Pirate Ship at Navarre Beach

We were driving back from Navarre Beach and looked out at the bay and saw this pirate ship go cruising by. That is a fun thing about this area and all the surrounding waterways you never know what will go floating by when you look.

Pensacola Beach

At Pensacola Beach there is a water tower that is painted like a beach ball. This sets the tone for the beach of fun and a lighthearted experience. This beach is beautiful. It is well groomed every morning and set up for large amounts of people. There is clean bathrooms and outdoor showers. Not as many sea shells as you can find at Navarre Beach or Gulf Island National Sea Shore where the beaches are not groomed and left in a more natural state.

Pensacola Museum of Art

It was a rainy day in Pensacola Florida so we decided to check out the Pensacola Museum of Art. It is a small museum with an entrance fee. But they did have a nice display of Kimonos from Japan. Not sure if we would recommend this museum based on the small size, limited displays, and entrance fee. Before you go check what the current display/show is and make your decision based on that. :)

TT Wentworth Museum, Pensacola Florida

This elaborate Renaissance Revival building was the height of architectural fashion when it was built as Pensacola's City Hall. Its symmetrical design is graced with wide overhanging eaves, a red tile roof, an arched entry porch, and a second story arcade. Rotating exhibits portray West Florida's history, architecture, and archaeology.  (Historic Pensacola Village pamphlet)

The original museum was a roadside stand owned by Wentworth, which opened in the suburb of Ensley in 1957. Wentworth was paraphrased as saying, in the 1980s, that he would donate everything in his collection if there could be a permanent location to house his collection in Pensacola. A state grant was signed by Governor Bob Martinez to allow the city to renovate the old city hall, and the museum was officially opened in 1988.

Only one floor is dedicated to Wentworth's eccentric collections — which includes a mummified cat, among other things. Wikipedia

Fog Rolling in on East Bay Pensacola Florida

On our morning walk in the subdivision near our campground the fog is usually rolling in off of East Bay near Pensacola and Gulf Breeze Florida. It makes for a beautiful experience.

Fort Pickens, Florida, Buildings

Around the grounds at Fort Pickens there are several buildings that housed the various personal during the World Wars. They are all painted white with green trim that looks good from the beach area. The dunes have a lot of Sea Oats that help prevent erosion. The National Park system have displays and educational information in these buildings.

Pensacola Beach Houses

As you drive along the road on Pensacola Beach on the way to Fort Pickens Gulf Island National Seashore there are these beautiful beach houses that are wonderful shades of pastel all in a row.

Calico Scallop Sea Shells, Pensacola Florida

The sea shells on the beaches here are great. The color is wonderful. After a storm the beaches are piled high with these Calico Scallop Shells.

East Bay Pensacola Florida

More pics of East Bay

East Bay, Pensacola, Gulf Breeze, Florida

During the evening we take bicycle rides on our cruiser bikes down the streets of the subdivision next to the campground and down to a boat dock and pier. Lots of good fun exercise.

Pensacola Bay Inlet, Pensacola Florida

At the mouth of Pensacola Bay Inlet is the western point of the Fort Pickens area. The waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Pensacola Bay, and Escambia River meet and mix here. The colors hues of turquoise  from all these different water mixing are beautiful and hard to capture the true scope of how beautiful it is against the white as sugar sand beaches.

Destin Fishing Museum, Destin Florida

We spent the morning looking through the Destin Fishing Museum. This museum is small but is crammed full of information on the history of the fishing industry in Destin.

• Experience the feeling of swimming in the Gulf of Mexico with award winning examples of fish caught in Destin. This exhibit is displayed on a 100 feet of wall space depicting the Gulf floor.
• View a large collection of antique fishing rods and reels, the most unique is constructed of split bamboo with an original Penn Reel, that belonged to Ernest Hemingway.
• Get an idea of life in Destin before the arrival of electricity in the 1930s.

• Visit the original Destin Post Office building located adjacent to the property.
• See the oldest seine fishing boat still in existence, The Primrose, built in 1925.
• Enjoy vintage photographs of early Destin settlers, boat captains and their boats, beach scenes, businesses, and much more.

http://www.destinhistoryandfishingmuseum.org/

Pensacola Lighthouse

We went to take a nighttime tour of the Pensacola Lighthouse. This lighthouse is located on the Pensacola Naval Air Station. There is a fee for the tour but it is totally worth every cent. You can get up close and personal with the Fresnel Lens and even walk out on the balcony that surrounds the top portion of the lighthouse. This tour is not for the acrophobic person but is for everyone else.

Picnic on Eglin Reservation

When we were taking our motorcycle ride on the Eglin Reservation we stumbled across a small campground picnic area. It was a beautiful place to  gaze out on the bay.

Eglin Air Force Base Wildlife Management Area

We took the motorcycle out for a spin in the Eglin Air Force Base Wildlife Management Area. We drove for miles and didn't see any other people just lots of gorgeous trails.

Eglin has many outstanding natural features and bountiful outdoor recreational opportunities. Popular activities include: excellent deer, turkey and feral hog hunting; mobility impaired and youth Special Opportunity Hunts; fishing Eglin's 21 ponds; primitive camping; canoeing scenic waters; mountain biking in the Timberlake Recreation Area; and hiking the Florida National Scenic Trail. Eglin AFB is also home to more than 106 rare or listed plant species and animal species, 63 of which are considered globally rare. Included in this list is the threatened Okaloosa darter, which is found in only six creek systems in the central portion of the air force base.

Eglin has the largest contiguous acreage of old-growth longleaf pine in the world and the fourth largest red-cockaded woodpecker population. This area is a site on the Great Florida Birding Trail offering both inland and barrier island birding opportunities. http://myfwc.com/viewing/recreation/wmas/cooperative/Eglin-Air-Force-Base

Great Blue Herons Pensacola Beach

We are enjoying watching the wild life on the beach. The Great Blue Herons are fun to watch. They are intelligent birds. The Herons wait and watch the fisherman put their fish in the buckets and when the fisherman turn their backs away from the buckets the Herons try to steal the fish out of the buckets.