Pensacola Mess Hall

The Pensacola Mess Hall is a new addition to Pensacola's fun places to go with kids! MESS stands for Mathematics Engineering Science & Stuff. It has great ideas and experiments for math, science and engineering. At $8 a person for admission, you will find a large room with hands on stations where you can build, design, explore, and be amazed at your results.

The Pensacola Mess Hall is located downtown at 116 N Tarragona St. 

Check out their website to plan your visit and see what experiments they have this week!

http://www.pensacolamesshall.org/

Plaza Ferdinand, Downtown Pensacola

Plaza Ferdinand 2013

Plaza Ferdinand 1911

Plaza Ferdinand is in the heart of Downtown Pensacola. A square surrounded by Jackson's Fine Dining, Quayside Art Gallery, Pensacola Museum of Art, The Pensacola Little Theater & Portobello Market, Pensacola Historical Museum & Children's Museum. Also, the park is just around the corner from Seville Quarter. Plaza Ferdinand has been a part of Pensacola for over 100 years and has memorials and historical plaques on site as well as cannons lining the sides of the park. 

As we walked from the Pensacola Historical Children's Museum to Plaza Ferdinand, we could see outdoor seating for restaurants and murals on the gallery wall to depict what used to be the original Fire House for Pensacola. The Pensacola Museum of Art is located in what was the City Jail House. It has kept the bars up to reflect the historical significance of the building and makes It a work of art in itself.

This is a great area to reflect on history, enjoy the outdoor air and dine in some of the finest restaurants in the area, take a tour the galleries or check out a local play at the Pensacola Little Theater.

Here are a few pics of the Park & Children's museum but there is so much more to see!

Gallery Night in Downtown Pensacola

Downtown comes alive on Gallery Night! The Main Street through downtown, Palafox St, is closed to traffic from Garden Street south to the end of Palafox Place at Pensacola Bay. The Galleries show their art & the businesses that are normally closed open their doors to the thousands who come to tour. Artists and musicians line the streets while you are able to dine or drink on the sidewalks and streets. It's fun for the whole family with a few activities and lots of people watching to keep everyone interested. 

Gallery Nights are scheduled through the Downtown Improvement Board and are usually on a Friday evening about 9x a year. See this link for more details:

http://www.downtownpensacola.com/things-to-do/gallery-night

Fourth of July

Pensacola is one proud city of Independence. Through history, it's been occupied by American Indians, Britain, France, Spain and both Confederate & Union forces. Also, the first landing on what is now known as America was right on Pensacola soil! Unfortunately, it took a few tries to have a successful settlement so St. Augustine won the title "first successful settlement in America." There's ALWAYS something to do on Independence day in Pensacola!

Downtown Pensacola:

http://pensacolafireworks.com/

Milton:

http://www.srcchamber.com/

Pensacola Beach:

http://www.visitpensacolabeach.com/events/calendar.php

Hurlburt Field:

http://navarrepress.com/news/60/3633-hurlburt-fields-sound-of-independence

Great places to start! Have fun!!!

Sunset pics

Beach pic

Beautiful day-Pensacola Beach/Opal Beach

Navarre Children's Park

Right alongside the Navarre Bridge leading to Navarre Beach; located on Hwy 98-the main strip connecting most of the areas to each other, is The Navarre Children's Park. This Park is not Just for Children!! Many festivities are planned here for the whole community! There's a fun playground for the kids, separated into two sections to keep the younger ones safe. The park has covered picnic areas, perfect for bringing a lunch and spending the day with the fam, or having gatherings such as birthday parties. 

There's a beach with calm waters, a pond stocked with wildlife, a basketball court and a SPLASH PAD!!! All of this is provided for free. I love to meet here for playdates with my kids. 

The Navarre Chamber of Commerce/Visitor's Center is beside the park over looking the water. A convenient location for visitor's to the area, especially for the businesses who want to become a member of the Chamber and advertise to those visitors!

During the spring/summer months, The Butterfly House is open. It's on the side of the pond & basket ball court and is open Thurs-Sat 10-3. Run by volunteers who are more than willing to talk about the species of Butterflies, their life cycle, & plants that attract butterflies. This is open to the public and run by donations only.. We always try to bring $1 per person each time we go, but donations of any amount are appreciated. (More on the Butterfly House is coming later this summer!)

Gulf Islands National Seashore Naval Live Oaks

I had a couple of hours this morning free, so I put the paddle board on the car, picked up breakfast and headed to the Gulf Islands National Seashore. The Gulf Islands National Seashore is a protected shoreline managed by The National Park Service. There are several locations. This one was the Naval Live Oaks located right inside Gulf Breeze, FL. Super convenient!!

The water was shallow for at least 30 feet out. Today it was perfectly clear. Absolutely breath-taking! This is a perfect place for hiking, picnicking, learning about the history of the area and  the natural species that are native here. 

On my way to the beach, I followed a paved path past picnic areas. On the short walk I saw lizards, birds and a snake.. Not a poisonous one, but he startled me none-the-less! 

I brought the paddle board to the water and immediately started taking photos. The beauty simply cannot be captured in a photograph! The water was calm and I could see straight down several feet. I played with the crabs with my paddle and watched fish swim directly underneath me. I sat down and put my feet in the water to cool off since it was about 91 degrees out and the water was a perfect 81 degrees.

After I got my fill of serenity, I came back to the beach and ate my breakfast in my beach chair overlooking Santa Rosa Island, where Pensacola Beach is located. I cannot tell you how calm this made me. It felt as though my personal energy was being recharged. 

I was actually sad I had to leave, but the rest of my day awaits..

For more information on The Gulf Islands National Seashore & The Naval Live Oaks see

 http://www.nps.gov/guis/planyourvisit/naval-live-oaks.htm

Navarre Beach & Juana Pagoda's

I absolutely love that my high school friends I grew up with come to the area to vacation. Keeping up with them through various social media has been such a Godsend. They call and I'm on my way, with SUP board on my car, ready to entertain! It's not too difficult when you have weather like today. 

They wanted lunch, Stand Up Paddle Boarding and beach. Juana Pagoda's & Sailor's Grill had exactly that. Can you believe I got lunch out of this deal? Great day!

Pensacola Beach photos

Intro to my Blog about Pensacola & surrounding areas

I'm creating a blog to show my love of Pensacola & the surrounding areas, such as Gulf Breeze, Navarre, Pensacola Beach, Molino, Milton, Destin & Fort Walton Beach. The Florida panhadle is a beautiful location with white sand beaches with abundant aquatic life and wildlife. There is so much to see and do here it is no wonder it is a vacation destination for numerous people from all over the globe. Those of us who are lucky enough to live here are certain we live in Paradise! I hope you enjoy my blog and follow me and my adventures of all kinds, from outdoors to parades, sports of all kinds to education. I will dive into art, science, entertainment, restaurants and facts about my home for the last 18 years.. Follow & discover with me!! For information on Real Estate, feel free to leave a comment.

please visit www.visitpensacola.com for some info on the area as a destination.