Tuesday, September 11
High Temp: 84F (29C); low humidity
Without a doubt this was our best day in Pensacola. Not just because the weather was simply gorgeous, but also because of the treats we had in store for us. In yesterday’s post, I mentioned that we had two special events that we were looking forward to. Well, it turns out that our afternoon outing made for a perfect trifecta.
An afternoon outing to Fort Pickens (Tent/camera markers) makes for a perfect trifecta.
The fork & knife marker shows the location of McGuire’s Irish Pub, where we had lunch.
We woke up to another beautiful, low-humidity day. I don’t know how we got so lucky with the weather, but we’re not questioning it … just enjoying it while it lasts. The early morning temp was warmer than yesterday; no need for sweaters for our on-the-balcony breakfast. An added advantage to the cooler temps has been that the A/C that was working constantly below us has stopped droning on and we can actually hear the birds chirping in the treeline.
Around 7:30a, we headed off for a walk on the beach. Again, the biting black flies were non-existent. Perhaps the sudden cooling of the temps has something to do with their disappearance. As long as they’re not pestering us, that’s what matters :-)
Another gorgeous day on the beach!
After Mui took a quick dip in the ocean, we didn’t return to the room as usual. Instead, we headed to the deck of the Chiefs’ Club a little further down the beach for our first treat of the day — the weekly practice session of the Navy’s elite flight demonstration squadron — the Blue Angels. The schedule said the show would start at 8:30a, but it was shortly after 9:00a that we heard the unmistakable rumble of the jets taking off from the runway. No problem, we managed to entertain ourselves while we waited.
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The Chiefs sure know how to treat themselves right!
Mui’s got his camera set up; let’s get the show rolling.
We’d been told we could watch the show from the beach, but that the best views would be from the lighthouse or the bleachers at the museum. Since I didn’t have proper footwear to climb the lighthouse, that was out. We didn’t want to give up our beach time on this short trip, so we nixed going to the bleachers. Besides, we didn’t have the proper camera equipment with us anyway. We got an eyeful during the flyovers, but missed out on the low-flying aerobatics this time. Next time, it will be a different story.
(In addition to the photos I took — which aren’t half bad considering they were taken with a P&S that has a shutter lag and I had to crop them a bit — I’m posting a short video that Mui took with his P&S camera.)
Formed in 1946, today’s Blue Angels fly the F/A-18 Hornets.
The planes started out with four of them flying the diamond formation and two of them flying solo. At one point, one of the solos came out of nowhere, flying upside down and buzzing us so close I felt like I could reach out and touch the plane. I swear the pilot was laughing at how he managed to startle us :-) Eventually all six of the aircraft joined up for the finale, which was quite a sight to see as they flew by the lighthouse.
This is the Blue Angel that scared the you-know-what out of us when it flew
low over our position on the beach.
Folks, don’t try the diamond formation maneuver at home!
It sure looks like they’re flying within inches of each other.
The people watching from the lighthouse get a thrill.
The Solos join the Diamond Formation to perform maneuvers in the Delta Formation.
A 1½-minute video of the Blue Angels’ 45-minute practice session.
It was especially moving to watch the Blue Angels on this date — September 11; a day that we shall not forget. If there were other remembrance ceremonies elsewhere on base, we did not hear about them, but someone did say there was a moment of silence before the F/A 18s took off from the runway this morning.
We returned to our room around 10:30a and relaxed on the balcony until it was time to drive downtown to meet up at noon with Chuck and Anneke (Goldenshoe RV Trip) at McGuire’s Irish Pub on Gregory Street.
No imbibery or debauchery, but we feasted well today.
We arrived a few minutes early and were seated in a booth not far from the on-premise brewery. Although we left our name with the hostess, Chuck and Anneke were seated elsewhere when they arrived. We had Chuck’s cell phone, though, and after a quick call, they were led back to our booth. As other bloggers and RVers will all attest, there was no awkward getting to know you time. The conversation and camaraderie was instantaneous, and the laughter was spontaneous — the food was really good, too.
And yes, Paul and Marti; if your ears were ringing … your names did come up once or twice :-)
Collage from the McGuire’s menu explains the genesis of the 18¢ Senate Bean Soup and
the story of the dollar bills that cover the ceilings of the various rooms at McGuire’s.
