Panama City Beach Florida

We got totally lucky on the weather front. It was raining hard as we drove from Pensacola toward Panama City (I just love breaking down Colectiva in the rain - of course all the outside stuff is relegated to You Know Who). It rained so hard that night that it was actually hard to sleep. Despite being allegedly water tight, when it rains as hard as it did, you always find a few tell tale damp spots on the rug.

But the next morning the clouds broke and the sun came out strong. In fact, we have had a couple of the nicest days - almost summer like. There is a constant breeze since we are right on the Gulf of Mexico, but generally that breeze is welcome - without it, it would actually be too warm!

Our RV site in St. Andrews State Park is right on the water - not the Gulf but Panama City Bay. We have to walk or bike a little to get to the actual beaches on the Gulf, but not very far. We are on the beach daily taking in the gorgeous sugary white sands and the fabulous weather.

Because Panama City is on the Eastern side of the Gulf where the coastline begins its descent down to the Keys, you actually face SW from the beach, so sunsets are perfect here. The night we headed for the beach to take in the sunset, we saw this beach wedding being conducted just as the sun was getting ready to go down. The couple concluded their vows just before Sol dipped below the horizon, and then they posed for their wedding photos with the sunset as it made its final descent.

It actually was one of the best sunsets we have ever seen. Usually there are distant clouds near the horizon that seem to interfere with a crisp sunset at the water line. But the sky was perfectly clear all the way to the horizon, so the effect was spectacular!

The beaches are dense with high rise condominiums and hotels here. As you move about you would swear you are in Miami Beach or Fort Lauderdale rather than the Florida Panhandle. We had expected that Pensacola would be more developed than Panama City, but we were wrong. Although Pensacola was quite heavily developed, it pales compared to Panama City.

Hiking around St. Andrews State Park, we spotted some folk walking around on the edge of the road staring at their mobile phone as they walked - BINGO! Geocachers! We went on line, found there were 4 geocaches identified as being in the Park, and then set out on our bikes to find them. The first one we found we were standing next to as a car drove up, a guy jumped out, signed the log (while we stood there) and hopped back in his car and took off. The term "Park and Grab" is a common term used in the descriptions of many geocaches - it certainly seemed to apply to this particular cache. We ended our trip around the Park 4 for 4 - found them all - that is a good day geocaching in our books.

Campfire on the beach ended a perfect day!

Talk to you soon!

Humidity is oppressive!

Can't really complain - but I will anyway! It's plenty warm - have even thought about the AC a couple of times, as much to dry out the air in Colectiva as to cool it down - but we just try to keep the windows cracked and the roof fans going - at least when the rain isn't coming down in sheets! At least when it is raining, the sun isn't heating up our air space.

We are in a massive thunderstorm right now - it is actually fun since living in Vegas, this is something that we just don't get to experience. It brings back memories of sitting on the porch listening to the heavy rain on the roof - or huddled in a tent with the rain pounding on the canvas (dating myself!) just inches away from our faces.

The humidity is so thick that it is actually affecting the woodwork inside Colectiva. I am not exaggerating at all - this is exactly how it is. We have overhead cabinets and closet doors that are hinged, and the double doors are hinged on the outside and meet in the middle when they are closed. Well the humidity has affected the wood so much that the doors bind severely if you try to open one and not the other - closing them is the same way - it is actually starting to wear away at the finish on the edges of the doors where they meet - yikes!

We basically have gotten to the point where we don't even try to open one door - we just open them both as that minimizes the rubbing.

Oh well - at least it's not hurricanes we are contending with!

Talk to you soon!

Robin's Ramble: I've always loved thunderstorms, more so now that we live in Vegas and hardly ever have them. But poor Niko shakes and shivers and hides. It rains differently here on the coast. It has the sound of soft water but comes down in heavy sheets. Luckily the ground here can hold a lot of water. It rained heavily all day and night and there was little evidence of it the next morning. In Vegas, it would have been catastrophic to get so much rain! Weather differences across the country are so interesting to observe. Also terrain differences. What a varied country we live in! Bye for now.

