February 7-9, 2015 Fort Pickens, Florida

65 and sunny on a beautiful beach today.

This is where I have wanted to be all winter. We have been at beautiful beaches for a few weeks, but it has been cool. Today was finally warm. I could not stop looking at the ocean. The gulf is so beautiful.

I worked on my basket and finished my book, and ate lunch. Then biked and then a short hike with John. This pine tree is a slash pine, it has 8 inch needles and grows to 130 feet tall. It is lovely. But the needles are not as good as the long leafs.

 

    This cane is about 10 feet tall, there was a narrow path through it to the other side of the island. A mocking bird and yaupon holly, an ever green shrub. The middle of the island is grass and slash pines.

 

Today it was warm enough to get into the water. It was heavenly.

This young family is next to us. 4 children and their parents. They are living in a van, traveling and home schooling till the money runs out. What fun that must be. This is  a model of Fort Pickens as it was built in 1834.

John in some of the casements where the cannons were. this is a shot from the top corner looking into the parade ground and the visitors center in the building to the right. To the left of the visitors center was bastion D, which  was destroyed when a fire that started in the warehouse  reached a black powder magazine containing 8,000 pounds of powder in 1899. The cannon is a 15 inch Rodman cannon. It is the largest smooth bore cannon used by the US army.

 

In 1886 when Geronimo surrendered they moved all the Apaches by train to Florida. For two years Geronimo and 15 other Apache Indians were imprisoned at Fort Pickens. The rest went to St Augustine.  A cannon inside the fort and salt deposits on the inside of the fort where water leaked through.

The beaches on Santa Rosa island became popular for tourists. This is a woman's bathing suit. The sea wall on the left with the beach on the sound side of the island. Pensacola is seen across the bay, that is now the naval base protecting the area.

 

The 12 inch guns represented the largest and most advanced weapons in the army’s arsenal in 1898. It is on a disappearing carriage, which means it can be cranked down to be reloaded, then cranked up to shot it.  There were bigger waves today, spray coming off the tops.

 

Water left when the tide went out reflecting the sunset. John tried New Belgium's new IPA called Rampart with dinner tonight. Dinner smoked pulled pork with BBQ sauce I made. Yummy.

February 6, 2015 Pensacola Beach, Florida

 

The basket is coming along. Still need to finish decorating the back of the basket. After numerous phone calls and emails yesterday and huge amounts of stress the title company arranged for me to sign the closing papers on my house on the patio outside of Starbucks in sunny Florida this afternoon with a mobile notary/closer who also handled all the receiving and shipping of the paperwork.  I had signed a power of attorney so my realtor could sign the papers, but at the last minute the title company nixed that and wanted me to sign. The buyers sign on Monday, and then with luck it will be done!

Afterwards we went to Peg Leg Pete’s oyster bar to celebrate. John with his oysters La Fitte, oysters broiled bacon, jalapenos and cheese. I ordered blue crab claws sautéed in garlic butter.

  

The Under “Where” bar at Peg Leg Pete’s. It is their Tiki bar for warmer weather.  At last, ended the day walking on the beach watching sunset with my sweet hubby.

February 5, 2015 Fort Pickens, Gulf Islands National Park, Florida

Woo hoo, the sun came out today and it was almost warm.

Sun on the bus and  the beautiful beach.

 

Curly sea oats  and their curly shadows on the white sand. In 1834 Fort Pickens was built with slave labor to protect Pensacola Bay. I rode my bike out here, I will have to come back with John.

 

A fern growing out of the side of Fort Pickens. These masonry walls were strong enough to support heavy cannons ontop and allow space for cannons below, providing twice as many guns as earth and log forts of similar size.

   

There are numerous lakes on the island too. In the back of this lake high in one of the trees is this great blue heron nest.

The light is so lovely near sunset.  Beach art made by humans and the wind.

Sunset colors on the horizon to the east above turquoise gulf water. The sun was huge when it was right at the horizon to the west.  After dinner we walked on the beach under almost full moon light. Moon light on white sand is beautiful.

February 2-4, 2015 Gulf State Park, Alabama to Gulf Islands National Park, Florida

 

The moon rose during our walk today in the park. Here it is in the sunset over the middle lake, which is the medium sized one.

 

And here it is from our campsite.  I think it will be full tomorrow. It is always entertaining to travel with John, you just never know what he will do next. Here he is dressed as a gnome. . .

We made it to Florida. John was sure the moment we crossed the border it would be sunny and warm. No such luck, it is raining and in the 50’s. We are now parked at Gulf Island National Park at Pickens Fort campground.  The AAA book says there is snow white sand and aquamarine water make Pensacola Beach (Which is the closest town.) one Florida’s most beautiful beaches. Bordered by two preserved seashores the area offers more than 20 miles of beachfront covered in sugary sand composed of 99 percent pure quartz. Visitors have access to plenty of undeveloped oceanfront. We are on Santa Rosa Island, Pensacola Beach is one end of it and the other is Fort Pickens- and 2 and a half miles of undeveloped beach. We will check all that out when the sun comes out. The bus at our campsite in the rain, under live oak trees.

 

Being a rainy day I am finishing off a basket I started last spring for this pot, which had basil in it at one time and will again. I also decided to cook a lasagna for dinner. Of course here we are way out of town on an island in the gulf and when I pull out the box of lasagna noodles there are only 6 noodles in it. Oh well, I filled in with spaghetti. It will taste the same.

 

The sand the water in the  gulf look wonderful here. I can hardly wait for the sun to come out. Here is John in his raincoat wading in the gulf. He says the water is warmer than the air.

February 1, 2015 Gulf State Park, Alabama

It was supposed to rain today, heavy rain and big wind. 65 degrees.

I went out in my boat before the big wind came up. Very pleasant. Beautiful water. We are camped on the boat canal between two big lakes, across the street from the beach. This tower is part of the zip line over the big lake.

Cool trees and  marsh grass. I love these coots, when they take off they run on top of the water flapping their wings, squawking  before they finally get enough lift to fly. You hear the slap, slap, slap of their little feet on the water and their hysterical squawking. 

Reflections of last years  cattails. Then it began to rain, so I headed back to the bus. We can put in and take out at our site.  We hunkered in for the rainy afternoon.

 

There was only a short rainy spell, then the sun started peeking out. We went to the beach. One red flag up, High Hazard, there  are  rip tide warnings today. 

John on the beach, with out his chaco’s on. The light and the clouds were lovely.

 

I was wearing my rain coat to keep warm. John used a special effect to pick up my natural halo.

Moon rising as the sun sets.

John took this apocalyptic looking  photo of me coming off the beach. Last look at the sunset. It was one of those multiphase ones. The clouds and colors kept changing.

       

The moon reflected in the canal on the walk back to the bus.