Alligator Point News

I can't wait to post pictures of the paving machines on Alligator Dr.  For now you will have to settle for the report that this week C.W. Roberts had crews walking the road and marking for the resurfacing.  Hopefully we will see equipment here next week and paving will be underway. 

With highs in the low to mid 90's it has been hot and humid, and we are getting a good share of rain showers.  The warm weather has been a great reason to get out on the boat and catch a fish or snorkel for some scallops.  Although scallops were not as plentiful at Lanark as reported at St Marks, the scallops were huge not too hard to find for the boys.  We found most of ours behind the new townhouses where the old Lorenzo's restaurant used to be.

Offshore fishing has been hit or miss lately.  Friends of mine report that it is tough to find keeper grouper in deep water while others are finding more in 50-60 feet of water.  My wife Stephanie and son Jack and I snuck out on a Wednesday morning (one of the benefits of living on Alligator Point)and found keepers in just 34 feet of water.  The seas were building so we did not stay long, but the fish cooperated.  Frozen bait was more productive than live.  Jack caught the most fish with black sea bass, a remora, and several grunts.   

Sales and rental activity are holding steady with lots of inquiries and a few closings.  Guests are making plans for next summer already and have already made almost 50 reservations for 2009.

Rachel and Dini were surprised this morning when a black bear walked by their windows at the office.  I was able to snap a couple of pictures from our back deck before he moved down the bay on Harbor Circle. 

My wife Stephanie followed him down Harbor Circle and took some much closer shots.

Last we heard he was under some houses on the beach and headed west at around noon.  He has an ear tag, so he has had previous encounters.  If you see him, please keep your distance.  Keep your garbage enclosed and wait until Wednesday morning to put your garbage at the curb.

It was a busy Memorial Day Weekend at Alligator Point with the most visitors that we could remember in over 3 years.  Of course most of the visitors did not feel that it was crowded because they are from counties with more than 2 traffic lights.  Most folks were on their best or near best behavior and did not leave too big of a mess to clean up.  My only regret is that we did not have our new store open to help save expensive gas used on trips across the bridge.  We are working towards a new store and new office for Harbor Point, but the office will most likely be open before the store.

In order to invite folks visiting Franklin County to consider their next vacation at Alligator Point with us, we worked with Forgotten Coast TV to develop a 90 second commercial for Harbor Point Vacation Rentals.  Forgotten Coast TV is based in Apalachicola and broadcasts locally produced content on Mediacomm channel 3 in Franklin County and other Mediacomm markets that have an empty channel 3.  Royce Rolstad, John Spohrer, and Sheila Hauser made it look easy to script, film, and edit the spot that is now running during the Places to Stay segment on Forgotten Coast TV.  You can watch the spot online at our website or by clicking here.

If you have not already made your reservations for a vacation rental this summer, please don't wait too long.  There are only a few houses open for certain weeks during the summer, but we have accepted some new managed properties that are still available for most dates.

Lots of fishermen have been doing well inshore and offshore once the wind stopped blowing enough to sneak out.  I took my friends Jesse and Colleen out on one of the windy days, and we were able to find a couple of keepers, including a nice cobia that just happened by.

This week the Franklin County Commission voted to authorize the spending of over $4 million towards repairing and resurfacing Alligator Drive.  Hopefully, the funding will at least cover the cost of resurfacing from the Bald Point Road curve to past the marina. 

Franklin County and the developers for the South Shoal project at the site of the former campground are still working towards a resolution of the relocation of Alligator Drive through South Shoal on the newly constructed road.  Franklin County is committed to the relocation of the road, and FEMA funding is still available to complete the unbuilt section.

We are all looking forward to the start (and completion) of all of the road work.

There are a number of folks looking at property in the Alligator Point area and a few properties are under contract.  We closed the sale of house near the beach this week.  Prospective buyers are most interested in the least expensive houses near or on the water.  The least expensive houses will probably have to sell before interest in vacant land increases.

