Pensacola Naval Air Museum

When some of Bob’s friends learned that we were going to Pensacola they told him to be sure to visit the Naval Aviation Museum. 


It was huge, and had this jet mounted outside.  We couldn’t wait to see what was inside!


They had old planes….


and new ones.


Helicopters too.


Bob tried this Blue Angel jet on for size, and I thought he looked pretty cool in it!


The museum was packed with every kind of flying aircraft you could imagine.


This thing really got our attention.  It was a sort of pod that you go into and it acts like an actual jet. We could choose between flying a Blue Angel, where you try their aerial stunts, or a combat jet where you can shoot down the enemy.


We chose the combat jet with the agreement that Bob would fly it and I’d do the shooting.


This is what it looks like inside.  They strap you in very tightly. 


You can do barrel rolls and 360 degree maneuvers, and Bob took us on a wild ride.  Of course, knowing Bob, he took charge and ended up flying and shooting.  I was NOT happy, I wanted to shoot the bad guys, but it was still a lot of fun!    


Bob liked this one a lot.


We couldn’t forget a photo of the Marine Corp emblem.  Once a Marine always a Marine! Semper Fidelis – Always Faithful


Yeah, fierce!


No, I’d never go up in this thing!


The Blue Angel jets were suspended from the ceiling.  It was one of my favorite displays.


Hmmm, I wonder if he’s looking for a place to climb in?


We did give this a try.  It wasn’t armed, of course, but you could turn the cranks and it moved a little.


Very impressive guns!


Marine One, the Presidential Helicopter Nixon rode in when he left the White House was in the museum.


Bob looked very presidential.  To me at least!


This is the jet President Bush flew in on his Mission Accomplished oops.


It looked like fun so I turned all those dials and switches, but none worked.
We had a really good time here, and we’re glad we were told about it.  Thanks Al!

On the Golf Coast – Panama City and Pensacola

We said good-bye to Jaime, Ron, and the kids and headed north.  Well, not actually north, more like north west because, unlike the other members of my family, I had never been to New Orleans and Bob was getting pretty tired of hearing me complain about that.  


Our first stop was Saint Andrew's State Park, near Panama City and this was just across from our campsite! It's The Grand Lagoon, and trust me, it was GRAND!  The water was clear blue and so beautiful, and it was just steps away from our home away from home.


Doesn’t this look inviting?


Bob enjoyed fishing from this jetty and, if you look closely, you can see that the sand has a small cliff.  I saw some people digging in the cliff and asked what they were looking for.  There were tiny shells in the sandy cliff, the size shells we used to find at Cape May when we were kids.  We both enjoyed this area!


After leaving Panama City we were driving towards Pensacola and saw this!  Wow!  A Blue Angels Jet at the rest stop.


Big Lagoon State Park was nice too, but we liked Saint Andrew’s better.


The park had boardwalks over the swampy areas.


And a tower to see the beach and water.


Our campsite here was nice, and the road were flat, but we didn’t have that view of the Lagoon. 


They still have to warn those crazy Floridians:  DON’T SWIM WITH ALLIGATORS!  



The trails were mostly boardwalks here.


The park had a huge pavilion with a grand fireplace.


Oh yes.  Bob went fishing and talked to someone who told him were to go to buy fresh seafood.  (Now I’m not saying he didn’t catch anything, just read between the lines here.)  Anyway, we bought five pounds of warm, spicy crawfish and they tasted as good as they look. 


Don’t you wish you had some of these now?  I sure do, but we had to move on.  Our next stop is New Orleans, but our next blog features a lot of jets.  Navy and Marine jets!

Running and Fishing at Hidden River

As we’ve said before in our previous post, we really enjoyed our time spent at the Hidden River RV Resort in Riverview.  We had many reasons to enjoy our time spent there, and you can read about a few more of them in this post.
 

Jaime told me about a Race that was held at Fish Hawk Ranch in Lithia, not too far from Riverview, so we decided to give it a try.  I ran the 10K, Jaime the 5K, and little Conner, who just turned four on December 31, ran the 1/2 mile along with his Mommy.


The gave all the kids that ran a nice medal, and Conner was able to find some brand new sunglasses at a table set up for kids.


Jaime was happy with her race, a personal best, but Conner was more interested in the lady handing out lollipops! 


It was crowded!  They had over 1,000 crazy people running on this hot, foggy, humid morning.

 
Back at Hidden River, this is Bob’s fishing hole.  One of the guys built the bench for the fishermen, and they have plenty of seating and holders for  their poles.


Bob’s pretty happy with his catch today.  He’s getting better and better at this fishing business, and he caught some nice sized redfish, which were very yummy!


His fishing buddies measured it to be sure it was legal.  This one was around 25 inches.  Good job Bob!


Jaime and Katie came to visit and, while Conner and Pappy rode their bikes, Katie stayed inside with Mommy and Grammy.


Jaime and Katie, two sweeties!


Little Miss Bright Eyes.


Jaime and Katie went home, but Conner stayed for the night, along with his kitty.  He brought along Shrek to watch and wanted to watch it on the TV in the bedroom.


No, this is much more fun.  Pappy has a very comfy lap.


This was our home away from home at Hidden River.


The roads in the RV park were flat, and had speed bumps that Conner like to ride his bike over.


It was so pretty down here near the river, and all the trees were covered with Spanish Moss.


It’s time to say goodbye, and Harry, Doris, and Jess came over to wish us a good trip.  We told them we’ll be back next year for sure, it’s a great place to stay.  Bob misses his fishing hole, and we both miss our new friends and our activities at Hidden River.