September 19 ’tis International Talk Like a Pirate Day and ye may find below favorite cities this sassy solo travel wench enjoys spending time swashbuckling for treasure and talking like a pirate.
Amelia Island, Fla. – This Northeast Florida barrier island ran amok with pirates in the early 1800s under the Mexico flag, which was the six of eight flags to fly over the island. Visitors can see members of the Fernandina Pirates throughout the year but guaranteed to see them during the Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival held the first full weekend in May each year.
New Orleans, La. – Always an enjoyable place for debauchery, I’m fascinated with the paranormal and voodoo throughout the city and hadn’t paid much attention to pirate history until I visited New Orleans during Pyrate Con in 2008. Jean Laffite is the Big Easy’s most famous pirate visitor when he landed in the city during the early 1800s.
Salem, Mass. – Primarily associated with witches, Salem has a legendary history of New England pirates dating back to the 1600s. Check out the New England Pirate Museum for a slightly hokey yet historical look at Salem’s sea robbers.
Savannah, Ga. – Pirate tales date back to the 1700s and seem to center around The Pirate’s House, now a restaurant which opened in 1753. Just a half-hour east of Savannah is Tybee Island which annually hosts Pirate Fest each October.
Tampa, Fla. – This really should be Southwest Florida because there’s pirate lore in my part of the world (Charlotte Harbor) up through Tampa, yet the Cigar City has embraced its pirate heritage with the annual Gasparilla Pirate Fest, a Mardi Gras-type city-wide celebration each January.
Now git yer pirate speak on with these tips.