Rental reservations are very strong with some properties already booked for the entire season.  If you are making plans to come down don't wait too long to make reservations at www.harborpointrentals.com .  If you have a house at Alligator Point that you would like us to consider managing as a vacation rental, please call the office 850-349-9599 or by email to paul@harborpointrealty.com .

Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you here.

Migrations are underway at Alligator Point - snow birds are migrating back to the  North (and reserving their nesting spots for next year.)   Fish are migrating back along the inshore reefs and flats.  The grouper are hungry, and the cobia and mackerel will be looking for their meals shortly, too.  Here's a "group"-er shot of a recent catch (Saturday, March 30th):

  And, of course, Steph's favorite migration -- that of the birds-- has contributed some lovely colors to our typically subdued landscape. 

Alligator Point experienced a short-lived bird migration "fallout" that lasted only a couple of days around April 14th.  Steph's hoping that there is still a chance for another fallout, as her camera battery died at a critical point -- missing some priceless scarlet tanager shots.  She has contributed a few shots to this blog and continues to update her Flickr page (www.flickr.com/photos/thewildlifeofalligatorpoint) on a regular basis.

She captured this ruby-throated hummingbird near the pittosporum bushes behind the office.    For a time, the bushes were ablaze with several male and female ruby-throats and there are still several around.

Capitalizing on Harbor Point Realty office's ideal location and vegetation, Stephanie set up a feeder and sprinkler to encourage some of her favorite feathered friends to visit the office.  Quickly and unexpectedly, she received a distinguished guest.  We all thought she was a little nuts when she stalked with regularity the reddish bird that appeared on a reliable basis at the feeder in late afternoon.  Of course, once we saw what she was pursuing (in bird books and on her camera), everyone in the office looked forward to his visit.  It was the male painted bunting featured here:   

You would be hard pressed to find a bird on Alligator Point with more color.  Which leads us to a question:  What's more colorful than a male painted bunting on a bird feeder?  The answer:  Two male painted buntings, and that is exactly what visited the feeder shortly after the first one was discovered.  It was hard to get much work out of Stephanie between the hours of 11:30 and 3:00 when she was looking for her absolute favorite birds. 

Below are a few of the cast of characters that visited Alligator Point last week, though not nearly as many as Steph would have liked to have captured.

 Steph saw exactly one scarlet tanager last year.  This year she saw at least 6 males in one day, and at one point, there were 3 in a single tree.  Once you see one, they're hard to miss.

This blue grosbeak was cooperative enough to be in the sun when Steph spotted him down near the marina.  The blue is amazing as are the wing colors -- another of her favorites.  Over the next couple of weeks, keep a look out for these birds, as well as: rose-breasted grosbeaks, summer tanagers, indigo buntings, swallow tailed kites, Mississippi kites, and various warblers.

If you have not been to Alligator Point lately to enjoy one of the "migrations", you need to visit soon before the summer migration of heat and summer visitors.

Although it is pretty quiet at the coast this time of the year, there are lots of activities in the area.  The weather is fantastic, and fish are biting.  Come to the coast during the fall and winter and enjoy the local celebrations and great rates on vacation rentals.

