You would be hard pressed to find a local in Central Florida who hasn’t heard of Dixie Crossroads in Titusville, or who doesn’t hanker of the restaurant’s specialty – rock shrimp. In fact, when you know the story, you quickly learn that the two are synonymous.
 
Known to fishermen as “peanuts” or “hardheads” for their especially hard shell, there was a time when shrimpboat crews literally shoveled rock shrimp over the side as garbage, often chucking 5,000 – 10,000 pounds overboard while deckhands sifted to find brown shrimp. That was until Dixie Crossroads owner, Rodney Thompson decided to reverse the trend, and in doing so he spawned an entirely new industry.
 
After inventing a commercially viable way to split their shells, Thompson literally created a new product and market demand for this little known oddity from the Atlantic ocean. Witnessing his success, other processing plants soon followed suit and today, rock shrimp, which have a taste more akin to lobster, are among the sweetest delicacies on the East Coast. Dixie Crossroads alone can serve up to a ton (2000 lbs) of rock shrimp, a dozen at a time.
 
The crustacean’s sudden popularity has also put pressure on sustaining its stocks. It wasn’t too long ago when rock shrimp were found as far up the east coast as Virginia, now they rarely make it much further north than Cape Canaveral.  And the Thompson family has picked up the gauntlet.
 
An ex-commercial fishing boat captain for swordfish, tuna, grouper and snapper, Rodney’s daughter, Laurilee, knows first hand the ramifications of over-fishing.  With her associate’s degree in oceanographic technology, Laurilee was able to apply scientific principles to her fish hunts, Laurilee became one of the industry’s biggest producers. “The fish didn’t have a chance”, she quips.
 
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Check back regularly for the latest choice of destinations hand- picked by Greatest Getaways.com editor, Chris McBeath


Cariboo Country
Big Bar Ranch
Echo Valley Ranch Resort (Clinton)
The Flying U Ranch (70 Mile House)
Helmcken Falls Lodge
Quesnel River Lodge
The Hills Health Ranch
Siwash Lake Ranch

Gulf Islands
Bowen – Xenia Centre
Galiano – The Galiano Inn
Galiano – The Driftwood Village Resort
Pender – Clam Bay Island Retreat
Pender – Sahhali Serenity Oceanfront
Salt Spring – Anchor Point B&B
Salt Spring – Hastings House
Sonora – Sonora Resort

Interior BC
Apex Mountain Resort
Big White Resort
Cathedral Lakes Lodge
Douglas Lake Ranch
Lakeside Iallahee Inn (Vernon)
Manteo Resort (Kelowna)
Pinnacles Suite Hotel (Silver Star Mountain)
Quaaout Lodge (Shuswap)
Saddleback Lodge (Penticton)
Stump Lake Ranch (Kamloops)
Sun Peaks Resort
Sundance Guest Ranch (Ashcroft)
Tyax Mountain Lake Resort

Newfoundland
Gros Morne National Park

Rocky Mountains/ Kootenays Region
Kicking Horse Mountain Resort
Lizard Creek Lodge

Sunshine Coast
Desolation Resort
Four Winds Beach House & Spa

Vancouver Island - Victoria
Abigail's Hotel
The Aerie
Amoré by the Sea
Eagle's Nest B$B
Harbour Towers Hotel
The Hartmann House
Hotel Grand Pacific
Humboldt House
The LatchMalahat Farm
The Markham House
Delta Victoria Oceanpointe Resort and Spa
Prancing Horse Retreat
Prior House B&B Inn
The Shoal Harbour Inn
Sooke Harbour House

Vancouver Island - Nanaimo
Bahari B&B
Beach Acres Resort
Castlebury Cottage
Crownl Isle
Page Point Inn
Maclure House
Olde Mill House B&B
Strathcona Park Lodge
Tigh-Na-Mara

Vancouver Island - Tofino/Ucluelet
Cable Cove Inn
Inn at Tough City
Long Beach Lodge Resort
Pacific Sands Beach Resort
A Snug Harbour Inn
Tauca Lea
Wickaninnish Inn

Vancouver City and Surround
Beachside B&B
Counting Sheep Inn
Duck Inn
Harrison Hot Springs Resort & Spa
OCanada House
The Palms Guest House
River Run Cottages
Southlands House by the Sea
ThistleDown House
Wedgewood Hotel
West End Guest House

Whistler and Surround
Durlacher Hof
Edgewater Lodge
The Log House Inn B&B
Nu-Salya Chalet
Whistler Chalets


Alabama
Dothan's Dozen
Teeing Off Along the RTJ Trail

Arizona
La Hacienda del Sol, Tucson

California
Los Angeles - Off the Freeway
Mill Valley
San Francisco

Florida
Cheeca Lodge and Spa (Keys)
Daytona's Dozen
Hawk's Cay Rresort (Keys)
Plenty of Space on Land
Shrimp Success

Georgia
Appalachain trail
Chattahoochee River
Coastal Georgia
Romantic Georgia
Savannah
Smithgall Woods-Duke’s Creek

North Carolina
Kitty Hawk
Outer Banks
Outer Banks Best
Snow For All

San Juan Islands
Friday Harbor House
The Resort at Deer Harbor

South Carolina
River Bend Sportsman’s Resort

Washington State
China Beach Retreat
The Chrysalis Inn & Spa
Inn at the Market
Shelburne Inn
Sun Mountain Lodge



International Getaways

Caribbean
Bahamas
Curaçao

Britain
Amberley Castle
Buckingham Gate

Malaysia
Kuala Terengganu

Mexico
Huatulco

Norway
Bergen Beat

Worldwide
Along for the Ride
Carnivals are Fun
Carnival Sparkles

"A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike."
John Steineck


"No matter where you go – there you are."
Earl MacRauch


"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes."
Marcel Proust


"
A good holiday is one spent among people whose notions of time are vaguer than yours."
John Boynton Priestley 


"
The journey of a thousands miles begins with one step."
Lao Tzu 570-490 BC


"Take only memories. Leave nothing but footprints."
Chief Seattle
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