To the Fort! - Day 6

Today we went to visit Ft. Barrancas, Bateria de San Antonio and the Advances Redoubt.

Spain first occupied Pensacola and colonized it in 1698. The French briefly held the city in 1719. The Spanish took it back and the British took it from the Spanish in 1763. The Spanish recaptured Pensacola in 1781 while the British were involved in a little skirmish along the East Coast of America. The Spanish built San Carlos de Barrancas and Bateria de San Antonio to protect the approach to Pensacola. The Bateria de San Antonio was built near the level of the beach so that shot fired at vessels would skip across the bay to strike those vessels at the waterline.

Andrew Jackson seized the Spanish Forts in 1814 and 1818. When Florida became part of the United States in 1821, the Navy chose Pensacola as its southern navy yard. The natural channel into Pensacola is from 20' to 50' deep and allows larger vessels to transit rather far into the bay.

Building the navy yard in Pensacola required protection. The US Army made improvements to the Bateria de San Antonio and constructed Ft. Barrancas on the ruins of the Spanish fort San Carlos de Barrancas. Barrancas means bluff in Spanish.

The fortification consists of 5 main parts.

The "glacis" is an earthen slope that would hide the fort from advancing ground troops and land based artillery.

The "dry moat" came next. This moat was 35' wide and required the removal of 16,000 tons of sand to form it. This moat provided protection of the "parade" from advancing ground forces. The dry moat separated the "Scarp" and the "Counter Scarp".

The counterscarp, or outer wall, provided support for the glacis and allowed cannon and rifle defences for the dry moat. Should anyone get to the dry moat they would face 130 rifle slots and 4 cannon doors. The dry moat was better known as "the killing field". The cannon used "grapeshot", one large container that broke open into 6 or 9 smaller shot.

The scarp as the main wall supported the parade and provided the defense against both ships and infantry. On the parade there were 19 cannon placements. Each cannon or mortar, on wheels, on these placements could be rotated about 120 degrees. This allowed the cannon to "track" moving vessels thus concentrating firepower. When firing at ships the cannon balls were heated red hot before firing. This would cause a fire on the fired upon vessel whether struck in the sails or the hull.

The fort itself is amazing. The walls are 4' thick. Inside the walls the bricks were hand crafted to form the arches necessary to hold back all of the dirt/sand of the parade or the glacis. I was impressed with the architecture.

For all the emphasis on defense of the harbor, the Confederacy captured the fort, the navy yard and Pensacola on January 12th, 1861. The Union Army still held Ft. Pickens across the bay from Ft. Barrancas. It is said that an errant shot fired toward Ft Pickens by the Confederate troops in Ft. Barrancas was the actual "first shot" of the Civil War. The Confederacy abandoned Ft. Barrancas in May of 1862.

Both Ft. Barrancas and Ft. Pickens served the United States until 1947 when the government declared them surplus

The Advance Redoubt took 15 years to construct and was similar to that of Ft. Barrancas. The redoubt was inland and was built to protect the fort and the navy yard from ground troops who would have to approach from the west. It to became obsolete after the Civil War.

Happy Anniversary to Bonnie

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!

We Become Tourists - Day 4

It is so nice to not be on a schedule. We slept in today - until 7AM! What a life!

Bonnie and I walked on the mulch covered walking paths to the Pensacola Lighthouse. This base has miles of walking paths that are not on the roads so that runners/walkers and cars do not mix. Anyway, the Pensacola Lighthouse is an operational lighthouse. Construction of the edifice started in 1856 and was completed in 1858. The lamp was lit in 1859. The structure is 191 feet tall allowing the beam of light to be seen by sailors 27 miles to sea. It was the first lighthouse on the Florida Gulf Coast.

The lighthouse was not open for tours today. The camp host thinks tours start in March but even then there is no consistent schedule. It is a shame we couldn't tour the facility. There is a fee of $5 for adults, $3.50 for seniors (65+) and $3 for children under 12. There is an interesting rule for tours...No flip flops but you can go barefoot? Good luck on your tour...and don't look down.

Although this is a military base and access is limited, the non-military visitor has access through the main gate to the Ft. Barrancas National Cemetery, the National Aviation Museum, the Pensacola Lighthouse, Ft. Barrancas and its Redoubts and a limited number of very old buildings. If you are in the area a stop here would be worth it.

I asked about access to the runways to watch takeoffs and landings. The Blue Angel Squadron, when in town, practices on Tuesday and/or Wednesday. Turns out the best place to watch is the National Aviation Museum. The runways are directly behind the building and they have erected a 4,000 seat viewing area. Some here think it is better to bring your own lawn chairs though.

Bonnie and I plan to visit the Aviation Museum tomorrow so I should have more info then.

