I grew up in Pensacola, Florida.  Everyone is familiar with Pensacola Beach.  But since we frequently choose the road less traveled, when we are visiting family in Pensacola, we usually visit Fort Pickens – part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore.  This area is a must see for history lovers and nature lovers.  Since I am more of a nature lover, Gavin and I are going to tag team this post.  He will tell you about the history part and I will tell you about the nature part.  If you are an introvert like me, you enjoy hiking because of the great exercise benefits and challenges, because you get to see beautiful views all over the globe, and because you enjoy *deep sigh* solitude.

I start my trek from the fort parking lot. Sometimes I go by myself, and sometimes one or all of my guys will humor me and we head together toward the sea wall between the fort and the inter-coastal waterway.  I use the steps to climb up on the sea wall and follow it along the beach.  I pass on by the fishing piers on my right, unless I’m curious about what the fishermen are catching.  The blue herons are curious right along with me – hoping for a handout or a chance to steal something when a fisherman is not looking.  My favorite birds are the pelicans flying low across the water looking for a meal and the sand pipers racing ahead of the waves on the sand.

When I get past the piers down where the wall starts to turn to the left, I go down the steps onto the beach.  Then I just follow the shoreline along the inter-coastal waterway.  Across the water I can see the lighthouse at Pensacola Naval Air Station.  Sometimes we time our visit just right so that we can watch the Blue Angels in a late morning practice.  They make several low fly-bys right over the beach.  It’s pretty amazing!  You can find their practice schedule here.

As I continue along, I reach the point where the inter-coastal waterway reaches the Gulf of Mexico.  The water changes and becomes more picturesque and the waves get bigger.  I enjoy watching the various shorebirds and occasionally see a crab running across the sand. They’re fun to watch.  Be careful about picking one up, though; my dad found out the hard way that they are extremely flexible and fast!  A couple of times I have even seen dolphins.  If the water is nice and it’s warm, I like to at least wade in the water or take a swim.

Usually with the beach mostly to myself, I continue to follow the shoreline until I spot the place ahead on my left where a pond has been formed by tides.  As I cut up toward the pond, the beauty of this spot always captures my heart.  There are small sand dunes all around the pond, and the birds are usually active there.  I follow the path that has formed to the left of the pond until I reach the sea wall again.  The sand is almost up to the top of the sea wall in that spot, so one easy step is all it takes to get up.  I follow the wall to the left and continue to follow it all the way back to where I got started on my journey.

This is a tranquil hike for me.  It’s a beautiful place to watch the sunset.  I enjoy the walk; sometimes I just sit awhile and just thank my creator God for His magnificent creation.  When I leave, my peace tank has been filled, and my soul has been restored.  *deep breath*

Ok.  I’ve had my moment – “Tag Gavin, you’re it.”

Stay calm and hike on,

Randi

So, as it has been pointed out, my mom and I are tag teaming this blog post; I’m going to tell you about my favorite part of our visits to Gulf Islands National Seashore! Since my mom has talked about the beach already, it’s kind of obvious that’s not my favorite part… Mine is Fort Pickens.

I do enjoy the beach, but I’m too active and extroverted to slowly walk along the beach doing nothing.  Personally, I am a huge fanatic of history, especially US history… and a pre-Civil War fort consisting of 21.5 million bricks, built completely by slave labor, and WW2 Battery Pensacola, built into the parade ground of Fort Pickens, satisfies all my senses!  The fort has a very cool, sophisticated system of footers and arches to support the entire fort on the ever moving sands.  Plus, all of the dark corners and hallways make it the perfect place to play hide-and-seek or man hunt!  Just don’t get too crazy during the game; there may be others there who are trying to enjoy the peace and solitude of the moment… no wait, she’s on the beach.  Just keep other visitors in mind during your activities.  There are also many other defensive batteries around the area which are really cool and they have rooms in them with absolutely amazing acoustics- really fun to sing in!

I strongly suggest visiting this historical site because it’s truly legit!  (P.S.)  Please, since Fort Pickens is nearly two-hundred years old and has lasted this long, well, except for bastion D, which was blown off due to an 8,000 lb. powder oopsy… but other than that, the fort is in great shape for its age!  So, I ask you to respect the fort and the grounds so the people that will come after you can enjoy the historical landmark!  Thanks!  Peace out!

Gavin