Route 17 is not just an iconic historical highway that runs the length of the eastern seaboard. It also passes through some of the most prime shrimping zones in the United States. Viewing this historical route through a contemporary lens, this study is an impressionistic profile of a vintage southern highway and the culture that surrounds it.

Known as the Coastal Highway, U.S. Route 17 runs along the Eastern Seaboard from Punta Gorda, Florida, to Winchester, Virginia, passing many of the prime shrimping waters in the southern United States. Visiting remote ports-of-call cluttered with trawlers, and the many eateries along the route--some established, some obscure--the author explores the Lowcountry shrimping culture and presents a colorful profile of the "17-ers," the eccentric lifetime residents of the highway corridor.