It started raining in the night and continued for several hours. I slept late, read and just hung out in the trailer until noon. It was overcast and windy all day with occasional showers.
I went into Gulf Breeze for a pedicure, then had lunch at Firehouse Subs. If you have not eaten at a Firehouse Subs, you should. I always have the same thing, Smokehouse Beef & Cheddar Brisket sandwich. I wandered thru a few shops. I stopped at an Ace Hardware. Somewhere along the way, I lost my vent cap off the roof. Anyway, while I was in Ace Hardware, I was offered assistance four times. What great customer service.
I stopped at Dollar Tree and I was amused to see that they had boiled peanuts in a can for sale. I stopped at a restaurant called Shane’s Rib Shack and picked up a sandwich to take back to the trailer for dinner. I ordered a pork sandwich. It was okay but I would not order it again.
Above is a map of the area. Pensacola is at the top. You drive over (going south) the Pensacola Bay Bridge to Gulf Breeze then you drive over another bridge (going south) to reach the town of Pensacola Beach. You have to pay $1.oo each time you enter Pensacola Beach using the bridge.
You turn right (west) at Pensacola Beach onto Fort Pickens Road. From the intersection to the grey/green area you see on the map is some hotels and then a lot of vacation rental properties (three story condos, etc). Once you reach the grey/green area you are in the Gulf Islands National Seashore and there is no commercialism. It is natural dunes on both sides of the road. You can see the Gulf of Mexico on the south side and the bay on the other side. I think the road must be about six miles from the entrance to the end.
The picture above is looking at the bay side from my car.
The picture above is looking to the Gulf of Mexico side.
Do you see the sand drifting on to the road? This is a constant issue here. There are no tall dunes. When a storm comes in that causes large ocean swells the road is drifted shut. When the large storms are forecasted, they notify and evacuate the campers. I know they closed once last month and they closed again on March 10.
Above is a picture as you reach the end of the park and you begin to see the vacation properties and hotels.
Weather for tomorrow is forecasted for thunderstorms and substantial rain.
Enjoyed your pictures of Pensacola. The last time I was there, I was helping clean up after a hurricane so I didn’t get to see such lovely parts. Happy Easter