Other fun in Pensacola

Our RV park was right on Pensacola Bay, essentially the Gulf. We came across our first experience where not making reservations in advance was a problem. When we got to Pensacola, we were planning to stay a week, but we quickly learned after calling a half dozen RV resorts that they were all completely full! So we just had to pull off I-10 out in the middle of nowhere at a truck stop exit that had a couple of RV parks -we were able to find a site easily for a couple of days. Then Robin made mucho calls and got us a Gulf view site for at least 5 of the 7 days we had planned on being in Pensacola.

The site is great! We are probably 200 feet from the water - 100 feet from the beach - our picnic table and patio look right out onto the water, and that is where we have been cooking and eating our meals, and between meals for that matter - reading and playing games and just truly enjoying this wonderful site and its wonderful view!

We happened to be very near a fresh fish market, and for at least a while, we are all fished out! Two nights ago it was fresh Mahi Mahi on the grill - last night was fresh Amberjack on the grill. And today was fresh Snapper on the grill, chunked into a very nice salad for lunch, and fresh Grouper for dinner. Of course all those meals served on the picnic table overlooking the Gulf, with the pretty candles that our daughter Karen had sent Robin for Valentine's Day. I am sure there are more species of fish in the Gulf, but I think we made a good dent in the list.

While the beaches were very nice in Biloxi and Mobile areas, the beaches in Pensacola are every bit as beautiful as you have been led to believe. I am sure you have all heard about the sugar white sandy beaches in Pensacola - well, if you try to make a visual image of what you would expect, it is even better than you can possibly imagine. It really is as soft and fine as sugar - it is so pleasant to stroll through. And it is whiter than white - and it is everywhere - gorgeous!

Near downtown Pensacola Beach is the Pensacola Pier - allegedly the longest pier on the Gulf. Of course we couldn't prove it - looks long to us, but we decided not to pace it off and compare.

In downtown Pensacola on the mainland, we found the Peacemaker. The Peacemaker is a 150 Barquentine schooner built by Italian shipbuilders in Brazil. It had been built with the plan that it would be a fine charter boat in the Caribbean or the Mediterranean. but in 1989, it only made it as far as Savannah Georgia where it was to be outfitted with its 3 masts and sails. However, it languished on the docks as the economy shifted and the likelihood of a successful charter business languished.

In 2000, as the ship sat deteriorating, a tribal community known as the Twelve Tribes were able to purchase the ship at a very good price. The Twelve Tribes are a communal group that has communities in twelve different geographical regions of the world. Each community consists of one or more households sharing a common purpose. Essentially, the Peacemaker has become one of those communities.

It is currently docked at Palofox Pier in downtown Pensacola. The Twelve Tribes members who live on the Peacemaker make it available for free tours, so we climbed aboard. We really enjoyed snooping around this beautiful schooner and speaking with some of the community members. We don't know how long it will remain in Pensacola - their mission is to be a seagoing community furthering the goals of the Twelve Tribes, as well as providing apprenticeship opportunities for the youth they encounter. You can learn more if interested at either http://www.twelvetribes.org/, or http://www.peacemakermarine.com/.

Being fished out, and having plenty of beach under our belt, we are ready to head on to Panama City.

Talk to you soon!

Robin's Ramble: As I read over the above, I see that Glenn is really enjoying our time on the beaches. We still tend to go out and do something in the morning and early afternoon, a bike ride or whatever, and the afternoons have been for relaxing. What a life! The toughest decisions we make are what to get at the grocery store. We feel so blessed to have this time. Love you all.

Feels like I am back in Canada!

The first time I strolled by the wine and liquor section at a Walmart in Florida, I thought I was back in Canada! The wine and liquor prices in Florida are almost as bad as they are North of the border.

