Pensacola No-No's

Good thing we're heading back to Bonita!!!

Photos of This and That in the Pensacola Area

The water tower at Pensacola Beach is a beach ball

This isn't your every day Ferris Wheel.  It is the "observation tower" at Pensacola Beach.  Each gondola is glass enclosed.  The ride is $15 for four revolutions.  You can also rent the VIP one with a tv and leather seats! 

This is one of the bunkers around Ft Pickens.  You can just imagine what future civilizations will conjure up as to who lived here.

The house is the ranger station at Ft Pickens.  The photo was taken from the beach access across from the bunker.

 

The flood water marker at the Blackwater River. Talk about high tide!

One of the "modest" homes along US 90 north of Pensacola

Side view of the same house, along with pink tree house

This structure was made entirely of stone facing

This home was across the highway from the one above.  The roof was golden.  The property extended at least 500 feet along the bay, with gazebos with gold colored minaret  roofs every 100 feet or so and huge golden statuary along the property line.

 

Now, in contrast...I am pretty sure this is the house I rented for the two months I lived in Pensacola back in 1977.  I had wanted to start a second hand store, but found out the property wasn't zoned for it. 

A typical trolley stop on Santa Rosa Island

The Bluffs on US 90 which run along Pensacola Bay are the highest coastal point in Florida, but  I could not find the elevation of them.  The park has a stairway down to the beach below.  However, we did not feel we would be able to climb down and back since we would have to carry the dog with us,  and Bob is having trouble with his foot. Unfortunately, there is no good view of the bluffs from the highway

A view of The Bluffs taken from "Three Mile Bridge" heading into Pensacola.

Ft Pickens Trip Friday Jan 11 2013

Rains came late yesterday afternoon and evening, but  the sun came out today, and temperatures hit the low 70's.  Our first stop this morning was at the equestrian center where they were holding The Gulf Coast Winter Classic Horse Show.  Today several riders were in the outdoor areas practicing, and at the indoor arena we watched some horse jumping competitions, which we enjoyed.

From the center, we headed to Ft Barrancas, across the bay from Ft Pickens.  The fort was built around 1781 on the bluffs overlooking Pensacola Bay.  The Spanish word for bluffs is barrancas, thus the fort's name.  Like Ft Pickens, it was used up until 1947 when the coastal forts were declared "surplus" and in 1971, the fort became part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore.  Although Ft Barrancas is in better repair than Ft Pickens, it had an ominous feel about it.

View of the water battery from the overlook

This tunnel leads from the fort to the water battery.  I was not about to enter it!

 

From the fort, we went to the historic part of Pensacola.  There is an enclosed "village" somewhat like Williamsburg where you can see what life was like during the early settlement days.  After that, we stopped at St Michael's Cemetery which has graves from the late 18th century, and many are above ground.  It was officially declared a cemetery in 1807 by the king of Spain.

Ft Pickens Trip Thurs Jan 10 2013

Happy Birthday, Amy!!!
Weather report showed there was an 80% chance of rain today.  It was still overcast, but the rain held off (at least until we were back at camp when it came down with vengeance around 5 pm). .  Today's journey was inland to Milton, a town about 45 miles away from the campground.  We had learned of a historic site there called Arcadia Mill.  We took scenic US 90 where along the bluffs it was very foggy, through the town of Pace and into Milton.   Just north of town along 90 there a brick road that went for at least 5 miles.  Signs along the way showed that it was SR 1, laid in 1921.  A lot of the old bricks were being replaced with newer pavers.  At the mill, we took the self guided walking tour along the elevated boardwalk.  The land was purchased in 1817 by Juan de la Rua, then sold to Joseph Forsyth in 1928.  He and his partners built the sawmill.  Over the next 27 years, the land owners constructed a railroad, basket factory, silk factory, ironstone quarry, sawmill and a profitable textile mill.  According to the accounts, 40 female slaves produced as much as 1300 yards of cloth per day.  By 1853, Arcadia Mill was the largest textile factory in Florida.  However, in 1855, the mill burned, and Arcadia closed down.  Nothing but a few foundation stones remain of the sawmill, dam, flume, or textile mill.  The property, now owned by the University of West Florida, was "rediscovered" in 1964 by a local historian, and  has been an archaeological site since.
After the mill, we stopped at a river park in town and the Santa Rosa County Veteran's Memorial.  We made one last stop at what was supposed to be a "dog beach" in southeast Pensacola, but it was a far cry from being that.

There were two surveyors at the other end of this plank bridge who told me I could walk across, and I assured them I definitely could not!

Not Cracker Barrel...the porch of the  Arcadia Mill Visitor Center.  Wish the chair was for sale!

Veteran's Park

 

 

The alleged doggie beach