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Kurt

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Oct 15, 2004
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4,925
SoWal
mooncreek.com
The shucked oysters and grouper sandwiches were flying out of the kitchen Sunday at Pompano Joe's, an oceanside restaurant popular with Gulf Coast tourists.

The Silver Sands outlet store complex parking lot was jammed. Bars were crowded. Traffic moved at a snail's pace on U.S. 98 -- and few complained.


After weeks of fears of an economic disaster in northwest Florida because of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the crowds are back this Memorial Day weekend, which kicks off the summer tourist season in the region known as the Emerald Coast.



``I'm trying to get our economy going,'' said Joan Franklin of Tampa, who wasn't about to let oil spill fears keep her from a trip she looks forward to every year.


``We figured the spill wasn't going to hit. It looks like it's nowhere near here,'' said B.J. Morrison of Hattiesburg, Miss., who waited a half hour to get a table at Pompano Joe's -- where a manager said Saturday's cash receipts broke the single-day record.


``What you're seeing now is a peak of people coming to the beach,'' said Amelia Snellgrove of Pelham, Ga. `They don't want to wait and have the oil come. Everybody I know came to the beach this weekend.''


Destin beachgoers were surprised to get a first-hand welcome from Gov. Charlie Crist, who showed up to personally thank the tourists for coming.


``I'm the governor, and we're happy to have you,'' Crist said to Terry Harris of Birmingham, standing near a bright-red beach tent. He and a group of friends were enjoying their second pitcher of what Alabamians call ``summer beer'' -- a mixture of Crystal Light lemonade, light beer and vodka.


With TV cameras at the ready, Crist signed paperwork freeing more than $2 million for Panhandle tourism boards to spend on ads tailored to keep people coming to northwest Florida. The 45-day commercial blitzes will be paid for with some of BP's $25 million donated to Florida.
 
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