Wed, November 14, 2007 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM   Stargazing at St. George Island State Park w/ Alan Knothe Learn about constellations, planets and other amazing facts, and search the night skies. To sign up and for more information, contact Alan @ alan.knothe@dep.state.fl.us or 850-653-8063. Sun, November 18, 2007 -- Tue, November 20, 2007   Panhandle Players Present "A Christmas Carol" By Charles Dickens, adapted by Cora Wilson Greenwood November 16 and 17 - 8 p.m. and November 18 - 3 p.m. Dixie Theatre, Apalachicola Area restaurants participating in the Dinner and a Show package, offering a 15% discount to 2007-08 Panhandle Players?season ticket holders. Season tickets available by calling (850)670-8261 or through Panhandle Players board members. Fri, November 23, 2007   Historic Apalachicola Annual Holiday Celebration This Celebration will light up Apalachicola from 4:30-8:00 pm. The streets of downtown will be lined with luminaries and filled with holiday spirit. Merchants will be open late and the sounds of carolers will echo through the streets filling the evening with Christmas spirit. The highlight, of course, will be the big guy himself. Santa arrives via shrimp boat at 4:00 pm at the City Dock on Water Street. Santa will hear children's Christmas wishes and carolers will sing. Join us for an old-fashioned Christmas celebration! For more information, contact the Chamber office at (850) 653-9419. November 30 - December 2, 2008 ~ Murder Mystery Weekend  Gibson Inn, Apalachicola Sat, December 01, 2007   Island Lights Celebrate the holidays Island Style with the lighting of the palm trees in the center of St. George Island. Santa will be there and there will be food, beverage and fun. For more information call (850) 927-2604. Sat, December 01, 2007   Holiday Fresh Market Why fight the crowds and traffic at the malls? Come for the day or the weekend. Shop in a relaxed, hassle-free environment. Buy hand-crafted Apalachicola specialties from fresh seasonal wreaths to vintage European glass bead jewelry. Your gift shopping has never been easier - or more fun. Call (850) 653-9419 for more information. December 9, 2007 Parade of Lights on the Carrabelle River Sun, December 16, 2007 4:00 PM   Christmas Program @ Historic Trinity Church in Apalachicola The Bay Area Choral Society, the First Methodist Church Bell Choir, the Eastpoint Church of God Women's Quintet, and the Riverkeeper Quartet will fill the church with sounds of the season. The finale has become an anticipated tradition: The Choral Society and audience singing the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah! Admission donation $2.00.

Harbor Point is proud to announce a new feature of our web site where we share some of our favorite 's photos of the area's wildlife and other natural features taken by Stephanie Parker.  Here is a sample that we call The Turtle Race.

 Bill Wargo invited us to witness the release of baby Loggerheads recently, and Stephanie took some great pictures.  Her work has recently been featured in the Tallahassee Democrat. You can see more at www.harborpointrealty.com/wildlifephotos .

I am also proud to announce that Harbor Point Realty recently closed the first brokered sale of a house on the beach in over a year on Alligator Point.  I believe the buyers got an excellent deal.  The sale generated a few offers on other beachfront properties, but none of the offers were accepted.  This is normally a slow time of the year even when there is more activity.

Interest in vacation rentals continues to increase as folks make plans for next spring break and even summer of 2008 vacations.  We have some great new vacation rentals, and we are increasing our advertising and web page features in order to keep them occupied.  Very soon guests will be able to search online for rental properties according to their desired dates and property characteristics.

The Alligator Point beach renourishment project continues to be refined as it moves closer to permitting and construction.  The Franklin County Commission is scheduled to vote on the beach renourishment assessment program on October 16, 2007 at 3:00 P.M. at the courthouse annex in Apalachicola. 

The Franklin County Commission is holding a public workshop on the Alligator Point Beach Renourishment project on Friday, August 24, 2007 at 5:00 pm at the Mission by the Sea Church. Everyone interested in providing input on the funding of the renourishment project and finding out the latest updates should attend.   

We've all driven by watching and waiting patiently for the announcement. Finally,  today is the day. After two years Angelo's has reopened their doors and is serving that great food we've missed terribly. Come down, have a great meal and stop by and see David Vann at the jewelry counter. The new building is great with an elevator, lots of outdoor seating and a private banquet room. Hope to see you soon!  

Click on Photos for larger image. 

Construction is completed on the new road in South Shoal. The black top is finished, stripes are on the road and the sidewalks are completed. This is the nicest and longest stretch of new road with sidewalks on Alligator Point and already locals and vacationers are walking and riding their bikes through the area.  

Interest in coastal real estate on Alligator Point is on the increase. We've been showing property several times a week and offers have been made. It's a good time to find a good deal with beach front houses starting at less than $800,000 and waterfront houses as low as $449,000. The least expensive houses on the Point are less than $200,000.