Florida, Fort Pickens National Seashore

Spring Break Road Trip -- Days 3-5

After a long drive through the Mississippi darkness, we stayed in Foley, AL and in the morning headed for the beach at Gulf Shores State Park.  Only Yankees fleeing winter would think it was a good day for the beach.

Yankees at the beach

Floating on the quiet waters of English Navy Cove

While strolling on the beach we discovered a frog in the surf.  Apparently, the poor guy accidentally let himself get washed out to sea from the nearby pond and creek.  Lauren immediately resuscitated him in a water bottle ("Hey, I was going to drink that").  We then walked across to road to the pond and released him into frog friendliest spot we could find. 

Frog rescue

He's so happy to be back in fresh water!

After the rescue, the magic frog (well, he claimed he was magic) granted us one wish.  We couldn't agree until Mom said, "I wish you would stop arguing."

For the main event, we packed a lunch and biked to Fort Pickens from the hotel parking lot.  The national seashore road is quiet and nicely paved, but has no shoulders.

Which way?

After ten miles, the road dead ends into Fort Pickens -- a fortification built after the War of 1812.  As we rode to the Visitor Center, I was distracted by the sights and sounds and failed to notice a speed bump.  I hit it going slow and one-handed.  Bam, I went over the handler bars and onto the pavement.  It must have been quite a sight as two fishermen rushed over to help.

Fort Pickens National Seashore

The old fort

Except for some minor scrapes on my knees and pride, I was OK.

Pensacola Beach Surf

We had a few nice days of beach weather, but the next day's forecast was terrible with heavy rains and wind.  So we decided to leave a day early to get a head start on the drive home. 

Route: from the hotel to the fort

Plus Georgia is not that far out of the way, is it?

State:	Florida
Date:	2016-03-31
Route:	Hampton Inn Pensacola Beach to Fort Pickens
Distance:	20 miles