For you military camping aficionados here is the latest info on the Oak Grove Park and Jackson Court camping facilities. In Oak Grove there are 51 sites with full hookups. Sites 1-45 are considered "long stay" sites. You can stay here for up to 3 months. Sites 46-51 are "short stay" and the limit here is 2 weeks.

Depending on availability you could move from ST site to ST site and stay for up to 3 months. Oh yeah...the ST sites are the waterfront sites and have the best view of the Bay/Intracoastal Waterway and Gulf of Mexico. There are also 8 tent sites with no hookups.

Jackson Court Overflow is just that, an overflow for Oak Grove Park. There are only 3 sites with full hookups and 20 "dry camping" sites. Dry camping means no electric, water or sewer. Again the maximum stay here is 3 months. In either case after staying for 3 months you are required to depart the camp for 2 weeks.
You can make reservations by calling 850-452-2535. The staff is wonderful and extremely helpful. And, the rest rooms are immaculate!

Pensacola Naval Air Station - Day 3

Okay...it gets cold in North Florida. It had to be in the high 30's when we awoke this AM. But the air was crisp and we were up and at' em before the sun came up.

As Bonnie cooked breakfast outside I made the coffee and watched the birds.

The sun came up at 6:30AM. I could hear the chirping of our avian friends but because they were between me and the sunrise I couldn't really see them. I saw what appeared to be a Scarlet Tanager or maybe some species long thought to be extinct. It was dark red with a beak like that of a Grosbeak. I ran to the trailer to get my camera so that I might capture this historic moment on film.

My search yielded...a common Cardinal. Had I listened to the call (a quick chip, chip) I would have known. With all the different birds here I am sorry that I put my Eastern Bird book in storage.

While breakfast was outstanding, we grilled Brats for lunch and Bonnie cooked a Peach cobbler in her new Dutch Oven. I love food experiments!

After breakfast we walked along the white sand beaches toward the East, past the Pensacola Lighthouse. The water was cold! One thing I didn't like about the Ft. Myers area was that the Gulf of Mexico was way too warm! Almost bath water in the summertime!

Fort Barrancas is on this base along with a separate Redoubt. I don't have the Points of Interest information yet but I'll have more later, with pictures, I hope. The National Aviation Museum is here and the base is home to the Navy's Blue Angel Squadron. Some of these buildings have to be from the Civil War era or at least the late 1800's. There is a National Cemetery here as well.

There is nothing more sobering than line after line of neatly placed headstones honoring all of our fallen military heroes and veterans.

The campground is very nice and is full. Everyone is quiet. I wish I could say the same for the aircraft. 7 a.m. launch time continues all day. But there is something to be said for the security of camping on a military base.

Last night Bonnie and I were driving on base at "Evening Colors". This is sunset when the National "Colors" are hauled down for the evening. It's a solemn moment when all vehicular traffic must stop and people walking on the street turn and salute the lowering of the flag, if in uniform, or uncover (remove hats) and cover their hearts in reverence to our nation's flag. I was pleasantly surprised when ALL of the young sailors, soldiers and airmen responded appropriately. After the signal to "carry on" there was a resounding "HOOO YAH"! I loved it!

The sailor today seems to be more physically fit and more concerned about his or her appearance then in my day. They certainly take more pride in their uniform than we did.

At 6:15PM the sky is dark and it is getting chilly. It will probably drop into the 30's again tonight.

The good, or bad depending on your point of view, thing about cold weather and pop-up camping is the cold. We have a heater and we could probably run it all night but I think I'll run it before we go to bed and then again in the morning to cut the chill.

I remember when we camped with Connie and Adam in Yellowstone National Park. They slept by the furnace and Bonnie and I slept by the thermostat. It was cold. Several times during the night Connie made Adam get up and turn off the heater by turning down the thermostat. That would wake me up and I would just reach out and reset the thermostat. Gee, what fun times! I think I'll break out the extra blanket tonight.

I'm going to talk Bonnie into visiting the lighthouse tomorrow. We'll take the walking path down and maybe even get some pictures.

On the Road

I didn't sleep well - couldn't get situated correctly - but Bonnie said she did so all was not lost. I did get some sleep though, the rumbling of the idling semis around you metaphorically rocks you to sleep.

7:30 a.m. and as Willie Nelson sang, "Hello Walls" I mean "On the Road Again". We stopped in Ocala for fuel and doughnuts. It was the typical gas station, weak coffee and old (or stale) Krispy Kream doughnuts.

I had two thoughts, yes Bonnie 2, what happened to the Service Station where the attendant filled your tank AND washed your windows and where the heck are all of these poor fools heading in such a hurry at 8 a.m.?

