Travels with Edna and Papi: A trip towards memory lane times 2.......Beautiful beaches, Florabama and The Dry Tortugas!

PENSACOLA....A trip towards memory lane times 2!
January/February 2017

We needed to spend more time in New Orleans, however there was so much more to see in Florida. My sister-in-law, Robin, wanted to visit the place she was born in Pensacola and Perry wanted to visit the base where he spent a lot of time in the Navy. We stayed just off NAS Pensacola at Blue Angels RV Park (part of the base) and within a short distance to Perdido Bay. I loved waking up each day to the tall trees and peaceful calm water. Perry reminisced as we drove onto NAS Pensacola touring the area where he went to flight school and was commissioned, a direction that completely changed his farm-boy life! The base offered a free Aviation Museum that housed the type aircraft Perry and Robin's Dad flew in. Inside the museum were flight simulators that Perry and I went on, however he was in control and for my sake kept it a very mild ride as Frank and Robin watched and took pictures. There was a lot of patriotism in this building that the four of us all felt. Our next stop was to tour the Pensacola lighthouse built in 1859 with a spiraling staircase of 177 steps up to the top. It was an interesting climb up and the view was amazing but the climb back down was more challenging as you couldn't help looking down to the bottom making your stomach turn a time or two!
A lot of time was spent at the beach during the duration of our trip in Florida, walking many trails. The walk along a trail in Tarklin Bayou and Orange Beach (part of the Gulf of Mexico) were different seeing many types of marine life and birds including Blue Herons. From my observation the Blue Heron can be a little more aggressive and territorial. The sand on the beaches is white and "squeaks" between your toes. All this walking on the beach and many trails made us work up an appetite for a cold beer at Florabama, a music/beer venue that Perry visited several times during his stay in Pensacola. This large venue is on the border of Florida and Alabama and the afternoon we were there was amateur night. We witnessed a variety of many talents (young and old, good and ....well...some not so good), but it was all about the experience and the people we were with!
The next day was a drive towards Fort Pickens near Gulf Breeze. The drive was down a narrow strip of land surrounded by the bluest water and white sand beaches. The fort made with over 25 million bricks was built by slaves in the early 1800's to protect the Pensacola Harbor. Walking the fort, you could feel the presence of what took place during the Civil War. While Frank, Robin and I walked the inside the fort, Perry and the dogs walked the perimeter and were excited to find an armadillo (especially our Coonhound Daisy!) . Frank and Robins' vacation with us was about over so our last night together was dinner at another of Perry's ol' stoppin' grounds, the infamous McGuire's Irish Pub. I hated to say "goodbye" to my brother and sister in law the next day, but jobs and family awaited and we were about to experience the Florida Keys!

BUSHNELL, Fla. was our first stop towards working our way to the Keys. Our somewhat traditional travel day of pizza took us to a small local "no frills" pizza restaurant. We delighted ourselves in the simplicity and entertained by the locals with their strong southern accents .
We were no doubt in alligator country and we weren't about to stop with one swamp tour. We found a place not far from us that was an air boat tour of the local swamp. I was skeptical at first arriving at the tour location as we drove down an obscure road with run down houses along the way. Our doubts were soon put to rest with the five star Trip Advisor recommendation. There were twelve of us ready to embark on this chilly morning and away we sped deep into the dense swamps. It was fast and exciting zooming across to the other side of Pan Lake. We witnessed dozens of different sized alligators coming out of brumation, (some very young) and our guide took us to a place that ordinary boats couldn't access. I felt we were on the adult version of the "Jungle Cruise" at Disneyland! The tour ended with us holding a farm raised alligator. Our tour guide also recommended a local place for fresh seafood called "Catfish Johnny's" offering gator, fried frog legs and fried crab legs. Yes, we are in the deep south. I opted for catfish and Perry enjoyed alligator that he said "tasted like chicken". I loved the southern hospitality here at Catfish Johnny's where the rather large outdoor sign indicated they'd be closed on Sundays for Church.
Our location in Bushnell was down a long country road surrounded by trees and our neighbors were dozens of donkeys that enjoyed our attention (and carrots)! It's time to continue our way to the long awaited Keys, but next is the town of Bonita Springs.

BONITA SPRINGS, Fl. The environment here in the RV park is different than Bushnell, where immediately I was told not to let my dogs on anyone's yard as there was a dog run. I felt I was being scolded within the first five minutes of arrival. (We were standing outside the fifth wheel on the street?!) Not the best first impression, but we were here for a few days with every intention of sightseeing each day. This particular RV park was certainly NOT Pensacola, with its' extremely tan elderly citizens (mostly snowbirds) zooming by us on their golf carts or bicycles. Could this be our future?! Our daily adventures took us to the beach towns of Fort Myers, beautiful, upscale Naples and the cute tourist island of Matlacha (pronounced Mat-la-shay). We enjoyed fresh seafood, found a local brewery and most importantly a familiar (home) store where I could have shopped for hours!

