Old Historic Pensacola Village and Joe Patti’s

November 22

While waiting for our new sails we had the opportunity to explore Pensacola.  Last weekend we were able to view the Blue Angels Homecoming, the last show of their season from our anchorage at Fort McRee.  This week we toured Historic Pensacola Village.  There are several museums to visit and with the exception of the Art Museum it only cost a very reasonable $7.00 per person.   Here are a few of the highlights we visited.  

We began our day at the interesting T.T. Wentworth Museum.  T.T. Wentworth was a businessman, politician and collector of historic artifacts.  He was also a charter member of the Pensacola Historic Society and left his vast collection to the state of Florida.  He was said to never throw anything away and his eclectic collection is well worth viewing. 

We were also impressed with the Trader Jon display within the same museum.  Martin Weissman was the eccentric owner of Trader Jon’s Bar well known for his mismatched socks and “Tradernomics”.  The establishment was one of Pensacola’s top tourist destinations for decades.  It was patronized by local military personnel as well as politicians and celebrities.  It closed in the 90’s after Trader Jon had a stroke. 

Also included in the T.T. Wentworth was a captivating display of 50 illustrated envelopes featured by The Art of ACE.  Art Cover Exchange was an organization active from 1935 into the 1950’s.  The members were from around the world and they would illustrate the envelopes used to mail letters to other members, often getting

their inspiration from released stamps, day to day life, and major issues of the day.  

The Julee Cottage was built around 1805 and named for one of its earliest owners, Julee Panton, a free woman of color.  The cottage is part of the self-guided tour and is a representation of a working class African-American family during the era of Reconstruction.

Old Historic Pensacola Village is all within walking distance of Joe Patti’s, a remarkable fresh seafood market with a staggering display of seafood.  The only downside of this shopping trip was the size of our freezer which will fit about one tray of ice cubes.  You can pull up to their docks at no charge.  We stayed 2 nights in order to tour the Village and ate fresh seafood for 4 wonderful days.  I highly recommend a stop at Joe Patti’s.  They also have a Beignet Stand in front of the store, so we had pastries covered!

Still waiting for sails……….

Blue Angels Homecoming Airshow 2017

We have been in the Pensacola area for the last 3 weeks waiting for our sails to be ready.  We have had the awesome experience of watching the Blue Angels practice every Tuesday afternoon.  November 10 and 11 they had their final show of the season.  

The Blue Angels is the United States Navy’s flight demonstration squadron with aviators from both the Marines and the Navy.  First formed in 1946 they perform from March to November ending with their final show at their homebase in Pensacola, FL.  The 6 demonstration pilots are currently flying the McDonnel Douglas F/A-18 Hornet.  Local weather conditions dictate whether the show will be a high, low or flat show.  The high show requires at least an 8,000 foot ceiling and visibility of at least 3 nautical miles from the show’s centerpoint.  Minimum ceilings for low and flat shows are 3,500 feet and 1, 500 feet, respectively. 

This is a big weekend attraction for the local boaters and they came in droves starting Thursday.  We came on Monday and there was only one other boat anchored.  This is what it looked like for the Friday show…….

There must be at least a 100 boats in here!!  I wonder if that should be a check off on the bucket list, anchoring with a hundred boats in one anchorage.  Hmmmm.

Anyway, it was a great show and we were happy to be among the many spectators.

Still waiting for the sails............

Fort McRee Anchorage

October 27, 2017

Fort McRee was one of three major installations constructed by the United States to strengthen defenses at Pensacola Bay following the War of 1812. 

Its construction lasted from 1834 and 1839; the facility was a three-tiered fort and a detached water battery close to sea level. It was located on the eastern tip of Perdido Bay on a stretch of beach known as Foster's Bank. It had a highly unusual shape because of its position on a small, narrow barrier island

Although the fort was completed in 1839, its 122 guns were not installed until sometime between 1843 and 1845. It is likely that many of these guns were not in place for some time due to several issues, the most important of which was a problem with rot beginning in the second tier wooden decking.

Fort McRee was named in April 1840 for Army engineer Colonel William McRee.                                 Exerpts from Wikipedia

Fort McRee was last used during World War II.  The fort was monitored by the US Navy until 1971 when it was turned over to the National Park Service after nearly 140 years of military use. 
                                                    

Some of the remains of Ft. McRee

We really enjoyed the wildlife and the shells along the shore.

The great blue heron

These herons have big feet!

   

The biggest seashell we have ever found on the beach

This anchorage is very busy during weekends but during the week it is pretty much deserted.

Back to Pensacola to get the mast stepped.  YAY! ~~~~~~~~→