Subject: Postcard from Pensacola, Florida

The following postcards are from our 5 day trip to Pensacola that The Barb and I took with our friends Eleanor and Dennis to visit the Pensacola NAS Aviation Museum.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Left Louisville at 6AM for the 623 mile drive to Pensacola. I estimate that will take us about 12 hours hence the early departure. Eleanor and Dennis are good troopers and arrive at our house by 5:45. We load up the van and are on the way.

On a sad note, The Barb was going to bring my new Netbook (remember my birthday present from the January Florida trip?) but when she went to gather up the Netbook and its components she discovered that the AC power cord was somehow missing. Of course, since it is MY Netbook (An ownership issue that is very debatable) she blames me for not putting the accessories away properly. When I tell her I’ve not used the Netbook since the January Florida trip and then discover that she took it with her to Wisconsin back in February and then used it again when her sisters were down in March (see what I mean about the ownership issue?), well the recriminations thrown in my direction somehow fell silent. We did not take the Netbook but did get to take my handy paper journal which oddly enough does not need any AC power cord. Al Gore would be so proud of me doing my bit to help save the Earth. Just hope no one discovers the 15 mpg average the van made on the trip down and back.

We made it to the Navy Lodge on base in about 12 ½ hours. Not a bad drive down as the weather was good (dry) and we all seemed fairly refreshed. Dennis got us these rooms on base as one of his benefits of being retired military. Last year, we stayed on the Wright Patterson base in similar housing which we liked so I am looking forward to these rooms. These rooms turn out to be even better as they all have balconies overlooking Pensacola Bay.

For dinner we decide to go into town to an Irish restaurant named McGuires. Dennis and Eleanor were last down here about 10 years ago and remember this restaurant as being very good. The trusty Garmin leads us right to the front door where we have about a 35 minute wait. Inside, the restaurant is an eclectic mix of décor framed by dollar bills stapled to literally any unused wall and ceiling space. Seems the tradition is for patrons to write their names and/or comments on a dollar and then staple to the walls. Over the years, the restaurant has accumulated over $500,000 in “artwork dollars” on the walls. Dennis and Eleanor made a great choice as the food was excellent. If this place is any indication, we are going to have some great dining experiences during this visit.

Subject: Postcard from Pensacola, Florida

Friday, April 30, 2010

It’s Friday morning and today we will visit the Naval Aviation Museum. The weather is now overcast with a prediction of rain. Though the museum is just a few blocks from the lodge, we drive over in the van just in case it rains later. Another nice thing about this museum as well at the one at Wright-Patterson is that they are Free!

Once inside I immediately start taking pictures with my new digital SLR. I purchased this camera for my trips to Europe and India later this year and since it arrived the day before we left for Pensacola I was anxious to try it out to see how well it worked. As I left I told Barb and Dennis I would meet them over by the “A4”. After I had gone Barb asked Dennis “what’s an A4?” and he didn’t have a clue. What the crap?! They come down here with me to this aviation museum and don’t know what an A4 is?!!! I just figured everyone knew that!!

I bet if I told that to John McCain he would know what an A4 was. In 1967, during Vietnam, he was sitting in one on the deck of the carrier USS Forestal all loaded up and ready to go when a misfired rocket from another plane sailed across the deck and set his plane off like a roman candle. Then all Hell broke loose on the Forestal. The museum has a 15 minute video chronicling the Forestal debacle. I didn’t realize they did that (video cameras) on the carriers but they did and that camera was already taping when the first explosion went off as you can see McCain’s plane burning.

The museum is about all things dealing with the U.S. Navy’s aviation history. While there we saw the only surviving plane from the “Battle of Midway” as well as the only remaining piece (a porthole) from the carrier USS Enterprise (CV6) which was sold for scrap in the 1950’s. The Enterprise was the most decorated ship from World War II and was Admiral Halsey’s flagship for the early part of the war.

For lunch we dined in the “Cubi Bar” which is part of the museum. It is the actual bar/restaurant from the naval base in the Philippines, being dismantled and shipped to Pensacola back in the 1990’s.

By late afternoon we were done with the museum and headed back to the Navy Lodge to rest before dinner. The museum was very interesting and a great place to come back to someday. Also, it was a good thing we took the van as it did begin to rain heavily during the afternoon.

