it is to "release" a patient's medical records to a party other than the patient, family member or relative themselves. In Georgia, you have to fill out specific "Medical Release" forms about any patient advocate before "any" records will be released. I will put this in the lessons learned category. I will also "publicly" release my rejection letter when it comes through the Consumer Protection Agency which will follow-up with Global Assistance. I am sure Global Assistance Insurance will get some feedback on the "AIDs" question. It is an insult to the HIV Positive community and should be pointed out publicly that such biased language is being used to deter paying customers from filing claims. Bottom line, Global Assistance Insurance = CSA Travel Insurance designed two forms that can not be processed by a doctor, hospital or healthcare facility. You can not go on a "fishing expedition" for medical records. Federal Laws such as HIPPA protect against such practices and I would have no idea of the data privacy protections Global Assistance Insurance could "certify" that such records would be kept confidential. The questions are "not" legal and am now exposing Global Assistance Insurance = SCA Travel Insurance and Collins Vacation Rentals to "fully" disclose these unscrupulous business practices. The HIPAA Privacy Rule at 45 CFR 164.510(b) permits covered entities to share with an individual's family member, other relative, close personal friend, or any other person identified by the individual, the information directly relevant to the involvement of that person in the patient's care or payment for health care.

Located at the foot of the John Gorrie Memorial Bridge, this city block sized park features a…read morecommunity center, boat launch, fishing pier, picnic tables and a pretty cool children's playground. The large open area and the pavilion are used to host an annual seafood festival which dates back to 1963. A nearby captions says that it is Florida's oldest maritime event. There is some street parking nearby. [Review 14679 overall, 179 of 2021, number 1244 in Florida.]

Took my two year old first thing in the morning. We had the whole playground to ourselves. This…read morepark had slides he could go down himself as well as bigger ones I went down with him on. Great views of the bay. Close to restaurants and shops so it was perfect. Huge chair that was perfect for a picture!

Captain Dwayne was a fantastic. He is very knowledgeable, kind, and funny. We caught a lot of…read morefish, had a great time, and would choose him next time we're back in St. George Island. We highly recommend him.

We have chartered Captain Dwayne every year for more the 15 years and every trip has been…read morememorable. We stay in the Bay and the Captain always gets us on Reds, Flounder and Trout. He is fun, personable, family oriented and a great fishing partner. His gear and boat are in great condition. I recommend him highly.

Not local oysters, everything sourced out of state. Only came for the local oysters. I live by…read morecedar key. Could've stayed home and ate them here.

So I'm going to preface some reviews I'm about to write with the following: My brother & I were on…read morea road trip from St. Petersburg, FL to Fort Worth, TX, in January of 2018. These are the places we hit along the way. They are also in my Yelp! list here: https://www.yelp.com/list/fl-to-tx-road-trip-2018-houston (also in any of the reviews written for the trip). From the event URL: "The event is held every year on the Friday and Saturday before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in downtown Historic Apalachicola at Riverfront Park. All proceeds goes directly towards paying for the brand new fire truck they were able to purchase a few years ago, due to this sole fundraising event!" This year was the 8th Annual Oyster Cook-Off and was held January 12th and 13th, 2018. My brother and I just happened to be driving through, the day BEFORE, with a reservation the next night on Port Arthur. Not wanting to miss out, we came back the next day. I'm glad we did, but... If you ate an oyster (at the tents) at this year's festival, and thought you were eating an Apalachicola oyster, you would be mistaken. Shocker right? Bigger shock, the oysters were from Texas, my home and our destination. I would have gone 4 stars if the oysters were local, but they weren't. In fact the oysters shucking factories here are staying in business because they are trucking in oysters from Texas to keep the factories busy. Hopefully the river will recuperate and the oyster beds will recover. I forget the exact root cause, something to do with humans affecting the salinity level in in the brackish part of the river, but I think things are getting better. But the festival was fun. It allowed us to spend more time in Apalachicola, which is a cute town. There was a lot of music, and a lot of food. There were also vendors galore with all the typical festival stuff. There are many cute year=round shops, and a nice collection of restaurants too. If you're lucky enough to hit this event, it's fun. Apalachicola also has a few other fun places to visit. Hopefully I'll get them into my list. Also, hopefully next year, 2019, Apalachicola oysters will be what's being served up, on the half shell, roasted, or in some seriously delicious chowder! Bottom line: If you search, you can find Apalachicola oysters being served in the restaurants. We found ONE. PS. There is an auction and a 5.5 K run. See the URL for more info.

Captain Lee is a professional angler AND nautical novices dream! we had the best time exploring the…read moreSGI and Apalachicola area with him. He knew great fishing spots and was able to guide us on what to do...and also carved in some floating fun to escape the heat. I'd highly recommend Captain Lee for fun family outings as well as serious deep sea fishing. Capt Lee is the best in the biz!

I found SGI Charters using a Google search and booked an evening fishing trip for 4 adults with…read morelittle information and was a little worried about that. Let me just say Capt. Lee not only met my expectations but surpassed them. We were constantly on fish, caught a large variety of fish, and then the Sharks. Fast and furious. The night ended with my brother-in-law landing a 7 footer. A trip with SGI Charters and Capt. Lee will become a family tradition.