Our Best Day in Pensacola

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.

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 :-)

Nothing like being seated under a million dollars in $1 bills!

If the smiles are anything to go by, we all enjoyed this get together.

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.

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.

Leaves

I've been harvesting and drying leaves for various purposes.
The raspberry leaves in the blue bowl will be dried and used in tea for PMS symptoms. A good friend of mine gets them to use for her teenage daughter. They are also used to treat diarrhea.
The leaves on the red-checked towel are basil and will be used in spaghetti and lasagna. Basil kills intestinal parasites and stimulates the immune system.
I've also been drying oregano to use in my Italian dishes. I also dry rosemary and sweet bay leaves. In fact, I've got a ton of those two. Anyone who wants some, please come and get it!

Frozen Lemon Custard

Frozen Lemon Custard, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Here's a delicious dessert that I made earlier this summer. It's great for a hot day, when you just don't feel like you can stand the heat anymore. The graham cracker crust is tasty...

A very interesting journey through Hillsboro to Lake Valley, NM

We had planned on going up to the Camino Real Cultural Center but it was getting later in the morning and we were afraid that the car would get too hot for Tucson while we did the Museum so we headed to Hillsboro and the Ghost Town of Lake Valley instead.

We have passed through Hillsboro a couple of times but could never find the Museum open. This time we finally made it in. Quite interesting with 7 rooms chock full of stuff. The Museum wasbuilt before 1893and wasthe Ocean Grove Hotel (and brothel) owned and run by Sadie Orchard and Tom Ying,a Chinaman she hired to run the restaurant

Here is the the largest electric freezer purchased by Ying for $600 cash. Electricity was finally brought to the Town to bring in the powerto run it.



Jim the guy in charge of the Museum gave us a personal tour. We also got to see some of the planters he makes from plastic. Here is a piece made to look likeweather wood.

This one looks like a rock.They are really amazing. Inside the museum he had asked Gary to pick up a mold for silver bars to see how heavy it was - Gary was ready to pick up something weighing 75lbs or so but it was one of hiscast plastic pieces and was very lightweight.

We stopped at the park across the street for a picnic lunch before continuing on to Lake Valley. There was a couple camping there in a tent with 4 horses.

We got to talking to them and found out that they were traveling across the country on Horseback.Here's an excerpt from a Fox News Story:

The story of Art Lamely, Sue Hemming, and four horses started in Broken Bow, Nebraska several years ago."After a 30-year marriage went south, I had two horses left and Horace Greeley said go west young man, so I figured I would," says Art.Art was riding his horse Big John through Pine Bluffs, Wyoming when he met Sue. He stopped to get the horse a drink of water while Sue was watering her flowers.Sue was widowed and about to lose her house. So she bought a couple of horses and hit the trail with Art. Destination: AmericaAs you go on horseback you'll see the scenery change at three miles an hour you see things people just don't see," says Art. They've crisscrossed the west, working odd jobs, living in a tent



We stayed and talked to them for a while and gave some apples to Big John, Josie, Lucky and Benjamin their horses. They mentioned that they were coming through T or C in a few days so we said we'd check around to see where they might be able to stay with their horses.We bid Happy Trails and continued on to Lake Valley.

On the way out we viewed the remains of the Old Courthouse.



Here is a picture of what it looked like originally. When the County Seat was moved to T or C the records kept getting stolen and returned to the Courthouse in Hillsboro. The Courthouse in Hillsboro was eventually condemned and closed. With the county seat moved to T or C, Hillsboro did not become the boom town as it had been foreseen and the courthouse fell into ruins.



Next we arrive at Lake Valley

Lake Valley was a silver-mining town it had its heyday from 1881 to 1893. The last resident left in 1994.

The mines produced well for a few years after miners tunneled into a silver-lined cavity they named the “bridal chamber” that alone yielded 2.5 million troy ounces (78 tonnes) of silver

We parked at the old School House where the visitors center was. Thetown is now privatelyowned andmanaged by the Bureau of Land Management and open for walking tours. The door was locked and there were signs warning of rattlesnakes in the area.Gary got Tucson out of the car and I was getting some water for himand us when I heard Garyyell "HOLY COW"andI looked up and saw him running backwards.

This is what caused such a reaction - he was walking in the parking lot looking at the buildings when he heard the rattlesnake, looked down and saw it crossing in front of him!

I kept my distance with the zoom lens and caught it going into the foundation holes of the School House. We decided at that point not to do the trails!

I guess we made enough noise to wake up someone from the BLM and they came over and opened the museum for us. It was quite a good size one room schoolhouse. The ranger told us that when she asked young children what the hole in the school desk was for their answer was not inkwells, but 'obviously a hole for the computer cords'.

Here are the remains of the old Jail. The building you see in the back ground, ironically,was whereit is saidsome cattle rustlers lived.

an old car

and the remains of one of the mines.A very interesting place in spite of the rattler!

Till Later!

Meanwhile, we keep on Trek'n

Melissa, Gary & Tucson

International Brigade Commemoration

By chance I came across this small and touching ceremony in Princes Street Gardens last week. The commemoration was of those from the Lothians and Fife who died fighting with the International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War.

Black Racer

Hi, my name is Coluber constrictor.

I'm the first snake of the spring.

It's really warming up, so you'd better watch where you step.
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Not sure if this is Coluber constrictor constrictor (northern black racer) or Coluber constrictor priapus (southern black racer).
I don't have a "snake name meanings" dictionary like the one for birds, but fear not, there's a beauty of an online guide that covers reptiles and amphibians. I especially like the page on mythological references. My husband always jokes that I want to find a new plant species so I can name it after myself. Previously I've always claimed that I'd name my hypothetical find something descriptive. But now I'm not sure that I could resist slipping the name of an ancient Greek fertility god in there somehow.