Another gorgeous day, but cooler and very breezy! Our exploring led us to St. Andrews State Park which is just a few miles from our campground. We were blown away (almost literally) by the beautiful water and nearly empty beaches. This is the place you go to catch a shuttle to Shell Island. The day use fee is $8/car, and the Shell Island Ferry is about $24 roundtrip. We missed the last shuttle since we didn’t realize we were that close to Shell Island. Now we have a great excuse to go back! 

Just like most places in this area, St. Andrews State Park is undergoing quite a bit of construction due to storm damage. We noticed that they are dredging up sand for the beach and a construction worker was going through a mountain of seashells that had been collected during that process. I imagine there were some awesome shells there. The pile was in an area we weren’t allowed to go. Sigh.

We walked out to Gator Point which is a bit creepy. The large body of water had to be great camouflage for gators just waiting for a couple of pale midwesterners to walk by staring at their phones. We actually did end up seeing an alligator. He saw us first, I’m sure. His massive head alone had to be over two feet long. Greg said that there is some kind of way to measure the distance between their eyes or from their snout to their eyes or something like that…and be able to estimate their overall size. We estimated 100 feet…at least to us he seemed that large.

It is true that Florida weather changes quickly. In under an hour it went from sunny, breezy and 75 degrees to cloudy, windy and 60 degrees. Shorts to sweats in under an hour. Tomorrow is a travel day. Shhh, don’t tell Cleo.

Monday was a travel day from Panama City Beach to the Blue Angel Recreation Area in Pensacola…about three hours. Nemo has plus a million gold stars. Cleo is going to stay in during recess. 

The Blue Angel Recreation Area has two RV parks right on Perdido Bay. Go to the left to Battleship Row, a more crowded, more modern campground with about 75 full hook-up sites. They even have a community yurt with a TV and full kitchen. There we saw cranky men who were escaping their trailers to get good TV channels and better internet. Someone had also left an entire homemade lemon cake on the counter. Greg thought about it overnight and ended up enjoying a piece the next day.

This used to be an airfield, Bronson Field, during World War II, so I think a lot of the concrete we drive over used to be tarmac and runways. Doing some quick research we found out that the baseball player Ted Williams actually trained at Bronson Field when he was military.

We are staying to the right in the Anchor Cove campground. This also has about 75 spots, but more spread out and woodsy. We have water and electricity, but no sewer hookup. There is a dump station about 50 yards from us and a bath house with private bath/shower rooms even closer to us. The campsites are first-come, first-served, so you drive around and select which one you want! Our is about 50 feet from the bay and has a small beach. It is gorgeous and only $21/night.

Woke up and went straight to the beach to watch the pelicans fish for breakfast. So lovely! We have met the most interesting people in our travels so far. At Anchor Cove we met a man who has lived there for six months. He travels leaving his cats loose in the trailer! If you’ve ever seen the seismic damage that occurs inside the trailer during travel days, you would understand how cruel that is…and probably illegal. Nemo and Cleo were very offended. 

Speaking of Nemo, he saw open water and a beach for the first time today. His tail puffed and he wasn’t his thought little self. 🙂

Wednesday at Anchor Cove in Pensacola, Florida

Speaking of great people to meet, a couple we met in Alabama reminded us of the open, free rehearsals that the Blue Angels holds several times a month during their performance season. Their home base is in Pensacola (hence the name of our campground). Today was one of those rehearsals. We got up early and went to the base. They even open it to the public for these events, so there is a very long line to get in the gate if you don’t normally have base access. The rules for public access are intimidating and numerous.

The Blue Angels flight line is located behind the museum on the base, not too far from the picturesque beach and black lighthouse. There were over 3,000 spectators! We brought chairs and sat directly behind the rope at the flight line. It was spectacular! We got an hour of F-18 Hornets vibrating our insides while being showcased by amazing Navy pilots. The number three plane is piloted by a woman Lieutenant Commander. I hope her ambassadorship encourages more girls to aspire to become pilots! These pilots are part of the Blue Angels for only a couple of years. The rest of the time they are normal combat fighter pilots. In fact, they would slip back into that role at any time, if required. We also found out that the name Blue Angel originated from the name of a club in New York called the Blue Angel. So  many things in Pensacola, including an elementary school and a church, are named after a night club from back in the day.

After the morning adrenaline rush, we headed right over to the pristine beach on the base…white sand, blue/green water and not a soul was there. Soooo relaxing!