We left Old Town, and wanted to spend a few days on a beach, pretty out of character for me, so Jan jumped on the idea. We ideally wanted to stay somewhere in which we could just walk right out of the coach and on to the beach. We looked and looked, and unless we wanted to spend $175 a night, it wasn't available. And, no, I'm not exaggerating the cost!
We had never spent any time on the beaches in the panhandle of Florida, but understood the beaches were wonderful, wide and soft. We found Fort Pickens National Park on the border island south of Pensacola and reserved a spot there. We picked a site that appeared to be close to the beach and headed into the park. After checking in with the rangers, we went to the site only to find that our electric cord was not long enough to reach the electrical hookup way, way behind the site. With a busy weekend coming up, we feared we might not be able to change sites. Turned out they keep back several sites for drop in's, non reservable sites, and we were able to choose one that just fit us. Only downside was it was quite a bit further away from the beach.
We had a great 4 days there, visiting the fort, and all the gun emplacements built to protect Pensacola harbor from foreign invasion. The fort was begun in 1829 and completed in 1834, used until 1947. Ironically, the only action the fort had was during the Civil War when it was occupied by the Union and drove the Confederates out of Pensacola. Numerous changes were made over the years as weapon technology improved, but the fort was finally obsolete after WW2.
Now as to the beaches. We were surprised to find the walking area, you know, the packed sand along the water that's easy to walk on, was very narrow, only a few feet wide and quite angled, making those long, long walks pretty impossible.
The rest of the beach was beautiful soft white sand, deep and almost impossible to walk on. So all in all for us, admittedly not beach people, it was not all we had hoped for.
It was a great hiking and biking area though, miles and miles.
On another note, Jan has a bike. I got rid of my mountain bike years before as I wasn't into it any more. I've been contemplating getting another bike lately, especially since they make "comfort" bikes now. A more upright, comfortable position, just for tooling around, although fully capable of doing longer rides. Yeah, I know, for older folks, but I'm just not comfortable leaning over the bars anymore. I pretty much decided to get one after being at the National Park. We even went to a bike shop in Pensacola to get one, but they had none in stock. I'll try later along the way. I have to admit it's kind of silly Jan having a bike and me not.
We left Pensacola enroute to our Daughter's and decided to visit New Iberia, LA. I'm a huge fan of James Lee Burke's books, particularly his series with his principal character, Dave Robicheaux and his sidekick, Clete Purcel. These books are all set in the New Iberia, southern Louisiana area where Burke lives. We found what turned out to be a very interesting campground in Breaux Bridge within easy striking distance of New Iberia, right off the interstate. Interesting, in that every site is waterfront! They all back up to lakes full of fish and they allow free fishing. A pretty place that we will probably visit again as we pass through.
Burke talks of the Bayou Teche, the waterway that goes right through New Iberia, in fact it is 125 miles long, quite picturesque, quiet, slowly flowing. And when I say he talks of, those of you familiar with his work know he makes you feel you ARE there right on the banks. We had a good visit, the downtown is lively, busy, with many mansions backing up to the Teche. Got a good feel for the area, especially as it pertains to the books. Then to boot, we shared an awesome seafood Po'Boy at a little hole in the wall, Bon Creole.
Now we are in Longview, TX visiting our daughter Kelly and Todd, and, of course our grandkids, Faith and Christian.
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