The next leg of our journey took us from one of the worst stops (see previous post) to one of our favorites – Pensacola Beach, Florida!
Getting to Pensacola was pretty much a straight shot east along I-10 with the most notable waypoints being Mobile Bay/Downtown Mobile and… Buc-ee’s! We had heard of Buc-ee’s and even seen a few of these massive gas stations/mini Walmarts during our trip south through Texas, but this was our first time actually stopping and filling up – and I must say, I was impressed. The place was packed, but because they have so many dang pumps (~100), we were able to find one that could accommodate both the truck and the trailer. And our amazement only grew when we ventured inside. The urinal situation mirrored the pump arrangement outside – in a word, abundance. A whole football team could pee in there and still have a urinal between each guy! The inventory was also something to behold. Of course, they had the normal gas station fare (complete with a beef jerky wall), but that only scratched the surface of what all they sell in there – from home goods, to fishing equipment, to friccin full-size smokers! And to top it all off, the employees are both plentiful and delightful – it really is like a Walmart experience, just enjoyable!
Alright, that’s enough shilling for Buc-ee’s, let’s get back to the travel bloggin’.
We crossed the bridge from Pensacola to Pensacola Beach right about the time the high from Buc-ee’s had about worn off and made our way to our home for the week – the Pensacola Beach RV Resort. Anyone who has been RVing for a while knows that when an RV park has the word “Resort” in the title, it’s gonna be expensive, which was absolutely true in this case (over $100 a night), but that being said, it was worth every penny. Right when we pulled in, we knew that we had made a good decision coming down here – it was picturesque. The campground butted right up to the bay and our site actually backed up to the beach!
In addition to backing right up to the bay, we were also a short walk away from the south side of the island and the gulf-facing beach that the island is named after. This made for the perfect lunchtime walk, as we could get over there in a matter of minutes, take in the beautiful beach setting that the island is famous for, and be back in time for afternoon Zoom meetings.
Sadly, the park’s waterfront tiki bar was closed for the season and the weather was pretty chilly for much of our time in Pensacola so we didn’t get to enjoy the beach access as much as we would have liked. Of course, that didn’t stop us from getting out there and taking some pics by the water!
As you can see in the last pic, it did eventually warm up enough for us to shed a few layers and get out into the sun! Thankfully, this warmth coincided with the weekend, allowing us to get the bikes out and do some exploring around the island in our shorts and tees.
The first stop on our big day out was Fort Pickens, a Civil War era fort located on the far west point of the island guarding the inlet to the bay. This was our kind of historical exhibit – interesting and informative, but also informal and self-guided. If you’re ever in the area, it’s definitely worth a visit!
And even if you don’t have any interest in touring the fort, the fantastic beaches on this far side of the island are worthy of a visit. We stopped on our way back to the RV park and enjoyed a whole stretch of beach all to ourselves. Sam was in heaven! (I enjoyed it too, don’t get me wrong, but she was in pure bliss.)
While we were here, Sam and I realized that we hadn’t gone out to eat, just the two of us, in over six months! After scouring Google Maps, we found a suitable restaurant with gf options and decided that we would have ourselves a fun little date night. Well, it was only after putting on makeup, getting dressed up, and walking over to the restaurant that we realized that it was closed for the season for renovations 😩. Sadly, since we were expecting to eat out, we didn’t really have much to eat back home, but we managed to get by – we just whipped up some old fashioneds, which made everything taste a little bit better 😉.
Tune in for the next blog when we make our way to Ochlockonee Bay on Florida’s Forgotten Coast (spoiler: we finally get that restaurant meal we were jonesing for!)