When we started this RV There Yet? TV journey, we both said to one another that we would always stay authentic to the way we have been traveling for years. I've said it before and I'll say it again (probably 100 times more) . . . I need history, adventure, and food when it comes to experiencing a new place.
Well, season two rolled around and we sat down to make our wish lists of places we wanted to travel, explore, and film for RV There Yet? Pensacola was on the short list for a lot of reasons.
#1 We've been there before, but only for work, and had enough of a glimpse of the place to know we wanted to come back.
#2 We love Florida's Panhandle. The beaches are some of the prettiest on the planet. (The Cocoa Beach Kid knows his beaches and Pensacola's are right up his alley.)
#3 The Blue Angels. Need I say more?
#4 It checked the "History" box for me in a big way.
#5 After a late night of working (years ago), we ventured out to this place call Florabama and decided then that we needed to see it again, with the lights on. Ha!
#6 It's a place I know I can fill my RV freezer full of fresh seafood to take home.
We were supposed to be in Pensacola filming at the end of September but Hurricane Ian altered our plans. We had to reschedule the crew and all of our activities, interviews, and accommodations which lead us to filming in November. Well, day one into filming Tropical Storm Nicole shows up on the radar Doh!!
Nonetheless, we had a phenomenal trip, the weather cooperated as much as she could. The only thing we truly needed to alter was our outside camping set up. I mean, did you see the campsite we got at the Pensacola Beach RV Resort? The view? Who wouldn't want to be sitting outside morning, noon, and night in that spot? The winds were brutal with the oncoming storm, so no sunsets by campfire, no cooking dinner outside, no sipping coffee in the morning, looking out at the water, and no star gazing this trip.
Oh well, that did NOT stop us from having a blast! And, sometimes you have to improvise and it's those change in plans that actually work out better. We got to spend a day inside at the National Naval Aviation Museum with the Director, Captain Sterling Gilliam, who later invited us to watch the Blue Angels practice, just out back of where we had spent the day. (Although the museum is not open to non-military public at this time, please keep checking their website for updates. They are hoping to open it in the near future.) If Mother Nature hadn't pushed us indoors, we would never have had that twist of fate. I had never seen the Blue Angels, and man oh man, I was BLOWN AWAY! ✔ Check for adventure.
The History at Fort Pickens, just across the channel from the Naval Base was another check off my list of "requirements" for a successful trip . . . meeting Ranger Cas was enlightening. He is truly passionate about the story-telling and sharing the background of not only the structure, but of the people who built it, brick by brick. Worth a stop, believe me. ✔ Check for history.
Joe Patti's Seafood Market was dinner and a show! (not really, but almost) Meeting Frank Patti, 2nd generation owner of the market was a treat. He's handsome, charming, and puts on a show for his customers calling out numbers and making sure everyone has a good time while shopping for the freshest seafood out there! We washed our day down with a Flora-Bama Bushwhacker and toasted another successful trip and episode shoot. ✔ Check for food.
