Pensacola Lighthouse and Museum

Today we went to see the Pensacola Lighthouse and Museum. The light was built in 1859 and is about 1/2 a mile from the campground on base. 

Across the street from the lighthouse.

We climbed the 177 steps to the top of the light and were rewarded with some amazing views!

The Aviation Museum. 

The runway, this is an air base after all...

Part of the museum and the gate keepers property.

We haven't seen beautiful water views like this since we left Italy!  OK, so being in Tennessee, we don't see any water views, but that is beside the point...

There we are, do I look terrified???

Yup, 177 steps up, and wouldn't you know it, 177 down...Advil for the crew!

Since I was wearing sandals, they made me go up barefoot (ick), so as soon as we got back to the bus I headed for the beach to wash my poor feet.

The sand here is amazing, powder white but not a shell to be found!

Crystal clear water though.

And refreshingly cool, ahhh that's better!

Run for it!

Nothing like a little beach therapy, so much better!

That's our bus in the background, so close to the beach!

Our site is pretty big, they aren't all this big, but we are in the "front row". 

We are also paying "front row" prices...  This is a nice campground, King's Bay and Mayport are still our favorites, we have been spoiled! The base is really nice, we could be here a week and never have to leave the base there is so much to do a see.  

Anyway, the laundry is cheap, but not free, there is a "clubhouse" but it's a little run down and is essentially just a room with tables, they have do have wi-fi, also not free... Like I said, spoiled.

Tomorrow we are going to finish up the Aviation Museum and check out Fort Barrancas, part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore.

Pensacola And Destin

This is our campsite at the Marina Campground on NSA Panama City.  Definitely not our favorite, the campground or the city...  The campground is very tight, no picnic tables and most of the residents seem to be long termers, meaning not very sociable.  We didn't meet anyone...  We weren't crazy about the surrounding area either.  Maybe it's because the weather was rotten 2 of the 3 days we were there. 

So, on the only good day we had we took a drive over to Destin, which is only an hour away from Panama City to the Destin Army Infantry Center Recreaction Area.  

The campground is really tight!  

The "premium" spots don't look that bad, but getting in would still be a challenge!

They also have all types of lodging, hotel, suites, 2/3 bedroom villas...  At a great price!

These are the 2 bedroom units...

These are the 3 bedroom units, right across from the beach!

Nice!

The pool area.

OK, so here we are heading across the bridge into Pensacola!

We are staying at the Oak Grove Park Campground on board Naval Air Station Pensacola. This is on the base right behind our campsite, beautiful!

Today we went to the National Museum of Naval Aviation.

It was amazing, if not overwhelming!

This statue represents each of the wars.

I love the old recruiting posters, so there will be a few sprinkled in...

The "Winged Telegraph Squadron" pigeons in other words.

WWI era ambulance.

If you think airplane seating is tight now!  Thank you...no! 

This has to be the coolest plane ever!

P-40B "Tomahawk".  One of the most widely recognized aircraft of WWII, the P-40 served a variety of nations in combat theaters from the skies over China to the sands of North Africa.  Between 1939 and the delivery of the last example in 1944.

I wouldn't want to get stuck behind this one!

Decommissioned Blue Angel planes.

The control center of a blimp.

I know some people in Tennessee that would love to get their hands on one of these!

I thought this was a big propeller, but Stu gave me the real scoop, there are much bigger ones out there.

Stu is now calling me his "Blue Angel"...Pfffffftttttt!

Homecoming...enough said.

Asking for a presidential salute would have been too much....

An unmanned drone, get used to seeing this.

This was cool!

Back in the day when the Navy did not provide squadrons on deployment or weapons training detachments with transportation, it was common for member of the wardroom to chip in some money to purchase a well used automobile in which personnel could get around.  They inevitably were decorated and often kept and passed down through the years as a symbol of squadron camaraderie.  This Lincoln Continental is one of the more elaborate "works of art" around and for many years belonged to he members of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 134.  The addition of a refueling probe mock-up on the top of the car, it resembles the EA-68 Prowler aircraft flown by the squadron.  This squadron car was donated to the museum in 2003 after being driven to Pensacola from VAQ-134's home base at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington.

A model of the USS Saratoga.

The museum was so big, we only got through half of it today, back tomorrow for the rest.