Pensacola

Day 208

Being the last sunny day for the next few days, we decided to visit the Pensacola coast and its fabled white sands. Pensacola is known to be the oldest city in United States, dating back to 1559 when the Spanish first settled the area. The name Pensacola was taken from the local native tribe that called the area Panzacola, during the British rule, they renamed it to what it is now.

The city goes by many names such as 

“the City of Five Flags”, for the fact that the Spanish, French, British, United States and the Confederate states occupied the city at one time or another. 

“Worlds Whitest Beaches”, the beaches comprise of 99% pure silica quartz that has been washed down from the mountains by the Apalachicola river for thousands of years. The quartz has been ground to a fine sand that it squeaks like the singing sands in Canada. 

“cradle of Naval Aviation”, known to be the Navy’s first air base and home of the Blue Angels squadron. 

Western Gate to the Sunshine State”, the location of the city is situated along western Florida state line with Alabama.   

“America's first Settlement”, established in 1559 Pensacola is known to be the earliest settlement in North America. Unfortunately, a few weeks after landing, a hurricane destroyed three of the colonies eleven ships. To prevent further damage the remainder of the fleet was dispatched to Veracruz, Mexico. The settlers hung on for the year until the ships returned to rescue them. It wasn’t until 1698 when the Spanish finally established a successful colony in Pensacola.

“Emerald Coast”, Pensacola has twenty miles of pristine ocean-front beaches with crystal clear water that stretches away from the beach turning turquoise as the water gets deeper. The unspoiled shoreline is virtually unaltered from the time Spanish explorers first made landfall here nearly five centuries ago. 

“Red Snapper Capital of the World”, Pensacola has the longest nude beach in the world…. Just kidding. With an abundance of marine life in the Gulf of Mexico, Pensacola is a popular spot for deep sea fishing, especially for the favoured Red Snapper. 

The beach runs for miles along the outer barrier of Pensacola. 

Pensacola beach ball sign. 

Boardwalk. 

We had to pay a few bucks to get access to the pier. 

In movies you see those older folks in parks with pigeons all over them. It was bizarre to see that in real life. 

Lots of pelicans in the water. 

The water goes turquoise as it gets deeper.

In the shadows there are thousands of little fish hiding from the sun…or birds 🦅, I’m not sure. 

Fort Pickens heritage site is located at the far end of the barrier. Built in 1834, the Fort took five years to build. To ensure the job was completed in five years, the US army allowed the contractor to bring in New Orleans slaves skilled in masonry and carpentry. Wages for the enslaved workers went to their owners. 

Fort Pickens. The two walls you see once connected. During the instalment of new weapons the munitions room caught fire and 8000 pounds of gun powder removed this section. 

The fort was never assaulted from the sea. Instead, the fort turned its guns to the mainland when the confederate army captured the navy yard across from the fort. For two days they fought, after extensive damage to the navel  yard done by Fort Pickens guns, the confederate army no longer wanted the naval yard and moved on to secure another front.

Artillery tools, the rammer for loading, the worm for cleaning and the sponge to extinguish any sparks and cool the barrel. 

A 15” Rodman was one of the largest smoothbore cannons ever deployed. The barrel of the cannon weighed 50,000 pounds. With a maximum range of three miles, it could fire a 15” diameter explosive weighing 300 pounds, or a solid 450 pound shot. 

Driving along the barrier was really cool, the sand looked like snow. 

Lots of shells in the sand. 

These two weirdos photo bombed my shot of the beach. 

That’s better.