I returned to Pensacola for the winter; the same place I stayed for a month in February 2022 was available. I booked a month, then added on another month, then another month. After a couple years of full-time travel, it’s been nice to unpack and relax and do nothing but take long walks with my wonderful dog Boo in my East Hill neighborhood or on one of the many hiking trails in the area and enjoy a nice leisurely meal. I find it amazing how different it is here versus further east on the Emerald Coast. I stayed over in Mary Esther/Fort Walton in 2021 and did not like the area at all, but Pensacola? I love it here.

Highlights

Boo and I visited most of my favorite places from my stay in Pensacola last year. Kelly came down for a week late January, too.

• I made many visit to Gulf Shores National Seashore, their hiking trails are great. I returned to Fort Pickens, I love exploring the fort and all the batteries here. The only downside is walking around with Boo, there are so many thorns and stickers that hurt his paws. I took a dolphin watching tour last year with Jolly Sailing, this year the season started for the NPS bay ferries in March. I was able to go from Pensacola to Fort Pickens to Pensacola Beach for one ticket. I was on the first sailing in 3 years when I booked March 4th. They had a week or two in 2020 before being shut down by COVID closures then Hurricane Sally took out all the piers in the area.
• The Florida Public Archeology Network, on Main Street just off the bay, has a nice museum on the archeology sites in NW Florida. They also have volunteer opportunities. Kelly hadn’t visited last year so I waited and returned with her to see exhibits on all the archeology districts in the state.
• There is a First Settlement Trail leading through downtown, with a downloadable map or QR codes to scan at the various locations.
• Palafox Street, from Cervantes and Florida Square and Fort George all the way to Palafox Pier, with a stop at Plaza Ferdinand VII, is absolutely wonderful. I went to the Palafox Market most Saturdays. Great to get some crepes or breakfast tamales or pierogies. Boo always gets a treat, too, from several vendors selling dog treats.
• I returned to Historic Pensacola. They simplified the tour process, so you can visit the Lavelle House, Lear-Rocheblave House, Old Christ Church and the newly opened Dorr House at one time. The ticket is still good for a week, and I visited the Pensacola Museum of Art, Pensacola History Museum, Julee Cottage, Museum of Industry, Museum of Commerce, and a new USO exhibit in the Manuel Barrios Cottage, as well.
• I visited Seville Square and Fountain Park many times while downtown.
• Quina House is maintained by Pensacola Historic Preservation Society. Open Tuesday to Saturday, with guided tours of the house with a lot of information on the history of the Quina family. Free but donations accepted.

Take a Hike

• Palafox Street, Bayfront Parkway, Aragon neighborhood, Palafox Pier, Seville District, are all great downtown areas to visit. There are many more great walking trails downtown and around the area, including Bay Bluffs and Pensacola Maritime Heritage Trail.
• I did many hikes again in Gulf Island National Seashore, especially the Naval Live Oaks Preserve since it’s dog friendly on many trails. The Brackenridge Nature trail is a nice boardwalk, the Fishing Trail leads off this to the west, and the Andrew Jackson bay side is lovely. We also visited Johnson Beach, at the other end of the seashore.
• Arcadia Mill Archeology Site Their funding has been cut so the museum and house only open Fridays and Saturdays but the boardwalk and trails are open. I took Kelly out to visit the boardwalk and see the ruins.
• Bagdad Mill Site Park On the same day we visited Arcadia, we drove to Bagdad. There is a nice trail along Blackwater River and historical markers.
• Admiral Mason Park and Veterans Park are a lovely location for a walk around the pond with great views of the Bay. Easy parking.
• Big Lagoon State Park, Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park, Blackwater Heritage State Trail, all offer great locations for hikes. I hiked several parts of the 8 mile trail different days plus other trails that are part of Blackwater Maritime Heritage Trail. We enjoyed different parts of the Jones Creek/Jones Swamp Preserve trails. I also went out to the UWF campus and did the Edward Ball boardwalk and several trails.

