Hot August Day on Pensacola Beach

Oh Yea!   It was a hot day.  You know that it is so hot when you step out the door that you want to go back into the air conditioning.   And when you first get in the car.....OUCH!!!!!

So we decided to go to Shaggy's on Pensacola Beach and eat outside by the water and then ride up the island to Fort Pickens to see sailboats.

We ate at Shaggy's on the deck and this was part of our view.

They loved their food......to much to take the time to stop and smile.

The view to the left.   The building is the Margarittaville hotel.

I had the crab sandwich.......so, so good!

This is the Emerald Dolphin where we stayed the last four years before our move.

Part of the island is Federal Park land and seniors get a free pass into the park.  NO, I am not old enough to have this pass!   Not yet.   Not me!!!       But Mom and Dad are and the pass gets anyone in the car in free.

Colors.    Sigh........    What sand, green beach growth, golden sea oats, blue skies, and puffy white clouds.   Mother Nature at her best.

And the colors in the water are amazing.

Hot day but this young man is working his way towards Fort Pickens.

More beauty.

Sea oats.  They hold the sand dunes down and help protect from wind flattening out the beach.

I also love the man-made colors of beach umbrellas.  So happy!

More beauty.

Closer to Fort Pickens.  The nest is from an Osprey.

More Osprey nests.

And there is the fort.

One of the reasons that I wanted to head this direction is that sailboat owners were taking wounded veterans out on their boats to say thank you for their service.   There were quite a few sailboats out on the sound and the bay.   What a perfect day for that trip.

More sailboats.  Also the lighthouse on the Navy Base.

Dad was stationed on that base and I was born there.   He loves visiting and looking over at the base.

Pretty wild flowers.

Colors of nature = beauty.

The tug boat was moving this platform down the sound so fast.   We were amazed how quickly they were moving.

My favorite shot.

Paradise.

They have to come in every couple of days and remove sand from the road.  

Again,  colors!

I hope you enjoyed.   Some of the pictures I am going to enlarge and frame.   We shall see how they come out.  Dad and jumped into the pool for awhile and then I made a taco salad and cut up some sweet watermelon for dinner.    A wonderful day..........Take care all!

Beautiful, Hot, Sunny Florida

Hot do you say?  Oh, it is SO HOT!!  Today it was 92 degrees at 10:30 with a 103 heat index.  So your basic activities revolve around cooling down.  Our friends Nicole and Kray have been in the pool with us almost every day this week.  Nicole and Kray and I went to meet Lamont (Nicole's husband) for lunch at a wonderful Mexican restaurant.  Then home to the pool.

Here are some pictures taken mostly by Ron so he is not in hardly any of these pics.   Here we go!

Mom cooling her feet while Sage wishes she could jump in the pool.  Oh, she is allowed to jump in - just afraid.   Yes, Ron has a black lab that is afraid to dive into the pool.   

"Oh, Elaine - do you think I could go down the stairs?   Oh, maybe not.   Too scary!)

Dad and I walking toward the Oar House.

Enjoying the shade outside with cold drinks.

Yes, ME!    In a picture!

Ron and Dave at the beach.   The man sitting on the sand is Dave.  Beautiful Caribbean colors.

Look how clear the water is.......even water over your head is as clear as can be.

Mom, Dave, and Ron went to Flounders for lunch.  I took Dad to an eye appointment in north Pensacola.  This is the key lime pie desert.  ($7.00)  It easily feeds 6 people......maybe even more.    

View from table at Flounders.   This is not the Gulf of Mexico but the sound or otherwise called the inter coastal.   

Pensacola Beach now has an area for dogs on the beach.   Ron took Sage over.   She loved the sand and walking up to the water but again - afraid to go into the water.  Crazy lab!   She is a sweetie.....

Sage checking out the beach walkway.

Back to the pool.  We have these water squirt tubes in the pool.   You need one to protect yourself from others with a squirt tube.   I NEVER squirt anyone.   ;)

Once we sit down somewhere - out come the I Phones.   Taking pics, checking messages.

I will add a few other pictures that I liked.

This is Dave standing up on the Pensacola Beach Elementary School balcony.  It is just 1/2 block from the Gulf of Mexico and nothing but sand around.   

Loved the colors used in this house.   Most houses on the beach are bright, vivid colors with sand for their yard.  

Round houses are supposed to do much better in hurricanes so why there aren't more.....I don't know.

This is a very well known round house that can be rented for a pretty penney.   WHEW!! $$$$$$

Thank you for this picture, Ron.   I likey!  These crape myrtle trees and so pretty.

And that is it for now.   I love living here.  The weather, beach, plants, colors, seafood......it is a paradise.

New Orleans

Yes!  We went to New Orleans.....if only for one day but had a great time.    The drive is 3 hours and a very pretty drive it is!  My brother's Ron and Dave and I went together.  (They expected me to do some of the driving ---not fair at all!)   So I will begin with some of our pictures and comment below.

We ate brunch here.  Almost everything on the menu had alligator in it.  So I ordered the biscuits and gravy.   One biscuit six inches across.  Wow!

This is where we ate.....THE SOMETHING ELSE CAFE.

A shot down one of the streets.

 
One of the many interesting bars.   I wanted to see Bourbon Street, and I did.  Very odd, interesting, uncomfortable, hmmmmm......  Just not for me.

So many people have been to New Orleans and recognize the these balconies throughout the city.

Beads hanging in high places from the last mardi graw parade.

Of course, masks everywhere to purchase.   Some beautiful, some odd, some scary.

By early after noon it was hot, hot, hot and we saw the mule carriage rides.  So we took a 2 hour tour.  Best idea we had.  We got to go to a cemetery and get out and walk around and saw many more streets than we would of seen by walking through the french quarter.  

In the cemetery - Ron ahead of me.

More cemetery.

I always heard and read how low New Orleans was below sea level but as you stand by the River Walk,  you can look up and see ships going by but way above you.

I guess everybody needs a vacation during the summer.   I hope they had a magical time in New Orleans.

The silver lady on the street.   Better ways to make money, I think.

Street car on Canal Street.  $1.00 for a ride.

More beads just hanging around.

Beignets.  Need I say more.

Well, here we are on the way home.   Tired but had a great day.  Ron is driving?   Gee, it seems like he never drove - just slept.  (he-he)
               
Some of my thoughts about the day:

• Loved it!   Had a great time!
• Bourbon Street - I have seen it - don't need to go there again.  Loved many of the other streets.
• Food and drink was much cheaper than I thought.  Thank you New Orleans.
• The Cathedral was beautiful.   I just wanted to sit and listen to the chants and enjoy.
• We parked in the Canal Shopping area parking lot.   Yes, expensive, at $17.00 but I knew the car was safe.   That is important.
• Three hours from home!   WOW!
• I had read so much before we went about New Orleans that I was not surprised by much.   
• Music - love the music - heard a steel drummer improvising in one bar.   Very cool.
• My cousin lives there but we weren't sure what day we were going and would not be there over night so we will get a hold of you next time we are there.
• Mardi Graw is a big deal here in Pensacola, Pensacola Beach, and Gulf Breeze.   Parades and lots of decorations.   It will mean even more to me now.
• (How safe are some of these buildings?   Some look pretty bad.)
• I am not a big "crowd" person so going now was probably better for me.  
• Saw were Brad Pitt's apartment/home is in the French Quarter.  No Brad though.

So that is it for now....Peggy