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Back to the Beach Plus New Experiences in Pensacola, Florida
Rediscovering Amazing Pensacola
and all its charm awaits Visitors
By Bob Lindsey
It had been a long time between visits to Pensacola, Florida. Past visits with family and friends revolved around spending the day on the sugar white sand beaches at Pensacola Beach. Evenings were preparing seafood, mostly shrimp, in our 4-bedroom rental house or staying in the beach area for seafood restaurants.
Our only tourist destination was to the always expanding National Navy Aviation Museum. This was mainly a beach family vacation following a 12-13 hour drive from St. Louis. Except for Fort Pickens, the historic brick fortress on the beach that originally protected Pensacola harbor from foreign invaders, we never delved into the history of Pensacola, “the City of Five Flags” rich in architectural styles and history. We didn’t even know there was a Downtown, but then this was 25 years ago.
Our visit in late August this year was much different as we discovered the enchanting city’s downtown, restaurant scene, history and ambience, all within walking distance to our quaint Oyster Bay Boutique Hotel. Of course, we had to visit the massive Naval Aviation Museum once again and see all the new aircraft and displays.
Veterans, their family members, or anyone interested in American Military history will find the Naval Aviation Museum a fascinating place. A person could spend hours seeing all the aircraft, learning about the stories of American air achievements and heroism. The museum has three floors, including Hanger Bay One with large aircraft of all types hanging overhead in 350,000 square feet of exhibit space on a 37-acre campus. And there is no admission charge! From Midway to Iraq everything is covered with 150 historic aircraft, each with its own story.
We had enough time to go to the crystal sand beaches found all along the Florida Panhandle. We found an unexpected surprise, a short drive to the Alabama state line for the most unusual entertainment venue, and restaurant, Flora-Bama.
The honky-tonk lounge/restaurant has water frontage on both the north and sides of the island on Perdido Key. Flora-Bama has events that draw crowds from both states such as the Mullet toss (the fish not the hair style) with local celebrities and music events, like the Frank Brown Songwriters Festival every November. Flora-Bama has everying from bikini contests to Bulls on the Beach. Need spirtual redemption? There are two church services every Sunday morning .
Pensacola is the westernmost city of northwest Florida’s Southern hospitality and just a few miles from the Alabama state line and Orange Beach and Gulf Shores, AL.
One night we experienced a minor league baseball game, the Double A Pensacola Blue Wahoos, voted one of the best fan experiences in baseball playing games at their Pensacola Bay location. That night, the Blue Wahoos came back in the bottom of the ninth with a walkoff hit and the players jumping all over the hero who got the winning hit. It was just like the major leagues . I took note of some of the Blue Wahoos as several of the players will likely be in Spring training next year in Jupiter where the parent team, the Miami Marlins, share the sports facility with our St. Louis Cardinals. The teams play each other several times in Jupiter in spring training games.
See post for Pat Lindsey’s story on surprising Pensacola downtown, historic area, and the restaurant scene.
For detailed information and to experience Pensacola : visitpensacola.com
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Just a little information on COVID restrictions. Florida seems to have adapted more than often gets reported. While outdoors masks are rare, the indoor museums including the Navy Aviation Museum do have mask requirements.
