Day 4...Scenes From the Road Home

Tuesday 11/28

      Once again, I was out on the beach with my new Heron friend watching the sunrise...

     The car was packed and it was time to go.  I would have loved to linger, but had a long drive ahead of me through the backroads of Florida, Alabama and Georgia.  I pulled out of Pensacola Beach and hit the road. 

 I-10 took me east to the town of Crestview, where I picked up Hwy 85 towards Paxton, Florida.  Just east of Paxton is the town of Lakewood.  To get there, you need to drive into Florala, Alabama and backtrack across the state line.  
     So, what's in Lakewood?  Britton Hill of course.  Clocking in at 345 feet, it's the lowest state high point and tucked away in a small municipal park.

      The view from the high point.

     

        By the way, that's high point number eighteen.
        I left Lakewood, drove back to Florala, picked up Hwy 54 East to 52 towards the Georgia state line.  Passing through the town of Dothan I saw an old TV station sign and just had to go back to check it out. This is the old location of  WTVY-TV.  From the looks of it, this site's been abandoned for a long time.
       

       The first town across the state line is Blakely, named after Jonathon Blakely.  During the War of 1812 he commanded the USS Wasp and successfully sank two British warships and captured another.
        A block from the town square, I saw this mural...

        Of course(first world problems) I had no service on my phone and couldn't look it up.  But, while I was in the parking lot taking that shot, the wind shifted and I caught the smell of a small barbecue place across the small lot.  I wasn't hungry until that moment.

       We often hear the term "melts in your mouth" concerning food.  If it was possible for barbecue to actually melt in your mouth, this would have.  I've had a lot of barbecue from a lot of places.  Some places tasted better.  But, none were more tender and succulent.  So, I walked back and told their cook.
      He also gave me directions to the Coheelee Creek Covered Bridge.  It was four miles back.  Wilson is the first right after the hospital.  At the fork in the road, go right.  If the road turns to gravel, you're going the right way.
     So, I backtracked the four miles.  I didn't see a hospital.  I didn't see any road named Wilson.  I even drove two miles further.  Perhaps the next time.
      From Blakely, it was an easy drive up Hwy 27 to Columbus and interstates the rest of the way.

David 12/1/17

PS: The Alaska trip is coming together for June.  It's a huge place and there's just so much to see and do.  The hard part is deciding what can wait for another trip.  On the plus side, it's the summer solstice so the days are very long.  Otherwise, I really haven't planned anything else.  But, there will be adventures.  You can count on that.

PPS: Two things struck me on the drive home.  Two weeks before a hotly contested senate election in Alabama, I saw only a handful of yard signs.  I saw more billboards reminding people of the vote.  It just seemed a little weird.  Second, driving through small town America, at least in the deep south, every town seemed to have two things, a Subway sandwich shop and a Dollar General. 

Day3...Pensacola Beach

Monday 11/27/17

    Pensacola Beach shares Santa Rosa Island with the town of Navarre.  In between is a stretch of white sand beach called the Gulf Island National Seashore.  During the course of the day, I never left the island.  The name Pensacola comes from the native people who lived here when the Spanish explorers first arrived.  They called themselves the Panzacola.
    Sunrise was 6:30A.  So, I went out with my camera, walked across the street and settled in to wait for the sun.  

   I was joined by a surprisingly mellow and quite cooperative Gray Heron.  

   He just stayed there, occasionally turning my way to watch me as I circled around to shoot him in the differing light.

    After a pretty good breakfast at the Travelodge, it was off to explore Fort Pickens  on the far western tip of Santa Rosa Island.  The fort was completed in 1834 and remained in service until 1947.  It was named after Revolutionary War General Andrew Pickens.  In February, 1779 he led a force of three hundred militia in the Battle of Kettle Creek, near present day Washington, Georgia.  A British force of seven hundred was in the area recruiting loyalists for the cause.  Pickens defeated the larger force, putting a damper on their efforts.  
    As for the fort...

    Later in the day I met some of the people working on the other side of the barricade.  They told me the road was damaged by Hurricane Nate.  They could have opened one lane, but there are too many blind curves and they didn't feel it safe.  But, it would be open withing three weeks.  Go figure.  

   Instead, I just drove back to the area between Pensacola and Nevarre, parked the car and started walking up the beach.

     I asked about these curious dark spots in the water.  It's seaweed and attracts small fish and insects, which in turn attract seagulls.

    On the drive back, I passed this curious home...

    It's called a Futuro Home and is the creation of Finnish designer Matti Suuronen.  Less than a thousand were made and few are left.  You can read more about the home here.

     Lunch was at a place called Papa Pizza, advertising the "Best Pizza on the Peninsula."  Decent, but there must be better.

    The restaurant is along East Bay.  I took a walk out on the dock to check out the clear water.

    Another walk along the beach along the gulf...

    With the afternoon waning, I worked my way back towards the Fort Pickens barricade.  There's an elevated walkway over the dunes and nothing to obstruct the fading sun.

    Shot from the motel...