Pensacola, Florida
Known as the "City of Five Flags," Pensacola, Florida has been under the rule of the Spanish, the British, the French, the Confederacy and the United States since the first conquistadors landed in 1559, when Don Tristan de Luna led 1,400 colonists to what is now Pensacola Beach. The name "Pensacola" comes from the Panzacola Indians who greeted the Spanish. Reminders can be seen while taking a stroll through the historic district. The streets are lined with restored homes, restaurants, galleries, and museums, some 200 or more years old.A vacation in the Pensacola area has a wide range of possibilities. If sun and surf are your goal, head over the Gulf Breeze Parkway to Pensacola Beach Blvd. and arrive out on Santa Rosa Island. The island is home to 7 miles of pristine, powder sand beaches, the most crowded of which is Pensacola Beach, the area's prime tourist spot. Here you can get your fill of fishing, swimming, parasailing, jet skiing, and just about any other water sport activity you can imagine. The area offers restaurants, snack bars, an arcade for the kids, and walk-up beach bars for the adults.
Santa Rosa Island is also home to part of the Gulf Island National Seashore, an environmentally protected area that hops from island to island between Horn Island in Gulfport, Mississippi to Okaloosa Island near Destin, Florida. This wildlife preserve is home to roughly 280 species of birds, and features undeveloped beaches covered with rolling sand dunes, sea grass and sea oats. On the west part of the preserve sits Fort Pickens, a pre-Civil War fort built in the early 19th century. The octagon shaped fortress has intact 40-foot walls that are 12 feet thick. The fort is surrounded by a moat, and housed the Apache leader Geronimo briefly in 1886. Geronimo, it is rumored, sold the buttons off his jacket to tourists for a dollar each, only to sew new ones on at night. A small museum on site tells the story of how the fort was built to protect the Pensacola navy yard, and shows some of the armaments used in its defense.
History buffs will want to visit Historic Pensacola Village, located next to Pensacola Bay in the heart of the Seville Square Historical District. The village has a series of historical museums that are part of a walking tour visitors can take year round. One of these, the Julee Cottage Black History Museum, is dedicated to Julee Panton, a freed slave who owned her own business, invested in real estate, and loaned slaves money to buy their freedom. In the summer, the village is filled with costumed characters bringing to life the daily routine of those who lived in the early 19th century.
Those who feel the need for speed should not miss the National Museum of Aviation History, located in the Pensacola Naval Air Station. The museum has more than 150 aircraft, dating from the 1920's to the space age. There is even a torpedo bomber flown by President George W. Bush during WWII. Children and adults can sit at the controls of a mock trainer, or witness the Blue Angels up close and personal in the Magic of Flight, one of two films being shown in the IMAX theatre. All guides in the museum are retired Navy or Marine aviators, and add a personal touch to the hour long tours.
Whether you want to relax in the Florida sun, fish in the emerald green waters of the Gulf, or study the local history, Pensacola is a great place for a Florida vacation!
