Great Loop: Pensacola



November 29,2021


Pensacola, home of the Blue Angels, Joe Patti Seafood, warm weather and blue skies.  We berthed at Palafox Marina, right on the downtown waterfront.  The area had the appearance of recent redevelopment, all tastefully done in a traditional late 1800's early 1900's style.  Sprinkled through the area were refurbished original buildings, both brick and wooden.  Old warehouses, in the Seville district, had been converted into restaurants, bars, retail and residential use.  The architecture leaned towards New Orleans style with cast iron columns and adornments, and second floor balconies providing shade for those at street level.  

Our first night, we joined the couples on three other Looper boats for an excellent dinner at Jocho's.  It is located on the sea front at Palafox Marina.  Beth and I split a appetizer and an entrée so we could have key lime pie for dessert.  Always leave room for dessert!


Seville District

The next day we spend most of the day touring on our bikes.  These are an essential part of your cruising kit for two reasons.  First, they extend your range considerably.  This gives you access to sights, attractions, stores and restaurants that you might not otherwise be able to visit.  Second, you feel less guilty about enjoying the local culinary bounty knowing you will be getting exercise.  Not sure it always balances out, but we give it a good try!



Across from Joe Patti is the J.W. Renfroe Pecan Company.  If you love anything pecan, this is definitely worth a stop.  We picked up several delicacies.

Pensacola is the home of Naval Air Station Pensacola, the "Cradle of Naval Aviation".  Primary and advanced flight training is offered here and it is the home of the Blue Angels flight team.  The Naval Aviation Museum is located on base and a "must see" for aviation enthusiasts.  Unfortunately it was closed due to Covid, but we have visited in the past and enjoyed it.



You can visit Fort Pickens and Fort McRee on the barrier islands which seperate Pensacola from the gulf.  Fort Pickens is now a national park and it is possible to drive to it.  You can visit the old coast artillery batteries which date to the Civil War.  Fort McRee is only accessible by boat and very little remains.


Entrance to underground bunkers at Fort McRee


Inside the bunkers 



The Pensacola lighthouse has been keeping mariners safe since 1859.  It remains in active service and is located on the grounds of NAS Pensacola.



Location: Pensacola, FL, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Top 5 posts

Great Loop: Hudson River, Erie Canal Planning Resources

Image
Erie Canal Locks between Waterford and Oswego Erie Canal Information Canal information from the NYS Canal Corporation  Profile and Mileage Table – New York State Canal System Marinas and Public Docks Erie Canal Maps Navigating the Erie Canal Features (bridges, Locks, etc.) along the eastern portion of the Erie Canal are listed by mileage. Travels with Tug44 - Erie Canal Travels with Tug 44 - Oswego Canal New York State Wineries Accessible by Water (3rd Ed. – June 2014) Hudson River Information Hudson River Guide 2015.pdf (hrbyca.org) A good source of current information on the Hudson is a monthly free magazine called "Boating on the Hudson" published by Beacon Publishing Corp. in Verplanck, NY.  Their web site is: www.boatingonthehudson.com/ A free pocket guide listing restaurants, lodging, and planned activities.  www.experiencethehudsonvalley.com Additional Hudson River Resources Travels with Tug 44 - Hudson River Additional  Great Loop Cruise Planning Information Great La
Read more

A Nautical Amble of Puget Sound

Image
 A Nautical Amble of Puget Sound: July 2021 After purchasing Amy Marie we spent some time customizing her to our tastes.  She was well maintained and loved by previous owners so not much was needed.  We focused our efforts on "tuning" storage, becoming familiar with onboard systems, adding a memory foam topper in the V-berth and other items to prepare her for the type of cruising we wanted to do.  The difficult part of the preparation has been trying to fit all the "toys" we want to bring into her 27' length.  The toy list included folding bikes and a stand-up paddle board. Our first day we visited Seattle.  We overnighted in Elliot Bay Marina Seattle has such  a distinctive skyline.  It is especially striking when approaching by boat. Elliott Bay Marina is just north of downtown Seattle.  A good staging spot for traversing the Chittenden Locks into Lake Union and Lake Washington.  It is a clean Marina with great facilities. Cocktail hour was enhanced by the won
Read more

Great Loop: Shake, Rattle and Oops

Image
I have come to the conclusion that trailering a boat is an quick and easy method to expose less than robust design decisions.  It has also reinforced that regular stops should be made each day to fully inspect the boat and trailer.  Today's excitement was finding that the rack which supports our solar panel and "rocket box" tried it's darndest to fly from the top of the boat. The day was quite windy. This combined with highway speeds created forces that the rack design could not withstand.  The verticals were restrained by a single set screw.  Vibration could easily cause the set screw to loosen and wind forces to have their way.  This combined with bouncing on rough sections of road resulted in the verticals popping out of their mounts. Our corrective action needed to be fashioned with items at our disposal.  But first, the stainless steel tubes needed to be bent into shape.  They had been "sprung" open.  I used a ratchet strap to bend the tube back into th
Read more

Great Loop: Jungle Cruise - Hontoon State Park

Image
Cruising Dead River near Hontoon State Park Great Loop:  Hontoon State Park – Jungle Cruise March 22 nd , 2022 It all began with a conversation on the dock.  We stopped to talk with a fellow on a Rosborough trailerable trawler.  He is retired and volunteering for a couple of months at Hontoon State Park on the St. John’s River.  As we always do, we made his acquaintance and inquired  about what fun or interesting things there are to do locally.  Mast is in the Down Position The conversation ended with “Can you get your air draft down to 10’ or less, I’m taking family out for a cruise around Hontoon Island tomorrow, would you are welcome to follow along?”  “We’ll be following a dead branch of the St. John’s River and it’s full of wildlife.” Why a 10’ air draft I asked.  Well for the overhanging trees was the reply.  Our Ranger Tug, being trailerable, has a fold down mast.  We can reduce our air draft to 9’.  We were in! We followed this Rosborough on our Jungle Cruise Amy Marie en
Read more

Great Loop: Atlantic City and on to Great Kills

Image
The conditions that greeted us as we exited Cape May into the Atlantic June 1st and 2nd, 2022 The weather turned boisterous overnight.  We had experienced very gentle and benign weather for our trip down Delaware Bay.  Something for which we were thankful.  The next day we had to pay the piper.  After departing Cape May we experienced 30 minutes of pounding into big wind waves as we voyaged north and we encountered larger boats turning around and returning to Cape May.  It was clear this was not the day to move north up the Atlantic coast. The radio net was active as the assembled boaters discussed possible next steps.  We said we were going to try the no longer maintained New Jersey Intra-Coastal Waterway (ICW) north to Atlantic City.  Very quickly we had 3 boats asking to join us if we led the way.  Others chose to anchor till weather improved.  Of those that chose the ICW option, we were the shallowest draft boat, so they wanted us to go first to scout out water sufficiently deep fo
Read more