I know that you don't have a State personal income tax that you need to raise operating revenue some other way. But it doesn't seem like preying on Old Folk is right - at least it doesn't to me. And there seem to be a couple of Old Folk down here.

In just about every other state we have been in, the mass marketers of boxed wine like Franzia or Vella package 5 liter boxes - at their price point, a 5 liter box will sell for about the same as a decent bottle of a more designer brand. You don't see any 5 liter boxes in Canada. Because the taxes on liquor are so high in Canada, to get the price point right on boxed wine, you only see 2 and 3 liter boxes. Well the same is true in Florida.

Prey on Old Folk? Well, at the risk of offending my peers, apparently Florida raises its operating revenue mainly in two ways - one is their intangible tax - they tax investment accounts and accumulated financial instruments - who should have more of that than Old Folk (at least we hope and aspire)? And they heavily tax wine - who buys more wine than Old Folk?

Talk to you soon!

Robin's Ramble: Oh, the things I could say!!!!! TTFN.

Great deal!

We just learned something we will have to try to remember. We were planning to visit the Gulf Shores National Seashore and kept putting it off for a nice day. Well, it looked like today was the day, so we packed the bikes and headed over across the causeway. When we got to the gate, we asked for the annual pass to all National Parks - our last one ran out in August but we hadn't visited a Park where we needed it until now, so we hadn't renewed it. Well, we found out when you renew it in the first couple days of the month, you actually end up getting 13 months coverage - bargain! We bought it in the first couple days of March, and we can use it until the end of March next year - nice!

Another Civil War era fort was in our future. Fort Pickens was built in the late 1820's. Fort Pickens is the largest of the military forts the US built along the Gulf Coast for defensive purposes. Its walls surround a nearly 4 acre parade ground. Nearly 22 million bricks were used to build it. Ironically, because of the lack of skilled workers living in the Florida coastal area in the days, this fort that was built to secure the freedom to all those created equal was built primarily by slave labor - the only forces that could be pulled together sufficiently to complete the task. Also ironically, despite the obvious coercion involved in the construction, the quality of the construction is such that the fort will likely last forever.

The Fort was very interesting. It was originally built not that long after the War of 1812 in order to act as a defense against attack by the British, French, Spanish or other potential invaders. It was refortified during the Civil War times, after which it lay nearly dormant for quite a while. As WWI erupted, Fort Pickens along with other Coastal defenses were reinforced and brought up to standards of the day. Much of the brick work was either fortified with or replaced with concrete, which could withstand the impact of rifeled shells better than the brick. Also, concrete was needed to hold the weight of the much heavier guns. Finally, all the Coastal forts were refortified again to act as defense in WWII.

In addition to the irony involved in how it was constructed, there is also a great deal of irony in the original purpose of these forts. The Coastal fort system was originally set up to defend the US against foreign invasion. The irony is that the only time that these forts launched fire in action, took fire, or resulted in human death was when we were fighting amongst ourselves.

Although the weatherman had predicted rain, the day turned out to be a gem. We biked the 6 mile length of the Gulf Shores National Seashore section that included Fort Pickens. From Fort Pickens, we could see across the bay to the tip of Perdido Key that held the other US fort that protected the entrance to Pensacola Bay, Fort McRee, no longer there - only foundational remains exist. We could also see across the bay to Pensacola and Fort Barrancas, which in the 1800's protected the Naval Yards in Pensacola. And, we could see the old Pensacola lighthouse.

On our ride back to the car, we had a great picnic lunch on the beach. A Swiss Farms summer sausage, some garlic basil white cheese, a bottle of wine, and our Farkle game and we were very happy campers!

Talk to you soon!

Supplemental income

Those of you on a fixed income know well that any chance you have at rounding up some supplemental income is a good thing.

Since being on the road as much as we have been in the last couple of years, it has become clear to us that you can make some money on the side if you are willing to take on some commercial sponsorships - either on your blog (haven't done this yet) or by displaying some advertising on your coach.

