If you want to camp right beside the ocean but within access to a huge natural forest system with city amenities close by, then pick Ho-Hum RV park. They have a great bath house and laundry plus many of the sites are backed right onto the ocean. Book well in advance.
Our drive along the Gulf Highway was not as slow as I was prepared for. It was a lot of; "Oh my look at that" as we passed sea side mansions then open spaces and even stretches of jungle like bush land. The time change at Mexico Beach gave us back an hour and Kaye had been reading the travel guide about Pensacola Beach activities so we picked a restaurant called 'Dirty Dicks Crab House'. We shared a Clam Chowder Bread Bowl and an order of steamed Cajun spiced jumbo shrimp with corn and sausage. If we had not eaten at 'The Freezer' in Homosassa this would have been a great meal but the meal at 'The Freezer' blew this chain restaurant out of the water. Most of the menu is deep fried Heart Attack sized servings but the place was packed and the service was great.
Pensacola Beach is designed for family activities to take advantage of the majestic white sand beaches. Lots of theme parks, kiddie activities and night life. We picked a little RV park called Heritage Oaks which according to Google is within 5 miles of the NAS.
There is a great history surrounding this little Mobile Home village that is upgrading their RV Park amenities. The park is now owed by a local non-profit society who cleared out all the old mobile homes and set up brand new ones. They also cleared out all the old tenants and have replaced them with low income clean and sober families. The park Manager (Aaron) used to work for the company that builds the homes, now trying to become 'retired', he is looking after this little place with charm and doing a great job. So if you are coming to the see the Naval Air Museum at NAS Pensacola give this little park a visit. Great WiFi, clean bath house, cablevision coming later this year but lots of over the air channels anyway. They had an Easter Party for all the children in the park on the day we went to the Museum complete with a Pinata.
As we were setting up, Tim, from an older Motorhome, came over for a chat. He wanted to visit with his brother. Tim lost a leg to above the knee in a drag racing incident some years ago. He spied Kyle and well, you know how the rest of the story goes. While we are talking about Kyle, he got introduced to a couple of feral cats who held their ground and did not run away. One Tabby arched his back so high he looked like the black Halloween cutouts we are familiar with. Since the cats did not run, Kyle just sniffed and bounced around but nothing spectacular happened. Well until we took him for his evening business and left him snoozing outside the door, not on his leash.
I had just had a shower and put on a clean T shirt. Kaye was relaxing in her chain and invited Kyle up for a snuggle. He only stayed a moment, very agitated. After he was down I sensed this ugly fish smell. It was the sleeve of my shirt, Kaye had just done laundry, the waft was getting stronger. I bent to sniff Kyle, Holy Smoke...Out, Out of the trailer. He knew what had happened and he actually seemed to enjoy getting a washdown from Dad. New plan, find a dog beach!
We have driven 6600 miles with no particular schedule. As we approached Pensacola NAS we are greeted by the massive automated sign welcoming the new Captain and saying farewell to the new Admiral. We are in bumper to bumper traffic on the station and being directed and parked by uniformed seamen. The museum is huge, stretches over three massive buildings and hangers. We asked our personal parking seaman if the museum was this busy every day and were greeted with; "This is the change of command ceremony and last Blue Angles Air Show of the season". What a fluke to arrive on this very day and just in time for the final speeches and applause. Very crisp uniforms.
We followed the crowd out to the front of the flight line and watched the Blue Angles. Happy to say that our dear Snowbirds still blow them out of the water. What was difference seeing everyone following the show with their Smartphones pointed towards the action. How times have changed. We scooted off the flight line early and grabbed a coffee and soup in the 'Mess' before tackling the museum.
There was an IMAX theatre in the main building, a tribute to Women in Naval Aviation in 'Hanger One', hundreds of fully restored aircraft, many mounted in the air and so much history and art that it is too much to see in one day. The IMAX show on flight was narrated by Tom Selleck. A lot of the video used was old footage of airshow crowds which was really fun to point out the change in dress codes and hair styles not to mention the 'size' of the crowds. This is a place to see and it is free to everyone (IMAX had a small fee).
The drive to the beach took us into a housing district beside the river and the contrast between old and new homes caught our eye. We continued on the scenic route all along the river. We were back in the "Ooh Aww" chanting theme. Check out the play house!
Everyone in the RV parks has a Golf Cart to get around on. You all know how much 'stuff' we carry with us just to go out for the day, so imagine the joy when Kaye found a cart built just for us! Kaye, Dave, Kyle and room for 'stuff'.
Pensacola has something for everyone including a wildlife preserve, Gulf Island National Park, that stretches for miles and is open to the public for walking, cycling and beach activities. Sadly pets are not allowed, not even on a leash. :0(
Where to next?
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