I Know...Enough

I do not quite know what to make of the fact that it has taken me weeks and multiple posts to document our trip to the beach. It was not a long trip and it was not a particularly eventful trip, so I suppose it has something to do with my schedule. Yes, work has been busy, rather busy, and, yes, it is summertime so the kids are staying up later than usual. I suppose that leaves a small window of time to blog. It is a shame, I miss keeping track of all of the wonderful things that the kids have been doing. I imagine I will have more time once the school year starts and we are back into a regular routine. Until then, bear with me and rest assured that we have been busy enjoying everything that summer has to offer - heat, swimming, snowballs, ice cream, bbqs, daylight, road trips, movies, sunscreen, heat, time with friends and family, traveling, reading books, playing games, and heat.

There are a few more things about the Pensacola trip that I wanted to mention. We were there for the rainiest day since 1988, sure, I would have preferred sunshine, but the deluge provided the opportunity to explore the Naval Aviation Museum - something Christian and I had talked about doing for years - and it was awesome. There are old planes that the kids can climb in and out of, a decent-sized indoor play area for kids, a handful of flight simulators (Luz and James were too young for them this year), some entertaining 'walk though' exhibits, a canteena, and walls of interesting facts I wish I had more time to read (bear in mind, I had very little interest in the content of the museum at the outset and merely wanted a way to spend a rainy morning at the beach - but it sucked me in). Did I mention there is an IMAX theater and that the museum is free (of course donations are accepted and are important).

We also checked out the 'main' public pier in Pensacola. There is a $2 or $3 charge per person but I think it is worth it. We bought the kids an ice cream cone and walked out to the end of the pier. There is some serious fishing going on out there and a really nice view of the water. We saw all kinds of sea life we never would have seen from the beach and/or the condo terrace.

Anyway, there were two interesting things we did while we were in Pensacola that were definitely worth checking out. As far as Gulf Coast beaches go, Pensacola is my favorite. I think they have done a nice job of keeping it fun and user-friendly without having it be overrun by development. It never feels jam-packed, which is the sensation I get in other beach towns along the Gulf.

Here are a few pics from the Naval Aviation Museum:





And the pier:





And it is kid-friendly, sort of, see - Luz trying to read:


this: