Pensacola Day Trip Feb 10

Pensacola Day trip from Topsail Hill Preserve Sate Park

Friday  February 10 we took a day trip to Pensacola. Ben hadn’t been there since  his daughter Shaunte was little and mostly remembers the naval base. I don’t remember ever visiting. Pensacola is 58 miles from Topsail but with traffic takes about 1 ½ hours to get there. It was a very nice drive onUS 98 the entire way. We drove through Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Navarre Beach. We got to see more communities along the water and more of Eglin Air force base.  We decided since time was limited we would visit only historic Pensacola and take in a tour.  

Pensacola is truly the first settlement in the U.S. as the Spanish had a short-lived settlement here in 1559. It is the city of five flags as it has been ruled by Spain, Great Britain, France, confederate US and USA.

We had an excellent young guide who gave us a thorough history of Pensacola. We toured the pioneer kitchen and Weaver’s cottage 

Pioneer Kitchen with live demonstrations inside

early kitchen - Weaver's cottage

 Old Christ Church

Lavalle House

Dorr House

 

woven human hair - framed

 

and the Lear/Rocheblave House

Early recliner

This gave us a good overview of homes and lifestyle of the different periods between 1600 – early 1900s.

Afterward we toured the Museum of Industry

and TT Wentworth Museum. TT Wentworth had a large portion of the second floor dedicated to Trader Jon, a former bar/restaurant that was visited by many famous people over the years and also many of the Blue Angels. The Naval Air Station at Pensacola is home to the Blue Angels.

Afterward we went a few blocks over to the wharf and took in a great view.