Living in Georgia for 17 years and unawares of the gorgeous coastline.
Every year, the tiny hamlets that support Georgia's shrimping industry hold festivals to honor the oncoming seasons of work.
They're a common occurrence in fishing towns. The local bishops come out to dowse the boats in holy water and prayers, hence the name Blessing of the Fleet.
I attended a blessing festival in Darien, Ga., hub of Macintosh County, which occurs each March.
The Darien festival has all the makings of a down-home jamboree: parade, ferris wheel, gyro wrap stand, walkable craft mart--all the usuals.
At night, live music rocked the shrimphead fanatics: Sammy Kershaw on Friday, and a sweet, very ripping Motown cover band on Saturday.
Wild Georgia Shrimp, the weekends honoree, is a taste to behold. One booth had the goods lightly battered, served with perfect french fried potatoes. It's certain that eating local food, even fried, is preferable to crustaceans shipped in from Taiwan.
A good friend and co-worker of the past two years recently moved down to Darien, possibly the quintessential shrimping town, to renovate a house there. He's had friends throughout his life from the area and is therefore pretty fluent in the geography of Georgia's marshy/coastal/barrier island regions, making him a wonderful tour guide.
I'd studied the barrier islands and such in school but never had the opportunity to explore the Georgia coast save for a quick swim out Tybee Island way during a trip to Savannah.
Now I'm hooked.
The gnats, the salty air, the cool breezes...they've rekindled a yearning for the ocean I've felt ever since leaving Prince Edward Island so many years ago. And while I'm not the swimmer or diver type, just being near the water relaxes me to no end.
The following weekend, back in the NE Georgia foothills, my wife, a friend, and I found ourselves before the feasting table of a crawfish boil. I hope that every Spring from here on is as shellfishy as this year.
