Florida: Pensacola

Day 148
NM Today: 26
NM Total: 3117

We left The Wharf marina in Orange Beach, Alabama at 8:30 this morning.  What a treat it is to no longer have locks to deal with when calculating time to the next location.  As we moved to our next venue, we traveled with Not Sew Easy in the lead followed by Jammin Jane and then us in the rear.   Our VHF radios were tuned to allow us to talk if we saw sites of interest such as the sign saying "Welcome to Florida" which we passed today.

Welcome to Florida - Keep Our Waters Clean Sign

We definitely saw a difference in the terrain from the river system - blue waters and white sands!

Blue Waters of Florida

White Beaches!

We arrived at the Bahia Mar marina right at noon.  Ben and Jane on Jammin Jane suggested we use Uber to visit the National Museum of Naval Aviation.  When Clark heard the museum was free of charge, he was all in.  The museum was magnificent.

National Museum of Naval Aviation (entrance)

 When we were traveling the ICW this morning, four Blue Angel jets went right overhead.  Unfortunately none of us could get a good picture as they went by.  Later, at the museum, we saw some that we could capture on our cameras.

Blue Angel Jets 1 -2-3-4

 Planes - planes - planes!  So many planes on display in all shapes and sizes and designs.

Planes Everywhere We Looked

Even Helicopters

The display was very well done.  Architects were hired to design the building and the display areas. They did a marvelous job of presenting the history of Naval Aviation including war scenes from World War I through Desert Storm.  Many of the scenes were profound and sobering especially those related to loss of life and prisoners of war.  Thankfully some scenes showed the humorous side of the naval troops.

Thumbing Nose at Tokyo

Harley Not For Sale - Don't Even Ask

Wing Decorated With Wolf
(We also saw one with Felix the Cat)

Several displays included old vehicles like old jeeps and cars.

1940 Plymouth for High-Ranking Officers

1941 Ford V8 Raffled Off During War

One display was dedicated to the USS Enterprise - the most decorated ship of World War II.  Since the aircraft carrier itself would not fit in the room, a to-scale model had a place of honor in the center of the room.

Model of USS Enterprise

In addition to all the displays the museum offered IMAX movies and hands-on 4D simulators.  Neither Clark nor I took advantage of these options, but Clark did decide to climb into the driver's seat of one of the planes.

Clark - the Pilot

With everything there is to see at the museum, I would have liked to spend more time reading the stories provided about war heroes and historically noteworthy events.  Unfortunately we needed to keep it a relatively short visit due to the late hour of the day when we arrived.  I never realized I was so interested in wars until this Great Loop trip - particularly the Civil War and World War II.

The Uber driver suggested that we make a stop at the fish market before heading back to the boat.  I did not need any fish but agreed that it made sense to stop by.

Outside the Fish Market

Inside the Fish Market

To not leave empty handed, I bought a loaf of Rosemary Olive Oil Bread to add to tonight's dinner menu.  Ben and Jane more than made up for my lack of interest in buying seafood by buying a nice assortment of crab claws and oysters.

Later, after dinner, we got together with our traveling companions to learn a dice game called "Farkle".  Last night they taught us a card game called "Sevens".  Neither game requires intense concentration and so they allow for relaxed chit-chat while playing.  Clark won one round of Sevens last night and won one round of Farkle tonight.  I failed to win a round of either game.

The crews on Jammin Jane, Not Sew Easy, and
Sea Moss (missing the captain)
Note I have the dice for my turn at Farkle

After a rousing good time at the Farkle table, we returned to the boat so that I could work on my blog updates and Clark could look into more information related to planning our next stop on our way to crossing the Gulf when a weather window allows.