Pensacola Beach Blogger

My camera is undergoing some maintenance right now, which is the reason for the lack of posts, but this is a perfect time to present some pictures of a recent off-island excursion. Here are some interesting photos I took in the Everglades on my way to Key West. Enjoy!

About a month ago, my friend Randy and I took a ride to Key West via the Tamiami Trail highway (US 41) in his Jeep:

Driving through the Collier-Seminole state park, we could see sawgrass prairies, typical of the Everglades:

Nature at work: Vultures eating a dead alligator!

But not all the gators we saw were dead:

How about an afternoon nap?

On the outskirts of the Everglades, there were a few palm farms:

I snapped a pic of this gator by hanging the camera out of the top of the Jeep. Not bad, eh?

That’s all for now. I’ll get back to Beach Blogging now!

I was doing the scenic walk just off of Scenic Highway this morning and got some good shots of Pensacola Bay, and the train tracks. In the distance, you can see the Garcon Point Bridge.

This is looking north along the tracks. I think I was actually breaking a law by being down there, but hey whatever gets the good pictures, right?

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… :-)

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!