The answers are simple. It's all about money. The Service Station used to be individually owned and customer service was how you grew your business. Now the oil companies own the "Convenience" Stores and we pay a whole lot more for gas, pump it ourselves, pay higher prices for beer, cigarettes, bait and bacon all to simplify our day.

And people are rushing all the time to make money to do all the things that simplify our lives. Drive through fast food, drive up ATMs, drive through "no touch" car washes and even drive through package stores (and I'm not talking about sending packages to loved ones). Thankfully, we're retired now and maybe we can slow down for awhile. Wait - we're writing these blogs to relieve us of the chore of writing letters, phone calls or even mass emails blurbs. My God - I've been drug into the 21st Century and I'm not sure I like it. But as Doris Day once said "Roly Poly" I mean "Que Sera, Sera".

Back to the theme though. Northern Florida is much prettier or more scenic than Southwest Florida. There are more trees, more pine trees especially, and more rolling hills.

Thank God for "Ike" and the Interstate Highway System. By the time we reach Pensacola we will have traveled about 500 miles. In the old days we would have taken US Hwys 41, 19, 90 and 98. They are all good roads but they pass through all the small towns along the west coast of Florida and the Panhandle. This journey would have taken close to 24 hours to complete. Instead we will make the same trip in about 11 hours on I-75 and I-10.

We stopped at a McDonald's for lunch. Bonnie was afraid we would snack too much if we didn't have lunch. As usual she is right.

Blah! The customers were bad, the workers were bad and my burger's bun was not too fresh.Why do I eat there? I don't like the food - oh yeah - cheap!

So we're back on the road, 120 miles from Pensacola, into Central Time and and and it's starting to rain. We call that liquid sunshine here in the Sunshine State. But it is not fun setting up the camper in the rain. I hope it stops and the change occurs.

The directions we had to the Oak Grove Campground here on Pensacola Naval Air Station were not that good but we found it anyway. The Camp Host got us a real good campsite "on the water". Her idea of on the water and mine are different. We are about 100 yards from the bay but there are no campers to hamper our view. It's a 20' by 40' level slab with electric, water, cable and sewer hookups. SWEET!

I saw some things on the way to the main gate that reminded me of Norfolk Naval Base and Charleston Naval Base in the mid to late 70's. The ubiquitous tattoo parlors, bars with nautical themed names, fast food joints and churches.

We set up camp and then hit the showers. What a second day. Now we can relax for 8 days. We hit the Mini-Mart for some snacks and other supplies, hot footed it back to base camp for a few quick games of Cribbage and then, as they used to say in the Navy, hit the skid. We did manage to make it to 8:15PM before we figured it was bedtime.

Getting Started

So...We sold our business and decided to leave Florida. The weather here is pretty darn good; but, weather shouldn't determine where you live. We're going up to see Bryon and the Boys and Amanda (will Uncle Brad be there too?) but we can't leave Florida too soon because it's still cold in Illinois. (I will NOT be a slave to the weather)

Getting ready to move is WORK! Don't let "stuff" accumulate! We gave away or sold our furniture, except for the book cases (So Many Books!), and we filled a 10' by 20' storage unit.

February 10, 2009 is the big day - up at 7 a.m. - 3 more loads to the storage unit, 3 more loads to Sue and 20+ bags of trash hauled to the curb! We completely loaded the TV, once known as the Expedition herein known as the Tow Vehicle, latched on to the trailer and left Southwest Florida for the last time. It was 11:30PM and we are both bushed! What a Day!!

Sometimes you miss the places you leave and sometimes you don't. Let's just say that we lived in Lehigh Acres, FL for 5 years and I won't miss it. We drove North on I-75 headed for Pensacola, FL. Along the way we drank coffee, ate Bonnie's homemade cookies and reminisced about the places we wouldn't see again, starting with the Caloosahatchee River.

Remember when we rode our bikes there? There's the Rest Stop Brad, Amanda and I stopped at when we couldn't go another mile while bringing the furniture down from Wisconsin - Where's that maniac going in such a hurry? He'll make a good decoy!

"North bound and down, loaded up and truckin' - there's the turn for the Myakka River State Park where the alligator waits under the people bridge looking for hand outs. We really have been all over this side of the state.

There's the turn off for Adam and Connie's house in Riverview. We were up there a lot. Maybe not enough but a lot. Now we're crossing I-4. Orlando that way! We drove until 2:30AM. Both of us are tired. We stopped at a Holiday Inn Express in Brookville, Fl to inquire as to the availability of a room for the remainder of the night. "$105, are you mad? We're only going to sleep for 5 or 6 hours!"

It should go without saying that we bid adieu to that establishment and headed up the road again. The night ended about 5 miles north at a Rest Stop. We pulled in and hunkered down in the front seats. Not a hotel but there will be money enough for breakfast.