Fort Pickins, Gulf Islands National Sea Shore

At the suggestion of the lady in the Florida Welcome Center we headed to Fort Perkins, just west of Pensacola Beach in the Florida section of the Gulf Islands National Sea Shore.   We’ve been here for the last 4 days enjoying the magnificent beaches (white sand everywhere you look!).   We’ve toured the historic Fort Pickens (which has been a part of the US Coastal Defense since before the Civil War (the first fort was built in 1834) until after the second world war.   This is the only place where defense structures from the Civil War, Spanish American War, and the First and Second World Wars can be seen all in one spot.   Our tour guide showed us around the original fort (made with over 21 million bricks) and explained how the military had changed the structure over the years (both on purpose and by misadventure – a fire that exploded a powder room destroying one corner of the fort).   We also got to see a Blue Angles (the US Navy version of our Snow Birds) do a dress rehearsal show (their base is just across the bay from the fort so we rode up to the fort to watch from the walls.   Very nice show.   The jets are painted navy blue with gold markings on the top which makes it easier to see when they are inverted in flight.  

We’ve also visited Pensacola Beach – a typical beach tourist town but fun.   We had a really good lunch at Hemmingway’s – crab cakes and shrimp served with black beans and Spanish rice done to perfection.   

Our campground is on a barrier island – really a big sand dune stretching parallel to the shore.  Where the campground is there is a small forest of sand pines and most of the older pines are dead so their tops stick out and have heron and osprey nests up where they are visible.   So we are able to watch the osprey’s – we’ve twice seen them eating large fish that they have caught.  There are heron nests there too and we have marveled that they are so close – do the osprey not threaten the heron young?   

We’ve had some lovely walks on the beach.  The water is remarkable warm and there are people swimming, although mostly nearer Pensacola Beach, about 10 kilometers east of the campground.  On one trip into town we encountered an emergency response to one part of the beach – an ambulance, a fire truck, and two rescue trucks pulling skidoo’s.  Lots of responders.  Good sunsets. 

We are now on our way home and hope to make it back before the end of the week/month.   Not too sure we will be able to find spots to camp on Easter Weekend but are going to try.