Osprey nest at Naval Live Oaks, Gulf Islands National Seashore

Beyond the Beach: Culture and Events

I attended several events at the Pensacola Saenger Theater, Beethoven and Blue Jeans, an event from Pensacola Symphony, and La Boheme put on by Pensacola Opera. I bought a ticket to the Pensacola Symphony Cirque Spectacular with Troupe Vertigo, a combination of acrobatics, classical dance and theater, with music from John Williams, Michael Giacchino, Elmer Bernstein, Henry Mancini and more.

I also attended the annual Mozart celebration, Mozart Madness, another Pensacola Symphony event, held at First United Methodist church. Pensacola offers some great entertainment and cultural opportunities.

A friend recommended I find time for a show at Pensacola Little Theater. They have a variety of shows, I booked a ticket while there but didn’t really enjoy the musical, I didn’t think the sound was very good and didn’t like the show.

There were some interesting events at Voices of Pensacola, “Table Talks at the Trust”. I attended one in January, “The Archeology of Piracy” about the Silver Age of Piracy. February had “Architecture and Historic Preservation in Pensacola”.

Boo and I enjoyed the Pawdi Gras Parade as well as the Mardi Gras Parade a couple weeks later. Downtown routes, both were a lot of fun. Boo and I walked in the Pawdi Gras Parade.

Restaurants

So good I had to return:

• Polonza Bistro We went for lunch one day and split the Portobello sandwich and FGT Smoked Club. Excellent. Consistently good food.
• Mr. Pollo We split a combo for two again, full chicken, black beans and plantains, all delicious. And I had to get back out another time for an order of their excellent tostones.
• Nomadic Eats Love their rice bowls. I went several times while in town.
• East Hill Pizza offers a good selection, and is very conveniently located to my AirBNB just off 12th.
• Visiting Palafox Market most weeks, I made repeat stops to both It’s Tamale Time and Mimi’s French Crepes. Pensacola Pierogis have some great, very traditional potato and cheese pierogis.

And some great new restaurants:

• Rustyc Spoon Food Truck One of the best burgers I’ve ever had! They are located outside Emerald Republic Brewing. Much better than Brown Bagger, another food truck, at Alga Beer. I had several meals here while enjoying the great beer.
• Tacos Mexicanos A food truck right up the street from me, walking distance. Some nice tables to sit and enjoy a meal. Love their street tacos, especially the al pastor, good salsas.
• George Bistro + Cafe Recommended by my host for brunch. I don’t eat breakfast out much so want something really unique. I had their savory bread pudding eggs Benedict and it was wonderful, Kelly had their Coastal Omelet with crab and shrimp. She said it was excellent. Both were huge servings.
• Basil & Sprout Saw signs for them last year when I was at Target, scheduled to open March 2022, after I left. I saw them open this year and tried their Banh Mi. It was excellent. I had some bao buns on another visit, they were also great.
• Saigon Market and Cafe Asian grocery store with deli in the corner. We tried their fresh rolls, Pho, and pork bun bo. Definitely recommend. Cheaper than Basil & Sprout, but I did think the quality and flavor better at Basil & Sprout.
• I had a great pork and slaw taco from Juan’s Flying Burrito at Pawdi Gras. They have a wide selection of burritos, salads, nachos and more at their location downtown. I had pork and pineapple burrito and their Banh Mi tacos on other visits.
• Whiskey Joe’s Bar and Grill (Pensacola Beach) I thought with the location and huge drink menu, probably just a tourist place with average food. Wrong. The food was excellent. I had the mahi-mahi, came with great rice and beans and plantains. Kelly had their Jamaican Jerk Chicken sandwich. She loved it and both portions were huge. There are five locations in Florida.
• Fisherman’s Corner (Perdido Key) Saw them listed on Yelp, with great ratings, so we stopped on the way back to Pensacola from our visit to Fort Morgan. We split the seafood Alfredo pasta and shrimp and grits. The pasta was fantastic, the sauce very rich and thick. The grits were in a ball, panko encrusted and fried served with shrimp in a delicious sauce. We loved them both.

