Happy Anniversary to you Bonnie. I hope you are enjoying this rainy, miserable weather in Pensacola, FL. Just remember we both agreed that this trip was our present to each other. Right?
The sleeping area leaked last night. It rained very hard all night long. Sleeping was not good. I spent 2 hours drying out the mattress and base while Bonnie did the laundry.
We were going to go out for breakfast this morning because you can't cook in the rain.
On the drive around Pensacola we saw that the city is really run down. The buildings are old and have not been kept well. There is a nice downtown area but as with most downtowns in the US there are a lot of empty store fronts. They have developed the water front with high end condos and posh office space. Unfortunately 60% of them are sitting empty. Too many pawn shops to keep track of. The 2000 census lists Pensacola as having a population of 54,897. Surely these numbers are higher today but no one lives near downtown as they have all moved to the outer edges of town. There are a large number of Christian Schools in Pensacola. I think there are more of them than I have ever seen. The Pensacola Christian Academy is absolutely huge. It looks like a college campus. The kids will remember that this is the place for ABEKA books and study guides. Didn't the Scheiders want to send Jessica there?
Anyway, we drove all around Pensacola in the rain looking for a breakfast place. The only one we found was an IHOP just outside the main gate. People were waiting outside for seating. Everyone knows I do not like to wait in line at all, especially at a restaurant so Bonnie and I drove towards Perdido Key. Surely an island with 2 state parks would have a quaint breakfast establishment. No, we did not find an acceptable place until Hazel's in Orange Beach, AL.
That's right, we had to drive to Alabama to find a decent breakfast place. We chose the buffet. The biscuits and gravy were great. The eggs, sausage and fried potatoes were good but the pancakes not so much. We sometimes use the premixed pancake mix in the plastic shaker container on our trips and let me tell you that is preferable to Hazel's buffet pancakes. Bonnie's camp stove pancakes are THE BEST!
On our way back to the campsite we drove past Perdido Key State Park and Big Lagoon State Park. We probably would have stopped at one or both of these if the weather had not been so yucky. The view of the Gulf of Mexico was outstanding. The wind had whipped up some 4' to 5' waves and the surfer dudes were out en masse.
Having spent some time on Sanibel Island, the Naples Beaches and Ft. Myers Beach, I can honestly say that the beaches along the Florida Panhandle from Panama City to Perdido Key are much, much nicer and a heck of a lot prettier too! Just my opinion, but what the heck, it IS my blog!
We didn't get to the National Aviation Museum because the of the weather but I found out that it is open from 9AM - 5PM daily. I promise I will get there tomorrow. I tried to download some stock pictures from their website but I am technologically challenged so I will take pictures tomorrow. I also promise that Bonnie and I will have different photos on our separate blogs.
Back to the Museum. The admission is free to the museum. There is an $8 cost to view an IMAX theater extravaganza. This month they are showing "The Magic of Flight" at 10AM and 4PM, "The Grand Canyon Adventure" at 11 AM, 1Pm and 3PM (Brad and Amanda this is not to be confused with OUR Grand Canyon Adventure), "Straight Up, Helicopters in Action" at Noon and "Fighter Pilot, Operation Red Flag" at 2PM.
I haven't gotten the practice schedule for the Blue Angels yet. If you google the "Blue Angels" and go to their official website you can click on their show schedule to find if they are coming to an airshow near you. If they are...DON'T MISS IT!
The sleeping area leaked last night. It rained very hard all night long. Sleeping was not good. I spent 2 hours drying out the mattress and base while Bonnie did the laundry.
We were going to go out for breakfast this morning because you can't cook in the rain.
On the drive around Pensacola we saw that the city is really run down. The buildings are old and have not been kept well. There is a nice downtown area but as with most downtowns in the US there are a lot of empty store fronts. They have developed the water front with high end condos and posh office space. Unfortunately 60% of them are sitting empty. Too many pawn shops to keep track of. The 2000 census lists Pensacola as having a population of 54,897. Surely these numbers are higher today but no one lives near downtown as they have all moved to the outer edges of town. There are a large number of Christian Schools in Pensacola. I think there are more of them than I have ever seen. The Pensacola Christian Academy is absolutely huge. It looks like a college campus. The kids will remember that this is the place for ABEKA books and study guides. Didn't the Scheiders want to send Jessica there?
Anyway, we drove all around Pensacola in the rain looking for a breakfast place. The only one we found was an IHOP just outside the main gate. People were waiting outside for seating. Everyone knows I do not like to wait in line at all, especially at a restaurant so Bonnie and I drove towards Perdido Key. Surely an island with 2 state parks would have a quaint breakfast establishment. No, we did not find an acceptable place until Hazel's in Orange Beach, AL.
That's right, we had to drive to Alabama to find a decent breakfast place. We chose the buffet. The biscuits and gravy were great. The eggs, sausage and fried potatoes were good but the pancakes not so much. We sometimes use the premixed pancake mix in the plastic shaker container on our trips and let me tell you that is preferable to Hazel's buffet pancakes. Bonnie's camp stove pancakes are THE BEST!
On our way back to the campsite we drove past Perdido Key State Park and Big Lagoon State Park. We probably would have stopped at one or both of these if the weather had not been so yucky. The view of the Gulf of Mexico was outstanding. The wind had whipped up some 4' to 5' waves and the surfer dudes were out en masse.
Having spent some time on Sanibel Island, the Naples Beaches and Ft. Myers Beach, I can honestly say that the beaches along the Florida Panhandle from Panama City to Perdido Key are much, much nicer and a heck of a lot prettier too! Just my opinion, but what the heck, it IS my blog!
We didn't get to the National Aviation Museum because the of the weather but I found out that it is open from 9AM - 5PM daily. I promise I will get there tomorrow. I tried to download some stock pictures from their website but I am technologically challenged so I will take pictures tomorrow. I also promise that Bonnie and I will have different photos on our separate blogs.
Back to the Museum. The admission is free to the museum. There is an $8 cost to view an IMAX theater extravaganza. This month they are showing "The Magic of Flight" at 10AM and 4PM, "The Grand Canyon Adventure" at 11 AM, 1Pm and 3PM (Brad and Amanda this is not to be confused with OUR Grand Canyon Adventure), "Straight Up, Helicopters in Action" at Noon and "Fighter Pilot, Operation Red Flag" at 2PM.
I haven't gotten the practice schedule for the Blue Angels yet. If you google the "Blue Angels" and go to their official website you can click on their show schedule to find if they are coming to an airshow near you. If they are...DON'T MISS IT!
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