After a virtually sleepless night, we left early, driving I-10 to the Fort Pickens campground at Gulf Islands National Seashore, arriving before noon. We parked the trailer in the overflow parking area (our campsite is too short for both trailer and Speedy) and settled in to our site, at the very nice Loop D of the campground, to rest and await our friends. It was a fine day, but a foggy afternoon and evening along the gulf.
Tom and Jean arrived first, having joined up with his sister, Cathy, who has her own RV, along the way. They had originally made the choice of Loop D, but neither could fit into their sites. Fortunately, there was a pair of sites available in Loop B, where the big RVs are sited, but they are now quite far away. Harry and Sally showed up next and they, with their Roadtrek, were able to fit into the site directly across from ours. We all got together for S'mores and wine around the campfire after dinner and caught up on our travels.
Friday was predicted to be cloudy with a chance of rain, but after the morning fog burned off, it turned out to be a fine morning. After moving the trailer to a closer parking spot where we could see it, Ellen and I got out the bicycles and rode up to Fort Pickens, another masonry fort built before the Civil War. It has a similar history to Fort Sumter, except that it was never captured by the Confederates during the war. In fact, Pensacola was abandoned to the Union by 1862. The fort went through the same upgrades as other coastal defenses though the 19th and 20th centuries, until it was closed after World War II. It is much more intact than Fort Sumter, except for a missing corner, Bastion D, which was destroyed in 1899 when a magazine containing 8,000 pounds of powder accidentally (yikes!) blew up.
The bird life here is quite prolific and Ellen has been putting her new binoculars to the test. Yesterday's bird of the day was the Willet, but the Pied-Billed Grebe, Osprey, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle or Brown Pelican could have taken the day. Ellen, Sally and Nina, the dog, took several long walks along the beaches and trails yesterday to see the birds (I'm not sure that Nina was really that interested in birds, even though she is a retriever).
I, on the other hand, took the motorcycle out of the trailer and headed off to see the Naval Aviation Museum at the Pensacola Naval Air Station across the bay. It is only a couple of miles away (close enough to hear the bugle calls), but 25 miles and three bridges by road. I almost got there. It was getting cloudier and darker the closer I got to the base. About a mile away from it, it started to rain. The choice was continuing on to the museum, taking a short look around and riding back, probably in steady rain, or turning around and hoping that I'd beat the rain back to camp. I turned around.
Once I got out of Pensacola proper, the light rain stopped and it was dry all the way back to camp. The ranger at the gate said that it often rains on the other side of the bay while staying dry here. The dry lasted until late last night, when the rain started in earnest.
It has been raining since about midnight, with thunder and lighting and periodic downpours. Fortunately, there hasn't been much wind. Tom, Jean and Kathy headed into the city this morning to go to a farmer's market, the aviation museum and a BBQ competition. I figured it would be too wet to see the outdoor part of the museum today, so opted to go with Harry, Sally and Ellen to just the farmer's market, BBQ and grocery shopping.
We didn't get past the Seashore entrance gate. Tom called to tell us that they were at the Pensacola Visitor Center where they found out that the farmer's market didn't start until April and they weren't sure that the outdoor BBQ competition would be on today. As it was pouring down rain at that point, we just turned around and headed back to camp.
It has been a lazy day since then, reading and writing. After being thwarted by heavy rain a couple of times, Ellen went out for a walk with Sally and Nina. The three have just returned—soaked to the skin. A trip to the dryer will be probably be our evening activity. We have enough supplies, so we should be able to outlast the rain—besides, there is an all-you-can eat Oyster Festival happening just outside the park today and tomorrow.
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