Sightseeing Pensacola

This blog will chronicle our (Pat and Patty Anderson's)

cruising adventures on the Great Loop!

DAY 197 - October 14,. 2017

We had a great night's sleep, hot showers and a relaxed breakfast this morning, and boy, were we ready for those after our 70 mile cruise yesterday!  Marie had a hair appointment, and Bob gave us a tour of the Pensacola area. Bob and Marie are simply the most gracious hosts, and I know the many C-Dory folks who have visited them here over the years will second that!

Our hosts Bob and Marie Austin

We first went to the Big Lagoon State Park, where we climbed the tower for a great view. The park campground seemed nearly full, with RVs of all kinds from fifth wheels to a cute little retro travel trailer.  This is a large park, much of which is in a nearly natural state, with lots of nice trails and boardwalks.  I can see us returning here some time in the future!

Pat and Bob on the Tower at Big Lagoon State Park

I confess that much of the time I did not really know where we were or where one place was in relation to another, but we went through Gulf Breeze, Pensacola Beach and downtown Pensacola. We made a stop at the Gulf Islands National Seashore as well. 

Gulf Islands National Seashore

We were disappointed we did not get to see Ft. Pickens - I had my National Parks Geezer Pass and driver's license out, since Bob had forgotten his - but there was a barricade that said "Road Closed"! No doubt some left over damage from Hurricane Nate!

Pensacola has a wonderful community character!  Downtown is very vibrant with all kinds of shops, theaters, and arts and crafts. New buildings blend in with more historic buildings, with human scale streets. There are great parks and squares. The City Planners I worked with in Snoqualmie would all love Pensacola! We also enjoyed driving through the historic residential streets, with the old Victorians, where there was obviously a lot of pride of ownership here! Some of the streets were still old  brick cobblestones!

Our last stop on the tour was the Greek Orthodox Church for the Greek Festival! Bob picked out a couple of lamb and chicken dinners, moussaka, dolmas, and salads, and some other items. Patty picked a few of her favorites, I don't know what they are called but there were little triangles stuffed with spinach and others stuffed with cheese, all wonderful!  When we went to the dessert line, Bob absolutely overdid it on the Greek desserts though!  

At the Greek Festival in Pensacola

My plate from the Greek Festival!

After dinner, Bob got a telephone call from a fellow Pensacola C-Brat, John, who goes by the name Gulfcoast John, and John and Eileen will be coming over for dinner tomorrow. We are looking forward to meeting John and Eileen!