On Friday last week we decided to take a drive and do some sightseeing that would include the Pensacola Naval Air Station (Air Museum), Fort Pickens where Geronimo (American Indian Chief) was held, and a drive along the picturesque Santa Rosa Island and the Gulf Islands National Seashore. The furtherest point is only 1.5 hours from us here in Destin, but although we left home at 9am, we didn't get back until 8.30pm. So much to see and do - we had the most enjoyable day out.
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| Note the sand floor |
We started off the day by checking out Fort Pickens (see far left of the map above) and enjoying the scenery along the Gulf shores before arriving at our lunch destination. In the photo collage above are a selection of photos from our lunch stop at '
Crabs we got 'em'. Before we even walked inside we saw the ribs sign that you can see in the bottom left of the photo above, and we could see smoke coming from the BBQ. We wandered over and the staff kindly opened the BBQ up and explained how they cooked their ribs. They also bought out a huge red snapper to show us the fish that the Florida panhandle became famous for decades ago. The view from our balcony table was just spectacular - the food was good too, but the view was magical. Another interesting quirk that I had never seen before - they served our seafood with half a lemon wrapped in a plastic muslin bag and with a red plastic fork in it. This is so you can use the fork to pick up the lemon and agitate the lemon, then squeeze the lemon juice out and the muslin prevents seeds landing in your food. Natty. The restaurant had an adjoining gift shop, and when we walked inside to check it out, we were surprised to find ourselves walking in sand. Apparently they bring in 2 buckets of sand from outside each day, and spread it on the floor.
Lunch finished, it was time to visit the National Museum of Naval Aviation at Pensacola. It was free to get in, and housed an amazing collection of military aviation history. Murray said he needed at least one whole day to see it all! Sadly, he didn't have time to do it justice.
Also located on the Naval Base was the Pensacola Lighthouse. It was first lit in 1859 and the two lighthouse keepers had to walk up 177 stairs each day with huge cans of oil to keep the light going, and as many trips to empty the used oil each day! Electricity was connected in 1939, and the lighthouse was fully automated by 1965. We walked up the 177 steps to take these photos of the view from the balcony right up the top by the light itself. We could see for miles - it was such a clear day.
The subsequent drive along Santa Rosa Island was delightful. We oohed and ahhed at the pretty houses on stilts (need the stilts in case of hurricanes with huge tides), heard and saw lots of birds including this red-wing blackbird. We called into many beaches and marvelled at the expanses of clean, fine, white sand and clear water.
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| Panorama of sandy beach in Santa Rosa Island |
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| Santa Rosa Island |
The last beach we called in to was in Navarre, and it housed the largest pier (they don't call them jetties over here) on the Gulf. I thought that would be my last photo for the day, as we were on our way to have dinner at a recommended Irish Pub, not far from our campground in Destin. Instead of walking to the steps leading to the pier, we walked up steps leading into a restaurant beside the pier! As luck would have it, there were 2 spare seats looking out over the sun setting on the pier. Spectacular. It was a hot day and we decided to sit there, have a cold beer and just absorb the aura. I couldn't believe how beautiful it was - it was hard to drag myself away from the view, so Murray suggested we just order dinner here. Let me say the blackened catfish was the nicest I have ever eaten. While we were here, Murray used the restroom, and on his way back he started chatting with a young local guy - a photographer as it turned out. He invited us to join him and his wife at another outside table, and we had a delightful hour or so with Stephen and Rhonda. He didn't have his camera with him, but the waitress did take a photo of us before we joined the others. Everyone is just so friendly. Our stop here capped off our day perfectly.
Lunch finished, it was time to visit the National Museum of Naval Aviation at Pensacola. It was free to get in, and housed an amazing collection of military aviation history. Murray said he needed at least one whole day to see it all! Sadly, he didn't have time to do it justice. 
The last beach we called in to was in Navarre, and it housed the largest pier (they don't call them jetties over here) on the Gulf. I thought that would be my last photo for the day, as we were on our way to have dinner at a recommended Irish Pub, not far from our campground in Destin. Instead of walking to the steps leading to the pier, we walked up steps leading into a restaurant beside the pier! As luck would have it, there were 2 spare seats looking out over the sun setting on the pier. Spectacular. It was a hot day and we decided to sit there, have a cold beer and just absorb the aura. I couldn't believe how beautiful it was - it was hard to drag myself away from the view, so Murray suggested we just order dinner here. Let me say the blackened catfish was the nicest I have ever eaten. While we were here, Murray used the restroom, and on his way back he started chatting with a young local guy - a photographer as it turned out. He invited us to join him and his wife at another outside table, and we had a delightful hour or so with Stephen and Rhonda. He didn't have his camera with him, but the waitress did take a photo of us before we joined the others. Everyone is just so friendly. Our stop here capped off our day perfectly. 
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