So let us know what you think about the new look for Colectiva!

Talk to you soon!

Mobile Alabama

Inching our way East along the Gulf Coast, the next place we come to is Mobile Alabama. Somehow in setting up the state lines back after the Louisiana Purchase, the Four Fathers (at least I think there were four of them) must have argued that states like Mississippi and Alabama needed ports on the Gulf Coast because each of them has a little finger jutting down to the water - just enough to actually have a port for each of them. Apparently Mobile fills that purpose for Alabama.

If you look at the map, Biloxi is really pretty much on the Gulf Coastline. But Mobile is really quite a bit inland - at the very end of Mobile Bay. It looks like a nice brand spanking new downtown area with a couple of shiny modern skyscrapers as we approach. However, when we get into the downtown area we realize that it is really small - which makes sense as the population is under 200,000. Being early on a Sunday morning, its quiet and nobody around, but we take in the historical buildings and Victorian homes and enjoy the peacefulness.
I had noted in the itinerary that we should try to get to either Fort Gaines or Fort Morgan - I am glad we did! It turns out that the battle for Mobile Bay was a key turning point in the American Civil War.

We visited historic Fort Gaines on the Western side of the channel entering Mobile Bay from the Gulf. Fort Morgan is on the Eastern side of this channel - really not very far from Fort Gaines, but several hundred miles by road. By 1864, late in the War, Mobile was the only port on the Eastern Gulf that was still successfully in the hands of the Confederate forces, and they were heavily defending it. On August 5, 1864, Rear Admiral David G. Farragut lead a Union fleet of ships into the Bay. The Confederate forces had mined the entrance to the Bay in hopes of keeping the Union forces out. It was during this attack that Farragut shouted out those famous words "Damn the torpedoes - Full speed ahead!" In those days, they referred to marine mines as torpedoes.

Anyway, Farragut managed to get his fleet through the mine field losing only one vessel in the process. Because he only lost one vessel, the Union fleet heavily outnumbered the Confederate fleet. The Union fleet easily handled all the Confederate vessels with the exception of the iron clad Tennessee. The Confederate iron clad vessels were actually superior to the Union ones, and the captain of the Tennessee was in no mood to surrender despite being outnumbered - he actually took on the entire Union fleet and inflicted way more damage than he took. However, eventually the heavy Union forces brought the Tennessee to a standstill, and its captain had no choice but to surrender. With no naval defense remaining, Fort Gaines and Fort Morgan both surrendered within a matter of days. By April the next year, the Confederate forces surrendered at Appomattox Court House.

The fort was interesting. It had the star shape that we have come to expect. But one thing we didn't expect was that there were no windows in the walls of the fort for cannon to fire out of. Fort Gaines was revolutionary at its time in fort construction. Until Fort Gaines, forts had been built with the cannon hidden inside - theoretically protecting them and the cannon loading teams from incoming fire. But the large windows in the walls actually resulted in the walls being weakened to incoming fire. At Fort Gaines, the cannon were placed on the top of the walls, making the walls stronger to withstand fire. And, the cannon retracted after they fired, hiding the cannon crew from the enemy and assuring (as much as possible in the circumstances) the cannon crew would be protected when reloading. From this point forward, all US forts were built with the kind of gun placements used at Fort Gaines. We picked and weaved into all the nooks and crannies and really enjoyed our visit to Fort Gaines - and as far as I am concerned in our Mardi Gras trip, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!)

Couple of fun pictures - this is the actual anchor from the U.S.S. Hartford - Admiral Farragut's ship that he stormed the Mobile Bay with and shouted those now famous words. Also, when snooping around the remains of the Fort, we managed to find the latrine - a 10 holer! The latrine is set up on the outside wall of the Fort facing the Gulf, so the natural tides took care of everything. I can't imagine it was all that pleasant here during low tide!

Talk to you soon!