Breweries

• My favorites are Odd Colony, on Palafox, convenient when downtown, they always have a great selection and unique styles, and Emerald Republic. Great beer, nice outdoor seating.  Both are dog friendly inside and out.
• I also returned to Perfect Plain, on Garden in the historic downtown. It has indoor and outdoor seating plus a big patio out back with a cocktail bar and food truck. Pensacola Bay has a nice location down by Historic Pensacola, close to the bay. Both have outdoor seating, dog friendly.
• Gary’s Brewery & Biergarten They have a great location and lots of outdoor seating. The tap room is rather small but they have a huge outdoor area. It was rather cool when the sun went down but they have plenty of space heaters. Dog friendly. There is a food truck onsite. Love their Dark Helmet Schwarzbier, one of my favorite styles of beer.

Alabama

Day trip to Mobile

I thought I’d take Kelly over to Mobile for a day so we looked for things to do. I had driven over last year and seen the USS Alabama Battleship and visited the history museum. There are several lists of attractions.

We decided to go to Bellingrath Gardens first thing in the morning. We booked the gardens and house tour. Even in January the gardens were lovely and we both enjoyed the stories we heard on the house tour about Walter and Bessie Bellingrath. The home is beautiful, made from “recycled” bricks, with walkways from old ballast stones. It was left to the Bellingrath-Morse foundation after Walter’s death so has all their furnishings, china, silver and art. Walter’s money was made from an early Coke bottling contract.

We drove to Africatown, but there isn’t much there, yet. We were reading conflicting info about the Clothilda, the last slave ship, sunk in 1860. But they are still working on the heritage site and visitor center. We toured the Richard DAR House. It was privately owned for many years before the DAR bought it and did some restoration, most furnishings are not original. Interesting but I don’t think worth the $10 entry. Part of the problem was the guide’s husband joined us (not sure if he’s another guide, too) but kept interrupting her and talking over her, it was very distracting.

We stopped at Old Majestic after visiting Bellingrath and other sites in Mobile. I had a flight, they have a nice variety of styles and lots of seating, indoor and out.

Day trip to Fort Morgan

I really wanted to see Fort Morgan. I waited to visit until Kelly came down for a week. It’s a great drive, through Perdido Key, Gulf Shores, out to the very end of land on Mobile Bay. We had a great couple hours exploring the fort, batteries and area on the bay. There is a museum with more exhibits than I was expecting in a small building, very interesting and we learned a lot about the Battle of Mobile Bay and Admiral Farragut. Started in 1819, Fort Morgan was named for Revolutionary War hero, General Daniel Morgan. It was seized by Alabama State Militia in January 1861 and stayed in Confederate hands until August 1864 when the CSA surrendered to Admiral Farragut. In use for the Spanish American war of 1898 and WWII, the War Department gave the fort to Alabama for use as a historical park in 1947.

On the drive back, we stopped at Alabama Gulf State Park for a great walk on the boardwalk and around the lakes. We had dinner at Fisherman’s Corner then stopped for a couple beers at Gary’s Biergarten. They have a great schwarzbier, Dark Helmet. We had lovely weather all day.

Day Trip to Dauphin Island

I drove back to Alabama to visit Fort Gaines on the west side of Mobile Bay, also part of the Battle of Mobile Bay. I spent about 90 minutes touring the area with their phone tour.

I stopped for about an hour in the museum at the welcome center. We also visited Indian Shell Mound Park and did the trails at the Audubon Bird Sanctuary.  Lovely area. I had a great sandwich from Lighthouse Bakery between hikes.

I stopped at another historic Civil War battlefield, Fort Blakeley on the way back to Pensacola. Free to veterans, I followed the self-guided battlefield tour.

** All photos property of Lisa, not to be copied or reproduced **