In the book the main setting is the town St. Julien les Pins, and the nearby places mentioned are Les Sables, St. Martin, and the forest of Olonne.
Some of these places do exist. Les Sables exists on France's west coast, south of Nantes. The forest of Olonne (Forêt d'Olonne) runs along the coast just north of Les Sables, so presumably this is the area the author had in mind. There are numerous cities in France named Saint Martin, although none are very close to Les Sables.
If St. Julien les Pins is a fictional name, the name is cleverly chosen to resemble typical French city names. For example, there exist cities St.-Julien-les-Rosiers, St.-Julien-les-Villas, St.-Julien-lès-Metz, etc., as well as Juans-les-Pins, Sausset-les-Pins, Brette-les-Pins, etc. Inland of Les Sables on the way to La Roche exist the towns of St.-Julien-des-Landes and le Pin. ("Le pin" is French for "the pine," so "les pins" means "the pines.")
The beach with the pilings shown in the opening and ending scenes is the east shore of the Bob Sikes Channel--the channel that separates Big St. George Island on the east from Little St. George Island on the west. Those pilings still exist, but the east island has been built up a great deal since the movie was filmed in 1988. Fishing boats do commonly pass through the channel. The channel is also called the "Bob Sikes Cut."
There is a road that passes down the center of the St. George Plantation up to a small parking lot near Bob Sikes Channel, but this road begins at a guard gate and is for Plantation residents only. The public can reach the west end of the island by walking the west beach for some or all the distance (you can cut over to the road at many places), but it is about a 2-hour walk. There is a rock jetty on both sides of the channel, and it is a popular pole fishing location--not nearly as unpopulated now as depicted in the film.
Sad to say, St. George Island has largely lost its appeal since the movie was made, due to excess building that destroyed many natural areas. Both St. George Island and downtown Apalachicola have been becoming increasingly commercialized since the mid-1980s. [feature article] Little St. George Island on the west of the channel is one place to go if you want isolation; there are no roads, bridges, or buildings, you can reach it only by boat, and people often go there to picnic and to let their dogs run free for a while. There are other uninhabited, unconnected small barrier islands in this chain, too.
BACK
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| private beach & small bays
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx | xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxx-----road--------(to guard gate)-->
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Little xxxxxxxxxx pilings :xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (big)
St. George xxxxxxxxxx :xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx St. George
Island xxxxxxxxxx .....xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Island
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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx# # xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:xxxx|xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx# Bob #xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:xxxx| wooden xxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx# Sikes #xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:xxxx| walkway xxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx# Channel #xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:xxxx|xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
# # : public beach
# # : pilings
# #
rock # | # rock
jetty # | # jetty
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v to Gulf of Mexico
The Happy Pelican restaurant still exists. It is close to the causeway entrance to St. George Island, though there have been a few changes. In the film the building is unpainted wood whereas now it is painted green. The oval pelican logo on the stand-up sign on the roof is the same. The sign in its front parking lot now reads:
PELICAN GRILL & PUB
whereas in the film the front sign read:
HAPPY PELICAN FAMILY RESTAURANT <= <= <= <= <=However, on the back side of the building on a storage shed is a sign that is identical to the film sign, other than having the arrows pointing in the other direction. The owners have also changed.
to causeway
("Bryant Patton Bridge
and Causeway")
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W + E |
S W. First St. |
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| Happy Pelican |
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----------------------Pine Ave.-----------------
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to St. George <---------------------------------------------------
Plantation
An advertisement from a real estate brochure by Anchor Vacation Properties reads:
"Happy Pelican", W. Pine St., SGI: [0.2 mi from Anchor SGI/38 mi from Anchor CSB] New owners Joe & Bobbie Felice have made The Pelican St. George Island's best kept secret; Relaxed casual atmosphere, friendly service and all food cooked to order. Open daily for breakfast, lunch & dinner. Fried, grilled or steamed seafood. Steaks, pasta, homemade soups, gumbos, salads, munchies, egg-rolls rate rave reviews. Come and see why the locals have made this their favorite place to eat. (904) 927-9826.
Complete address & phone number:
The Happy Pelican, 49 W. Pine Ave., St. George Island, FL 32328, (850)
927-9826.
[4-23-98: The area code for St. George Island is now (850) instead of (904), and the above phone number is out of service. I'm checking on this.]
[5-19-98: The Happy Pelican received my registered letter with a postage-paid return envelope many weeks ago and has not bothered to return it, despite my offer to display their menu for free on the Internet.]
