Florida Adventure May 2013

Tuesday, 5/7/13

We left home at 7am and it was good timing. Traffic was smooth the entire way. We stopped for breakfast on the north side of Atlanta because the traffic started to back up due to an accident. After breakfast at Steak-n-Shake, I drove us through the heavier traffic through Atlanta. We stopped in Montgomery, AL for lunch at Mrs. B’s Home Cooking and the food was delicious. If we go through there again, we will definitely stop here for lunch! It was $9 for an entrée, 2 sides, bread, and a drink. We arrived at Fort Pickens State Park around 3:30 (central time) and set up our campsite (C45) for $20 per night. We drove around the area and Pensacola Beach. Since we had to pay $1 to get over the bridge, we stayed on the island and decided on a Subway sandwich for dinner which we ate at our campsite. We walked over to the beach and watched the sun set. Our campground had Pensacola Bay on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other.

Wednesday 5/8/13

We had breakfast at the Coffee Cup Restaurant on E. Cervantes St. in Pensacola. In fact, we went here for breakfast every day because it is where the locals and cops ate plus the food was cheap and good. Then we spent the day at the National Naval Aviation Museum which was free and lots of fun. We took the trolley out to the flight line and saw 2 of the Blue Angels take off on a practice flight. Lunch at the Cubi Café was reasonably priced too. Later in the day we were there for the Blue Angels autograph session. We ate dinner before returning to the campground and walked the birding trail around the Marsh. We saw 2 snakes: a rattlesnake and a copperhead. On the way back to the campground we walked along the beach on the gulf side. The mosquitoes were really awful and they feasted on Don.

Thursday 5/9/13

I woke up with red bumps all over my feet and a few on my hands. We think I might have been bitten by sand fleas since I had been wearing my sandals and Don wore his tennis shoes. After breakfast, we went to Fort Barrancas and explored. About 2 hours later, the park ranger found us and let us know that she was locking up because the fort was actually not open to the public. She had been giving a tour to a school group which is why the gates were unlocked. After apologizing, we left and stopped at the Barrancas National Cemetery. Then we stopped at Walmart to pick up some supplies and had lunch at the Coffee Cup Restaurant. After lunch we went to Fort Pickens where the park ranger (the same one from that morning) was giving a tour so we joined her. Hooters was our place of choice for dinner. The 10 wings were $6.99 but the sodas were $3 each!

Friday 5/10/13

I woke up at 4am and the wind was picking up and it was cloudy enough that I couldn’t see any stars. After checking the weather online and noting that the fog was moving in, I woke Don up at 4:30 and we packed up the tent to head out. We were going to head to Manatee Springs State Park but the rain looked like it would hit there too so we headed for home.

We had a great time and would definitely come back here again!