Destination 6: Pensacola, Florida

I have a confession to make: Florida has never once enticed me. I've never had a single urge to visit the state, nor go anywhere near it. And I don't know why. It was just one of those places like Nebraska, South Dakota or Montana (sorry if I offend anyone that lives in any of those states!).

BUT...and there's always a but...

Florida has proven me wrong. Maybe it's because the first place we visited in Florida was Pensacola, a beautiful beach town with white sandy beaches and turquoise water. To me, Pensacola beach is the quintessential East Coast beach, with white sandy beaches, turquoise-green water and large risen houses overlooking the sea. The beach looked as if it came right out of a Nicholas Sparks' romance novel.

[Yay!]

I didn't think I'd miss the beach as much as I do. Maybe it is the countless hours in the car or the numerous nights in hotel rooms that have me aching for the salty air, crashing waves and long, beautiful jetties. So when we pulled up to that sand, the kids and I jetted out to the water as fast as I could. And the best part? The water was warm! I was so relieved to see that the oil has not yet effected Pensacola Beach, although there are reports that the oil spill has already reached Florida :(

After some clam digging with the kids, I decided to take advantage of the situation and go for a 3-mile jog in the water. It felt so good and brought me back to the good 'ol days in Newport Beach. Because there's really no way to express how beautiful and refreshing the beach was, I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

[Soft white sand]

[The perfect little clam]

The next day, we went to the Naval Museum on the Pensacola Navy base, which the boys loved (Mary, not so much). We started out watching an IMAX about the fighter pilots. I had no idea what fighter pilots had to do in training and in combat. It was really neat to learn so much about them. But what was even neater and more touching were the people in the audience. There were a lot of older men and women, who I'm guessing fought for our country at one time or another. Many of them were enthralled by the movie and a few were brought to tears because I think it was the first time in a long time they may have felt appreciated by highlighting how hard it is to be a fighter pilot.

After the movie, we walked around the museum for another hour or so before the kids, Mary especially, were quickly over it. We, then, hopped back into the van for our next destination: Sanderson, FL.

[This is what the kids look like when they're ready to go home]

I hope all of ya'll (ya like my new Southern twang?) have a wonderful weekend!