2015 Gulf Islands National Seashore / Fort Pickens, Pensacola Beach, Florida

March 18-21, 2015 I asked David the other day if my blog was getting boring. I seem to write a lot of the same adjectives over and over …. beautiful, fabulous, breathtaking, awesome, thrilling. I should have brought a dictionary so I could “mix it up” a little more. Other than our stay in “Hell Hole Homestead” our trip has been VERY scenic.

Here I go again … Driving to Fort Pickens was thrilling. Bridges … First you cross the two mile Pensacola Bay Bridge. Next you cross the “toll bridge” across the Santa Rosa Sound. If you like bridges and water views, it’s like being a kid in a candy store. Beaches .. How can one beach be more different or beautiful than the next. We have heard that the Santa Rosa beaches are the most beautiful in the world. We had not even made it to the gate of Fort Pickens National Park and the views of the beaches from the RV are beautiful, beautiful, and more beautiful! Another nice thing about traveling in our RV is the giant windshield and being up so much higher than in a car. We have had views of the Gulf on one side and a Bay on the other more often than not this past week. Here we go again!

There are 200 campsites in 5 loops. From what we’ve seen about half are tent sites. We have water and electric (50 amp). Check out this site … $13 a night. E T has an awesome “yard” to play in.

Getting back to my asking David if my blog is getting boring, he said no, it just seemed like you had more funny stories in the beginning. Well, we haven’t had a lot of funny things happen lately. I do have this one story and there will not be a photo attached. This is an “Adult” story so Parental discretion is advised.

I like to set “goals” or “challenges” for myself. This trip I wanted to see an armadillo, get a photo of an awesome sand castle and NOT see any snakes. I haven’t seen an armadillo, but met two people who did, I know it’s possible. I got a cute photo of a sand castle some children had built and E T stole the feather from it’s top, cute but I’m looking for awesome. Unfortunately, we did see a snake, but it was small and non threatening, so I’m still debating on if it counts or not.

The other day, I was having some alone time and taking a walk on the beach. There was not a sole to be seen in any direction. Up ahead of me, I spot a SANDCASTLE of ENORMOUS size. Is this real or just a mirage? I’m thinking Cinderella’s Castle … moats, draw bridge, widows peak. I am excited. I start taking photos from a distance. As I get closer, I take a few more photos. Then I get closer and something doesn’t look quite right. No, it’s not poop! As I walk around the CASTLE I realize … OMG this is a GIANT Penis! I’m not talking phallic symbol, this is the whole “kit in ka boodle” EVERYTHING in DETAIL. I looked around to make sure nobody was looking and took a photo, just in case nobody would believe me 😉

Moving on … Fort Pickens is AWESOME! It is HUGE! We rode our bikes and it was a good thing we did. You could never cover the whole Fort in one day on foot. Today we did a self guided tour. Pamphlets with numbers and brief descriptions of what your seeing are available as you enter the Fort. Tomorrow we are going back for a Ranger led tour. Even if you’re not a history buff, it is very interesting. A quick example .. the Fort was built with lots of arches and double arches. Why? To minimize sinkage in the sand. The construction on the Fort began in 1829. How did they know to build using arches?