The year was 2006. A group of five small families, consisting of a total of 8 middle schoolers, made the journey south for the ever illustrious spring break shenanigans. 15 and half hours we drove to the quaint little Saint Georges Island, just off the coast of Apalachicola, Florida. One night for dinner we found ourselves feasting at a beach side, Jimmy Buffet themed, restaurant. The bountiful dishes consisted of fried hush puppies and bright red lobster with melted butter, just waiting to be cracked open. The evening was dreamy as the parents sipped on frozen daiquiris and the children played in the sandy waves until the fried beach food was ready.

Map of St. Georges Island
Source: http://www.surf-forecast.com/breaks/St-George-Island

I have a strong memory of my twelve year old self being handed a mysterious slimy white creature nestled in an open shell. My friends fathers, Roger and Steve, half drunkenly giggled handing me this unknown object. Much like the time I was first offered a bloody merry, the adults knowing my young taste buds would most likely reject the briny experience. Intending to be bold, I tilted my head back and down the hatch the foreign mucilaginous morsel went. Unchewed, and quickly swallowed, I was stunned to find the thing was ice cold, slimy and salty. This was certainly a combination I had never encountered before. As the group laughed, I was caught in a moment of contemplated confusion. I certainly did not like it at first try. However, as the morsel settled into my stomach I felt a glow of pride and excitement for the new cuisine, a sort delicate and mature thing to savor. I did not reach for a second helping, but was certainly intrigued by the experience. It was nearly a decade later until I had my second try at an Oyster. Only this time, I was 3,000 Miles northwest in Olympia, Washington. As I tried my first puget sound oyster with complicated, salty sweet notes hitting my tong my memories flooded back to me of my first encounter with an oyster. Never to forget those formative years when we would swallow unknown substances just to get a laugh from our pears.

~Katherine Kirchoff