Feb. 11

It’s Norm’s birthday today! We started out our day with a visit to the National Naval Aviation Museum which traces the development of aviation from its beginnings to the present with over 150 planes on display. Planes were everywhere, on the floor and hanging from the ceiling. Pensacola is the home of the Blue Angels and some of their jets were hanging from the ceiling! I have loved watching them fly over the Seattle area with Suz. We really enjoyed the Imax film high lighting the Blue Angels and had fun sitting in the cock pits of a couple of the planes. In the same area is Fort Barrancas, one of the four forts in the bay. Looking across the bay we could see Fort Pickens. Spain built the first fort in this area in 1698. This territory changed allegiances many times. The French were here in 1719, the British in 1763, then the U.S was in control before being occupied by the Confederate Army during the Civil War. The old Spanish fort is still standing unscathed in front of the formidable structure of Fort Barrancas. Before heading for town we visited the Pensacola Lighthouse. We found the history of Pensacola was characterized by the various cultures also. We visited the Historic Pensacola Village and toured Old Christ Church along with three homes built from 1805 to 1890. We saw many things we that were new to us. In 1805, they got their sugar in a hard “loaf.” the end of a wood mallet screwed off and had a pick attached. The mallet and pick were used to get a piece of sugar lose. They would put the sugar between their teeth and drink coffee with a nice sweet taste. Then put the leftover sugar back to be used again. They had beautiful larder boxes hanging from the ceiling to hold supplies and keep them safe from mice etc. The town has done a fabulous job of restoration with homes and businesses. A couple of streets looked very much like the French Quarter in New Orleans. We found a fabulous restaurant for Norm’s birthday dinner, Dharma Blue, where he could get some of the best Sushi ever, Chris had a fabulous chicken dish and I had one of the best duck meals ever. We do love a great meal out!

Feb 12

Today was a driving day along the Gulf through Panama City and circling up the coast stopping south of Tallahassee. From Pensacola to Panama City was one resort or hotel after another, quite the resort area. The beaches are beautiful! The white sand and turquoise water are gorgeous. We stopped at a state park for a picnic and short walk on the sand. We wished it was warm enough to go for a swim. The water was crystal clear but we are in the middle of a cold spell with night time temperatures down to 25° and daytime temps in the 40’s and low 50’s. Swimming and an outdoor picnic just didn’t cut it. We ate in the car! We were also put off a bit when we came across three large Portuguese Man of War. As we continued our drive it seemed that as the sandy beaches became smaller or almost nonexistent and the sand lost its sparkling white look, the towns became less prosperous. We wondered if some of the fishing villages were hurt by the oil spill. We found an RV Park in Panacea right on the water and an easy drive into Tallahassee for a visit tomorrow. Cy and Sharland sent us off with a bag of fabulous avocados. We enjoyed another one in our salad tonight!