Friday, August 10

Pensacola Beach Preserve

Old town Pensacola

The Dock - Pensacola Beach

Bad  architecture - Pensacola Beach

White sugary sand - Pensacola Beach

Today's blog entry will be the last one for awhile - we will be flying back to Clear Lake tomorrow to spend a couple of weeks, then leaving for Colorado where we will spend the month of September in Aspen. The dogs have missed us and need a vacation .......they (as do we) love spending time in the mountains.
 Since we would be flying out of the Pensacola Airport early Saturday morning we headed in that direction to see what the area had to offer. We were pleasantly surprised by Old Pensacola and the Seville Quarters - a much smaller & tamer version of the French Quarter in New Orleans. The architecture in this area was attractive and although things were relatively quiet in the afternoon, we were assured that it heats up in the evening hours.   Mardi Gras is a popular theme and celebrated with the same enthusiasm as it is in the Big Easy.
 Needing one more beach fix, the GPS directed us toward Pensacola Beach. This place is a mixed bag.  The beach is wonderful, but unfortunately it is surrounded by some of the worst architecture we have seen to date.  There are lots of VERY tacky tourist joints and if there is an architectural approval process, it allows for terrible pastel colored home designs with no setback requirements. Nonetheless, we enjoyed The Dock, where we took in our last views of the Gulf and quenched our thirst with adult beverages. At the very end of the beach we did stumble upon a National Wildlife Refuge which was unspoiled and lovely.
 We have enjoyed our brief tour of the "Red Neck Riviera" ........  Highlights included: 1. Some of the most beautiful beaches you can image - you need to dig your toes into this sugary sand to really appreciate it.  2. The Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay ( The Grand Hotel, Point Clear and Fair Hope) is a sampling of Southern hospitality and charm at its very best.   3. The oysters and shrimp were fabulous!
 We will continue where we left off in early November when we return to the White Label to complete the final leg of The Great Loop. We are currently 5,900 miles into the journey - only 800 miles to go! (Might make a couple of posts while in Aspen - just so we don't get out of practice.)