That evening the rain had returned and it looked like a monsoon outside when we headed to dinner. We chose a restaurant which was right on a boat dock. Another popular place as the waiting line was again very long. Again, the food was great but they had to have all the windows closed because of the heavy rains. Too bad, because that would’ve added to the nautical theme of the place.

Subject: Postcard from Pensacola, Florida

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Saturday, we woke to very foggy and overcast skies. Looking out from our balcony you can no longer see the beach which is only about 200 yards away. They are calling for a chance of rain today and it is very windy. By looking at the weather channel, most of the heavy rain has missed us and is going across Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee.

Today, we head over to Mobile to tour the battleship USS Alabama memorial. At the memorial, we went on an extensive tour of the battleship, going up and down more deck levels than I’ve ever been able to tour on a warship before. After the battleship we toured their air hanger and finished the tour by visiting a World War II submarine named the USS DRUM which went into service November of 1941. That makes two WWII submarines in the last year that I’ve toured that were in service in 1941 and made it through the war. I didn’t realize any were left. Too bad they couldn’t have saved the USS Enterprise.

The Alabama tour took most of the day and we left by late afternoon looking for a place to eat in Mobile and also a place to watch the Kentucky Derby. It was getting close to Derby so we found an O’Charley’s and sat at the bar to watch the race. Afterwards, we went to a restaurant on the causeway down from the Alabama memorial for dinner. I remembered this place from when I was last down here back in 2004 however the restaurant I visited closed after Katrina and a new one had occupied the building and was now called “The Original Oyster House”. By the number of cars in the parking lot it looked like it would be another good one and it did not disappoint. After dinner, we did the 50 minute drive back to Pensacola and called it a night.

Though it was very, very windy during the day it never did rain on us. Another great day.

Subject: Postcard from Pensacola, Florida

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Sunday we woke to better visibility as we could again see the surf and beach from our balcony. We have been pretty lucky on the trip as the heavy rain is still coming down in the southern part of the country in the states just to our north. Today we are going to spend the day around Pensacola doing miscellaneous sightseeing.

We started off by stopping by the old lighthouse which is right next door to the lodge. It was not open today but we were able to walk around the grounds and the other night we saw its light beacon so while it is no longer used by ships they must still keep it going for traditional reasons. Next to the lighthouse we drove by the beach condos (also available for renting by military personnel) and the campgrounds. All the properties looked very nice and were neatly maintained.

Next, we went over to the old 19th century Fort Barrancas which is on the base grounds. It was built just above an old Spanish fort from the 18th century. Both are run by the National Park Service and open to all visitors. The fort was constructed of all bricks and built in the 1830’s at the same time Fort Jefferson was being built down in the Dry Tortugas. I’ve also visited Fort Jefferson which is the largest brick structure in the world.

Next we went on a drive out to Pensacola Beach to see the beaches and the state park which is out on the very tip and across Pensacola Bay from Fort Barrancas. Together, they were sister forts guarding the bay. That fort was undated and used for coastal watch through WWII. On the way there we stopped for lunch at a place on Pensacola Beach by the name of “Peg Leg Pete’s”. Eleanor had picked it out and it was another GREAT place to eat!! We have been very lucky on this trip getting great eateries and I’ll give most of that credit to Eleanor and Dennis as they have a knack for picking out good places. After lunch we then drove out to see the fort and also the beaches which were billed as the whitest sand beaches in Florida. I’ve haven’t seen all the beaches in Florida but these were the whitest I’ve seen so it’s probably true. Of course with the BP oil spill looming off the coast they may not be this white the next time we come down.

After the Pensacola Beach tour, it was back to downtown Pensacola where we drove around for a while just looking at the various buildings and neighborhoods. Then we went off to eat one last time at McGuire’s as we were too full on Thursday to sample the dessert and I so wanted to try the desserts. Again, we were not disappointed by the restaurant selection but the dessert put us all in a state of overindulgence.