LONG KEY, Fla. Leaving the cute beach towns near Bonita Springs, we made our way towards the Keys going through the crowded freeways of Miami. The drive towards the Keys was slow, partially due to the speed limit and traffic, however both of these factors enabled us to admire the beauty of the Gulf of Mexico. Our level of excitement rose as we neared Long Key with blue water, and tall palm trees. Perry's sister and brother-in-law (Patty and Don) would join us over the next week. The RV Park (Fiesta Key) was more of a resort with cabins (some along the water), a raised pool overlooking the water and of course a restaurant with tables and thatched umbrellas right on the beach. We would visit the latter almost daily for happy hour and to watch the amazing sunsets!
Perry had spent some time in Key West while in the Navy and was excited to take Patty, Don and I there. The hour long drive into Key West from Long Key was scenic with our first stop at the furthest point in the United States, only ninety miles to Cuba. With Gracie and Daisy in tow, the six of us put a few miles on our feet (and paws). Patty and I toured the Hemingway House, one of the homes of Ernest Hemingway. We learned he was such a talented writer with an eccentric personality who loved fishing, hunting, women and his six toed cat! With more miles to put on our already weary feet and a few stops along the way, we ended up at Mallory Square. I wasn't quite sure what the attraction here was beside the street vendors, artists and performers, but by the time the sun was about to set hundreds of people gathered. I was in awe of the amazing sunset at the farthest point in the U.S. but at the same time intrigued by all the cameras! A great start to experiencing Key West!
The time with my brother and sister-in-law was way too short, as was the visit in the Keys with Perry's sister and brother-in-law. From watching the most beautiful sunsets each night at the resort restaurant to touring the Dolphin Sanctuary, or just sitting around enjoying each others company was time well spent. The Dolphin Sanctuary was up close and personal with the dolphins where the dogs were able to join us at the exhibit, but Daisy thought it might be fun to try and jump in to play with them. She was so strong, I couldn't hold her back but thankfully with a little help, we managed to keep her out of the Dolphin pool. One of the employees told us more recently a dead dolphin had washed up on shore. It was discovered this beautiful, graceful mammal had a belly full of plastic bags! With a lot of resistance, Perry convinced me to join him at the Dry Tortugas before leaving the Keys.

THE DRY TORTUGAS!

We decided to make the best use of our time by taking a seaplane instead of a boat to the Dry Tortugas. I was skeptical about this trip but my number one driver, mechanic, tour guide and husband convinced me it would be memorable! We found a great sitter for the dogs on Key West and having some time before we had to be at the airport, ate at a Cuban restaurant. Maybe this would help cure my nerves before boarding the twelve man seaplane. At the airport we were handed snorkeling gear and a cooler with water since we'd be on the island for two hours. Perry painted the vision of this unique place.... a fort (yep, another fort) and 143 mile island (another island)! My thoughts at first were that we had seen our share of forts and islands not knowing what we were in for! Our pilot introduced himself as "Rob" and joked he only had one beer and "wasn't quite sure where he was flying us to". The seaplane was fifty plus years old (rugged) and we were advised to not only buckle but put on headphones to mask the loud whirring of the engine. We were able to hear Rob narrate and point out the many sharks and sea turtles that were plainly seen through the crystal clear blue and aquamarine colors of the Gulf. What an adventure as we flew five hundred feet above the amazing waters spotting shipwrecks and small islands. The plane with its' pontoon like landing gear glided over the water and onto the sand and Rob informed us he'd pick us up in two hours. We struck up a conversation with a man traveling by himself so the three of us decided to find a more remote snorkeling location. Not far from us were thousands of birds circling and getting ready to nest, that sounded as though we were in the middle of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. We started to gear up when all of a sudden we saw a huge nine foot crocodile lurking ten yards from us in the water. Someone mentioned that years ago, a crocodile had been brought over to the island but had never bothered anyone. I was NOT going in the water to find out. It swam toward some wood 18th century pylons where others were snorkeling. Perry and his new snorkeling buddy swam in the same direction without seeing the crocodile again but later told me of how they spotted in the clear, coral filled water baby squid, barracuda and red snapper. I was sorry I didn't join them but who knew where the crocodile might be lurking?! After, we walked on the moat around Fort Jefferson eventually working our way inside and we learned that the large Fort (encompassing nearly the entire island), was built prior to the Civil War. In the 1800's, the U.S. Government turned it into a prison with one of the prisoners being Dr. Samuel Mudd (imprisoned for treating John Wilkes Booth after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln). The Fort eventually was abandoned and turned into a National Park.

The Dry Tortugas has to be in my top three favorite place on our adventures so far!

In a (long) sentence about my impression of Florida .......beautiful, warm water, white soft sand, alligators, friendly, happy, tan people, by far the most amazing sunsets and a place where at times you can't tell where the blue water and sky meet! I really enjoyed this state but we're not through yet as we have to make one more stop at Patrick's AFB near Cocoa Beach.

NEXT -Manatees, NASA, Cumberland Island, Kings Bay, GA.