There are some exemptions for who needs a fresh or salt water fishing license. For example, Florida residents 65 or older and children under 16 years of age do not need a license. If you are fishing on your homestead or the homestead of a spouse or child, you don’t need a license. That’s also true if you are a minor child fishing on the homestead of your parent. In addition, Florida residents who are totally and permanently disabled do not need to obtain a fishing license. 

You can purchase a fishing license online at https://gooutdoorsflorida.com/ or by downloading the free Fish | Hunt FL mobile app in the App Store or Google Play. You can also by call toll-free 888-FISH-FLORIDA (888-347-4356) to purchase a license.

For example, dogs are not allowed on the beach at the Eglin Air Force Base Annex on Cape San Blas. Please respect their rules. However, there are other areas of the beach where pets are allowed to go as long as they are on a leash.

Vitamin D is one of the most important vitamins for good health. Because it helps the human body use calcium from the diet, it is essential for strong bones. While it has many roles in the body, instructing the cells in the gut to absorb calcium and phosphorus is one of Vitamin D’s most essential functions.

Humans obtain vitamin D from sunlight and the food we eat. However, some people, including those with darker skin and those over the age of 65, are more at risk for being deficient in Vitamin D. While most people with a deficiency don’t experience symptoms, in extreme cases a lack of vitamin D can lead brittle, thin bones, in a condition called rickets. With rickets the bone tissue fails to properly mineralize, which results in soft bones, in addition to skeletal deformities. Research continues to reveal that Vitamin D plays a major role in protecting the body against a number of health problems.

If you live in northern latitudes, are homebound, or wear head coverings or long robes for religious purposes, you may need to add more vitamin D-rich foods to your diet or take a supplement like cod liver oil. Some foods rich in Vitamin D include salmon, swordfish, cod liver oil, canned tuna, beef liver, egg yolks, and sardines.

The Forgotten Coast of Florida is a great place to visit when you want to increase your Vitamin D levels. Hundreds of miles of beaches and trails, along with unforgettably quaint downtown areas and riverfront boardwalks provide perfect ways to spend time in the Florida sun.

Midday is the best time for being in the sun to boost Vitamin D. Remember to limit time in the sun and be sure to use protection when you aren’t trying to boost your Vitamin D levels. You should also consult your doctor for medical advice before making major health-related changes.

Vitamin D is known as the “Sunshine Vitamin” because when skin is exposed to the UVB rays of the sun, the body makes a chemical we call “Vitamin D” from cholesterol in the skin.

Serious Health Consequences Linked to Low Vitamin D Levels

• Osteoporosis
• Cancer
• Depression
• Muscle weakness
• Death

Survivors Bait and Tackle is open 7 days a week, from 6:30 am to 6:00 pm. Located at 28 W Pine Avenue, St. George Island.

In the 1950s retired lawyer and Republican candidate for governor Elvy Edison Callaway opened his Garden of Eden Park along the highway in the Florida Panhandle town of Bristol. Callaway believed that God had created man in the delta of the Apalachicola river, which split into four rivers, just as the Bible describes four rivers leading out of Eden.

The area was also the habitat of a rare tree known as the “Torreya yew,” (Torreya taxifolia) an unusual evergreen which can grow up to sixty feet tall, and earned the nickname “stinking yew” for the strong smell of its fruit when crushed. Callaway believed the Torreya was the “gopher wood” that the Bible says Noah used to build his Ark.

In his roadside kiosk, he displayed a Torreya log which he said was a remnant of the Ark. Visitors could pay $1.10 for admission into a wild unspoiled land of dramatic cliffs, rivers, and wildlife, and all proceeds from his “non-profit shrine” were to go to a local Florida retirement home. 

Today Callaway’s kiosk is long gone, but you can still hike the “Garden of Eden Trail” in the nearby Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve, run by the Nature Conservancy. The hike is considered one of Florida’s most challenging hiking trails due to the ravines and rough terrain.

In addition to creating a colony focused on economic production, the Co-Workers’ Fraternity was also concerned with spiritual, philosophical, and religious study.

Photos of Eastpoint in the early 1900’s from the Brown Family Collection in the (State Archives of Florida)

Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Even though walking in sand is more difficult, beach strollers tend to walk for a longer time because of the beauty of their surroundings.

Take time to explore the quiet beauty of the Forgotten Coast’s beaches on foot. Not only are you doing something healthy for your body, but your spirit as well.

Health Benefits of Walking on the Beach:

• The texture of the sand forces your muscles and tendons work over twice as hard as walking on a hard, flat surface
• Has been shown to reduce stress and promote relaxation
• Strengthens muscles and tendons in the legs and feet
• Burns significantly more calories than walking on a flat surface
• The sand exfoliates the dead skin from your feet as you walk
• Your body will use the sunlight to produce Vitamin D
• Strolling barefoot has many benefits, but for longer walks be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes to avoid potential shin splints and heel tendon pain.
• Since so many of our beaches are pet-friendly, it’s a great way to get exercise with your pup.

Walking on sand can be quite beneficial for your health. However, as with any new physical activity, you want to start slowly and increase your distance walked over time. Even walking can lead to injury if you go for too long or try to go for too great a distance before your muscles are ready.

Best Places to Walk on the Beach Along the Forgotten Coast

• St. George Island
• Cape San Blas
• Mexico Beach
• Dog Island
• St. Joe Beach

According to the Carrabelle Police Department’s website, the World’s Smallest Police Station came into being on March 10, 1963. The city had been having problems with tourists making unauthorized long distance phone calls on its police phone and with the policeman getting drenched when answering calls in the rain. So when the telephone company decided to replace its worn out phone booth in front of Burda’s Pharmacy with a new one, both problems were solved at once by putting the police phone in the old booth.

The old booth was moved to its current location, and while it did protect the officers from the elements, some people still snuck into it and made long distance calls. Eventually the dial was removed from the phone, making it impossible for tourists to make calls.

It has been featured on television shows “Real People”, “Ripley’s Believe It or Not”, “The Today Show”, “Johnny Carson”. Life has not always been easy for the St. Joseph Telephone and Telegraph Company phone booth since its retirement. Vandals have ripped phones out of the booth and shot holes through the glass. It has been knocked over by a pickup truck and another time by Hurricane Kate. A tourist once asked a gas station attendant to help him load it into his vehicle so he could take it back to Tennessee.

The original is now on display in the hallway of the current department between the World War II Museum, and the Police department.

Native to South America, the water hyacinth was brought to America in 1884. Though beautiful to behold, the water hyacinth is actually an invasive plant that has the potential to crowd out native plants and congests our local waterways, hindering both fishing and boating.  According to the University of Florida website, a mat of water hyacinth can double in size in only 6 to 18 days.

The Apalachicola Riverkeepers have been working to control water haycinth in the area. You can learn more about their efforts here.