We ordered a round of McGuire’s exceptionally good Senate Bean Soup — at 18¢ a cup, a bargain that can’t be had anywhere else, including in the US Senate dining room. The “naked” fish and chips that Mui and I opted for as our entrées was not only very tasty, but since the fish was chargrilled instead of battered and deep-fried, it was also better for us … just overlook the fact that the “chips” were fried and simply too good to be left on the plate; as was the homemade slaw :-)
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Nothing like being seated under a | If the smiles are anything to go by, |
Thanks to Chuck and Anneke’s recommendation, we now have another favorite restaurant in Pensacola. We will return — if for no other reason than to have some of McGuire’s “lucky chocolate brownie a la mode.” The story goes that it is baked daily based on the recipe of their former kitchen manager, who won $3.5 million in the Florida lottery in 1991. Perhaps a little bit of her luck will rub off on us :-)
When we drove out to Pensacola Beach on Saturday, the road to Fort Pickens was closed in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac. After Gail (of Gypsy Turtles fame) left a comment about how much they enjoyed their stay there, I checked the National Park Service website for more info. Lo and behold, the road was due to open today! Well, that clinched it for our afternoon plans. Crossing first the Pensacola Bay Bridge to Gulf Breeze, and then paying the $1 toll on the Bob Sikes Bridge (aka Pensacola Beach Bridge), we crossed over to Santa Rosa and headed to the western tip of the island.
Fort Pickens is not only the largest of the four forts built to defend Pensacola Bay in the 1830s, but it has a great campground that can accommodate big rigs. Since the ranger-led tour of the fort was already well underway when we arrived at the gate, we opted to check out the campground first.
Map of the Fort Pickens area shows the layout of the batteries and the campground.
[courtesy of the NPS website]
Picking up a map — and more importantly, a listing showing the length of each site — we headed off to the campground to figure out which of the sites would work best for us. We found plenty. We hope to return to the area early next year, either before or after our appointment at the Tiffin factory in Red Bay, Alabama.
From the campground, we drove over to the fort. The extensive grounds begged for a ranger-led tour to really understand what we were seeing. We will need things to do when we return anyway, so we didn’t dally long this time — at least not around the fortifications; the beach is a different story.
Batteries Cullum and Sevier date back to the late 1890s.
Glimpse of the ramparts of Fort Pickens.
Battery Langdon was Fort Pickett’s most powerful gun emplacement; it dates back to 1923.
Parking the car at Battery Langdon, we could not resist walking across the street to the beach. Oh wow! Simply spectacular. Now there’s no doubt we’ll be coming back. It might be a little too chilly to swim in January or February, but I can see long, long beach walks in our future.
How can Two to Travel resist a photo op on this gorgeous beach? They can’t!
Reminded of the beaches of Cancun, Mexico, Mui simply could not resist a dip in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. That he didn’t have swimwear with him was not a deterrent; his quick-dry trekking shorts served nicely as swim trunks. As for me; well I just played in the shallows. You don't believe me ... just check out the video that follows the still shots.
Those trekking shorts sure make nice swim trunks.
Yes, that’s Mui out there on the sandbar.
Having swum out there, he’s decided to go for a walk in the waves …
… while I make do with a walk in the waves coming ashore.
yes, I got a bit wet; but it was so much fun.
A 59-second video shows I have a playful side to my nature!
Regretfully, our play-time on the beach had to come to an end. On the return drive, spying a Hershey shop at the fishing pier on Pensacola Beach, we stopped for a sweet treat before finally heading back to the lodge. We would have walked out to the end of the pier, but there was a $1.25/person fee to just walk on. These fees have never made sense to me, so I refuse to pay up.
We enjoy our ice cream in view of Pensacola Beach.
Back in our room, we had dinner on the balcony again. On the menu was another frozen entrée — golden crusted whitefish with steamed green beans and brown rice in a cheesy Chardonnay sauce. I wouldn’t buy these frozen dinners to eat at home, but they served nicely for our self-catered meals here at the lodge.
All set to have another al fresco dinner on our balcony.
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What we’re eating isn’t nearly as important as where we’re eating it :-)
This time Mother Nature cooperated with my plans for taking sunset photos. While Mui did the dishes (thank you, Mui), I ran down to the beach to catch the glorious colors that filled the sky and painted the sand along the shoreline.
At 7:04p ...
... At 7:07p ...
… and the grand finale at 7:09p.
On my way back to the room, I finally got my chance to photograph a ghost crab. It was well camouflaged until I almost stepped on it and sent it scurrying across the access path. The poor thing wasn’t near a burrow, so it went dead-still … probably thinking I wouldn’t see it if it wasn’t moving. Well, I probably would have missed it entirely except for the little flashlight I had with me; it provided just enough light for me to capture a photo.
The name "ghost crab" derives from the Crab’s nocturnality and its pale coloration.
What a great last day of fun in the sun this was. We’ll have some free time tomorrow, but our priority will be getting our driver’s licenses and officially becoming Florida residents.
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