Sept 27,2015-Sunday

We went to a "seafood Festival" in Pensicola. There were signs all over advertising it all week. We found out that it is an annual event. When we finally found out where in Pensicola it was, we had to find a parking place. That was a chore! All the parking lots were full as well as the parking places along the streets. We were ready to give up when we found a lot with spaces available. It cost  $10 and we had to walk about 4 blocks to the festival. It was very crowded. There were a lot of seafood booths (hence seafood festival), and a lot of craft booths. It reminded me of the Frankfort fest back home. A LOT of walking and all we bought were root beer floats. It started to get a little overcast and we had to walk back to our car, so we started back. Richard saw a guy on a bike with a cart & a sign saying rides for tips, so he asked the guy to give me a ride. The guy said he could take both of us, so we took him up on it. I felt sorry for him at first, but he said he made over $300 the day before (the festival was a weekend event) we gave him $10, it was worth it not to have to walk that distance back. We just made it to the car and it started to rain. 

Sept 26,2015 - Saturday

Another hot, humid day. We went to the beach of course. The beach flags for the day were yellow,caution rip tides may be present & purple, marine life may be present. Well the rip tides really don't effect us because I just stay at the shoreline and Richard don't go that far out. But there were jellyfish in the water. You could see them floating on top of the waves. In the water they look like a clump of seeweed.they say they don't harm you unless you get too close then they will give you a very painful sting. If someone sees one they usually point it out to other people in the area. A few might get washed on shore (see picture) they are ugly! Those are the only ones we saw on shore. Being the weekend, the beach was pretty full, a lot of kids. Thankfully we didn't hear of anyone being stung. We only stayed at the beach for a few hours because we were going to church at 4:00. After church the Knights of Columbus were holding a spaghetti dinner in the church hall which we went to. It was very good. Bread, salad, spaghetti & meatballs and beverage & dessert. There was bingo afterward. Six games were played with a win of $20 each.the last was a coverall with a win of $50. We didn't win any, but we were sitting at a table with two other couples our age, so it was a good evening. 

Sept 25,2015 - Friday

We have been RVing to Florida for five years now and have been on a lot of beaches, but today we saw our first sand crab! You know the ones with the big eyes that walk sideways. He was by himself and would pop out of a hole in the sand, then "skitter jump" back in. I Don't like them or any other little critters, so I'll be glad not see another one! He was too fast to get his picture.We did see another interesting item. We saw what we called  the "leather lady" her skin was so dark tanned that it was all wrinkled , just like leather. On top of that she looked like a skeleton with a thin layer of leather, really!! We have never seen anyone like that! We thought she must be in her 80's, but her sister said she was just 65, unbelievable!!! We had a nice afternoon , but we left the beach early because they were setting up for a huge concert on the beach tonight. The police were blocking off the parking lot. We showered, changed and went out for pizza.

Sept 24, 2015 - Thursday

We heard about Pensicola Beach  which is only about 40 min away, so we decided to check it out. We weren't quite sure exactly where it was, but every morning on the weather station they would show a picture of the beach with a water tower painted like a beach ball. I really wanted to see that. First the GPS took us downtown Pensicola. We took a different route and it took us to the  entrance of the Pensicola Naval Base. I kept looking for that water tower. Finally after going over a huge bridge (there are a lot of bridges in Florida) I spotted the tower in a distance! We found a pretty close parking place. It also is a white sand beach with Aqua water. Very well maintained. But one problem was that the walk from the parking lot to the water was a very long walk on sand. White sand beaches are pretty, but it is very hard to walk on that fine sand. It is a more popular beach so it was fairly crowded even for a week day. We spent the afternoon there, the water was great, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was extremely hot. We sat under an umbrella when not in the water. We had a nice afternoon, but we like "our beach" Navarre Beach which is  five min from the RV park better.

Sept 22, Tuesday & 23, Wednesday (2015)

I've been a little lax in my writing. Tuesday morning Richard again made breakfast out on the griddle, bacon & eggs. It tastes so good outside! We did a little shopping. It again was hot & humid, so of course we went off to the beach. We carried our beach gear down and got all settled. We weren't there but about 1/2 hr when it started to get overcast and we heard thunder. We thought it would pass over (we saw other people coming on to the beach). But then we saw lightning! We knew it was time to pack it up and leave.  So we decided to go to a show. We saw "Everest" in IMAX. It was pretty good except that we had to park a distance & walk in the rain. At least we had an umbrella. 

Wednesday  - Another hot, humid day. We were told that usually this time of the year it is not so humid, but of course because we decided to come in Sept....it's a hot, humid Sept. We spent the day at the beach. There was a nice light breeze by the water and no flies! It was a typical vacation day, just relaxing by the water. The waves weren't very strong, so Richard was able to try out his new raft, the one picture of the truck....a fellow hand made that wooden boat on top!

Sept.21,2015 - Monday

Started the day Ike any ordinary day....doing laundry :(  in the afternoon we went to the beach. We were getting our things out of the car In the parking lot  and a young family was getting their things into their car. I asked how the water was and they told us the water was great, but the flys were horrible, that's why they were leaving. here we go again.....we thought after yesterday being such a nice day at the beach that the flys left...I guess not!! We  didn't  even walk down to the beach. We put our things back in the car and decided to go to the pool at our park. The pool water was great, but we found out that the flys were there also!! Just can't believe this!! By this time it was late afternoon so we changed clothes and went for ice cream!!

Sept.20, 2015-Sunday

Started the day by going to church at St Sylvester church here in Navarre. The Knights of Columbus  had a breakfast afterward. It was a great meal..eggs,pancakes, sausage & bacon. We sat at a table with very nice Florida residents. They made us feel very welcome. We came back to our "Florida home" changed clothes and off to the beach we went! It was another very hot day, but there was a nice slight breeze today and best of all.....NO BLACK FLYS!!! hopefully they are gone for good! The water was really warm. Richard was able to listen to the NASCAR race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet on the radio, so he was happy. We spent the whole afternoon there. Being that it was the weekend, there were a lot of families. I love watching the little kids playing in the sand & water.