Today, we drove from Panacea to Milton (just east of Pensacola) to our campground. We didn't take any pictures of the drive, but it was beautiful ~ green and lush vegetation and white sandy beaches. We took the "scenic route" - in other words, mostly side roads that hugged the coastline. We arrived rather late into our campground, Avalon Landing Campground. We settled into our routine of setting up the trailer and exploring the campground.  



The next day, we wanted to go out to the beach and relax for the day. We drove out to an offshore key via several bridges to Pensacola Beach where we heard that they had a dog beach. We were soon relaxing on the beach in our folding chairs, watching the dogs run and play. Roxie went wild ~ running in the water, rolling in the sand which by the way, is an invitation for a bath! :-)    A relaxing day at the beach is exactly what the "doctor ordered"! However, soon we were getting hungry, so we decided to have an "early dinner" at 3 p.m. and went to a restaurant called the "Red Fish Blue Fish". Since the entire restaurant is open-air and they had tables out on the lawn, we were able to have Roxie with us while we ate. After our dinner, there was a nice beach and pier that we could walk on. Unfortunately, no dogs were allowed, so we had to put Roxie back into the truck (parked in the shade!) and take our walk. Have you ever noticed when you are trying to take a "selfie" while facing the sun, how screwed up your face looks since you're squinting, trying to smile and push the button on your phone camera? The rest of day was spent resting and taking care of sunburns!

On Tuesday, we checked out of the campground and proceeded to the Pensacola Naval Air Station where the Blue Angels are based, they have a Navy Aviation Museum, and a historical lighthouse. We were told that the Blue Angels would be practicing for their first airshow of the season at Corpus Christi, TX. Getting into the base was no small feat due to the number of people trying to get in to see the first practice of the Blue Angels. Since we were pulling our trailer, we were sent to the area for buses and RV's, which gave us "ringside seats"! When the practice commenced, we heard nothing until the formation of the Blue Angels flew over the airfield! There is a lot of video which we are attaching, as I was trying to capture as many stunts as I could. We had an old airplane hanger blocking our view of the actual runway, but when the planes were overhead, they could be seen and heard for miles around!!! By the way, there was an osprey nest on top of the girders of the old airplane hanger. Before the practice began, the parents were feeding their young. However, when the planes started flying, the birds left and the babies were peaking out of the nest to see what was going on. After the Blue Angels, then the real show began, the parents came back to finish feeding their young.
 

After the practice was over, we went through the Naval Aviation Museum in the same vicinity. It is no admission charge, and there were fabulous exhibits of all types of planes used by the Navy, Marines and US Coast Guard.
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 After viewing most of the displays, we decided to head out to the next place of interest on the naval base, the Pensacola Lighthouse. The original lighthouse was built in 1824 and was the first lighthouse on the U.S. Gulf coast. That original lighthouse was replaced by this one in 1859 and is still in service, operated by the U.S. Coast Guard.

After leaving the Naval Air Station, we resumed driving along the Florida Panhandle on the Perdido Key. It looked like "Spring Break" was about over. There were a few groups of students, but nothing like I've seen on the news in the past. Half way up the key, we came to the Florida/Alabama state line, but you wouldn't have know it, as there is continuous condos, stores, restaurants from one end of the island to the border of the Perdido National Seashore Park.
 

Soon we were heading inland. We had heard from our friends, Lorraine Qualls and her son, Jonathan, that if we pass through Foley, Alabama, we need to stop and eat at Lambert's Cafe. I have to say, it is the most unusual restaurant we have ever eaten in!!!! It is the "home of the throwed rolls"....LITERALLY! One person comes around with a huge muffin pan with dinner rolls, throwing them to anyone who wants one. Someone else comes around with a bucket of fried okra, stewed black-eyed peas, or boiled cabbage. The dinners were very large and delicious. After waddling out of there, we headed to our campground in Spanish Fort, AL - Meaher State Park. The route we took was along Alabama's Scenic Coastal Byway. There was lots of green grass and lovely old trees lining the road and beautiful homes. The ones on our left backed up to the Gulf. What an idyllic location. We passed through two lovely small towns, Fairhope and Daphne on our way to our campground. It reminded me of a lot of the scenery of the South in the movie "Forrest Gump". A lovely day indeed.