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Pictures, News, Reviews, and Info on Pensacola Beach

Archive for September, 2008

Pensacola Seafood Festival 2008

The Pensacola Seafood Festival (Festival of Five Flags) happened this last weekend, Sep 26th – 28th. We went over to Seville Square on Sunday and got some good pics, and some good eats! As always, admission to the festival is free.

Check out all this food! There were seafood cooking lessons:

And all kinds of good ol’ southern food:

Fresh crab cakes, anyone?

How about some southern fried goodness…?

Here was our dinner, Coconut shrimp, rice, salad, and a few Bug Lights with Lime:

Hey Mon Salsa to sample, with tortilla chips:

And you can’t pass up free samplse of some cajun pork rinds:

Of course, the Pensacola Seafood Festival had more to offer than food. Between the 200 arts and crafts vendors, local booths, and entertainment in Fountain Park, they had something for everyone! I liked this garden sprinkler:

And there was a train ride for the kids:

Or adults… :-)

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Pensacola Beach Erosion

Pensacola Beach has a different shape this fall, after several weeks of the Gulf re-claiming its sand, or, at least shifting it around. Hurricane Gustav and Hurricane Ike seemed to have left their mark on our beautiful beaches. There are four, seven, and even some ten-foot drops on the east side of the island:

I’m curious to see what the future holds. Will the SRIA somehow bring sand in, or reshape the beach? Will the beaches take their normal, flat shape again over time? Leave a comment if you have any input on this:

The walkway near my home is officially closed now, due to the big drop off at the end of it:

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September Sunrise

This morning I was up early enough to catch the sunrise on Pensacola Beach. In fact I was up before the sunrise:

At 6:30am this morning, you can still see the moon at the top of this picture.  It was a very peaceful time to be out on the beach, but the sand was kind of chilly. The Gulf, however, was very warm. It felt great to walk on the warm sand down by the water.

Here comes the sun:

There were plenty of pelicans out, ready to “obstruct” my shot:

Sun is up. Time to head back and make some coffee!

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Perfect Beach Day

Today is a perfect beach day on Pensacola Beach. Since the hurricanes, the beach has taken on a different shape, making it possible to walk out on sandbars far out into the Gulf. Fish at this time of year is good too. If you walk out into the water, you’ll soon be surrounded by little fish being eaten by big fish!

Of course, fishing isn’t all about catching fish, is it? Having moved from Michigan last year, I’m still not used to scenes like this when it is nearly October:

(click to enlarge)

Now get out there and enjoy the beach! Who knows how many nice days like this we’ll have left!

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Fun Behind Crabs

This huge inflatable waterslide was set up the day behind Crabs on Pensacola Beach. Makes me wish I was 12 years old again:

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The Little Captain

Life is good, but who’s driving the boat??

This little captain was spotted in the Santa Rosa Sound, behind the Pensacola Beach Boardwalk. Don’t worry, her parents were nearby, and boat was only in about a foot of water, but it made for a captivating photo.

A sailor’s joys are as simple as a child’s.
– Bernard Moitessier

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Pink Pony Pub in Gulf Shores, AL

Only about 30 minutes away from Pensacola Beach, Gulf Shores is a fun change of scenery. After some shopping at the huge outlet mall in Foley, Alabama, we headed 10 miles south to Gulf Shores. Upon a recommendation we hit up the Pink Pony Pub on the beach for dinner and some drinks:

They have a back deck overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. We took the waitperson’s recommendation and ordered up some Nachos, one of their specialties. Very good, and VERY large. Come hungry!

The beaches here are similar to Pensacola Beach: wide, flat, and powdery-white sand:

Here’s something that I’m not used to seeing on Pensacola Beach though, an oil rig off the coast. Click to enlarge:

Wrapping up our day in Alabama with another great sunset shot:

Here’s some information about the Pink Pony:

Address:
137 East Gulf Place
Gulf Shores, AL 36542

Phone:
251-948-6371

Web:
www.pinkponypub.net – They have a menu online. Check it out!

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Crab Catchin’

If you’ve spent any time at all on Pensacola Beach (especially near dusk), you’ve seen the crabs! But have you ever tried catching one? Check out the crab we pulled up in a net:

If you hold them from the back, they can’t pinch you:

Of course, soon after we caught this guy, we let him go:

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Saturday Beach Day

There was plenty of action on the beach this Saturday, with Taste of the Beach, right next to the “Life’s a Vette at the Beach” show down at the Casino Beach parking area. Even with all of this going on, the day was just too perfect to pass up a lazy beach day!

The towers you see in the distance are three of the Portofino towers. You can also see that the beach now has a different shape due to erosion from Hurricane Ike:

But there still plenty of sand left to enjoy:

There were big surfers out:

And little surfers:

A perfect day for fun with family:

Or fishing…

Or just a relaxing walk by yourself!

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Kitesurfing Pensacola Beach

These guys were out a few weeks ago (before Hurricane Ike) kitesurfing (also called kiteboarding I think). I couldn’t believe how fast he was going across the water. You can click these pictures to enlarge them:

It looked like he was having a lot of fun out there until he took a spill:

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