Subject: Postcard from Pensacola, Florida

Monday, May 3, 2010

Got up very early to start the long drive back home. We encountered heavy rains on the first part of the trip but they were gone by the time we reached Birmingham and then it was sunny skies the rest of the trip. The Weather Channel had been telling us about the record rains Nashville had received and when we drove through Monday afternoon we could see firsthand the downtown was covered in water and looked like a lake. As we drove through Kentucky and would pass over rivers and creeks we could see they were all out of their banks too. Though I’ve never had a problem with my basement, after all that rain I’m always concerned how it survived but when I got home it was high and dry.

A good trip and one I would recommend to anyone who wants to enjoy the sunny white beaches of Florida without taking the long drive down to Tampa or Miami.

Until next time,

Mike A.

Subject: Postcard from Washington D.C.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

We are now settled in to our motel in Rockville, Maryland having arrived around 3:30pm. Rooms are nice and the price is very good at $69/night. Plus we are just about 1.5 miles from the Shady Grove Metro stop which is my old stomping grounds when I lived in DC, so I should know this area pretty well. Even so, we take the Garmin everywhere we go which is a good thing as some of the roads have changed in the past 20 years and it turns out I don’t know my way around as well as I thought.

We (Mike H., Earl, Carlos and me) left Louisville VERY early in the morning today for the drive to D.C. I wanted to leave early because I wasn’t sure how long it would actually take, as based on last year’s trip to Mt Rushmore we made just all kinds of unscheduled stops. As it turned out we did very good on the stops and made it to the DC area in about 10 hours.

We stopped for lunch in western Maryland at a place called the Penn Alps Restaurant. I had last visited there about 25 years ago. Everyone enjoyed their meal. Outside the restaurant is a bridge over the river that George Washington crossed back in 1755 when he was on an expedition with the British Army.

After eating dinner tonight at a local pizza joint, we visited the Metro station where we purchased our ride passes for Friday. Here it was close to 9:00pm and there was still a pretty heavy flow of people getting off the Metro and coming home from work. The traffic around here makes Louisville look like a ghost town.

Tomorrow we take the Metro down to The Mall to visit the Capitol and other sites.

Subject: Postcard from Washington D.C.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Today it is starting off rainy but we came prepared and will continue with our plans to walk The Mall and visit the Capitol where we have a scheduled private tour arranged by Mike H., through Senator McConnell’s office. We get to the Shady Grove Metro stop around 7:30 and find seats on the subway. By the time we make it down about 5 stops, there is only standing room left on the train. Fortunately, Shady Grove is the very last stop (or, first depending upon point of reference) so we are able to get seats.

We make it to the Capitol subway stop around 8:30 where it is still raining and since none of the Smithsonian museums are open at this early hour we take refuge in the Capitol which is the only visitor center open at this time. This is a brand new visitor center and I’m not sure exactly where it is but we follow the steady stream of tourist like people walking that way and find it. It eventually stops raining late in the morning and we spend the rest of the day looking at the Library of Congress and a few of the Smithsonian buildings. Our private tour of the Capitol is not until later in the afternoon so we are essentially just killing time until then. Even so, according to Mike H.’s pedometer, we walk over 10 miles this day.

I had never been in the Library of Congress building before but of all the buildings I have visited in D.C., it has the most beautiful interior of any of them.

After our guided tour of the Capitol it’s time to head back to Shady Grove and dinner. Since we are close to Union Station (okay, about 3 blocks but hey we’ve been walking all day and that seems pretty close) we head over there to get the subway. Once inside the building the signage is not very clear as to where to pick up the Red Line trains so to impress the boys I assess the situation and after 20+ years of last being in this building, lead us in the direction where we find the red line trains, on the very first attempt!! I’m not sure the boys were duly impressed by that feat but I reminded them of it several times.

That night we picked up my friend Joe whom I worked with at Marriott over 20 years ago and go to the “Cracked Claw” for dinner. Even though we have kept in touch by phone all these years, Joe and I had not seen each other since 1990. Everyone enjoyed Joe’s company and neither one of us had been to the Cracked Claw since probably the last time we went there which was probably 23 years ago. I was still basking in the glow of my Union Station feat but that didn’t last long as I proceeded to NOT find the Cracked Claw for about 40 minutes driving past the building about 4 times before discovering where it was. So much for my thinking I perhaps had some scout blood in my ancestry.

Tomorrow is Saturday and it’s back over to the Shady Grove Metro for another trip downtown so we can take the guided tour of the White House.