Florida - Day 25 - Pensacola, Bagdad, Milton

Milton KOA, Milton

Friday, 10 February 2023

today's route

From the campground, we went back to the mainland, stopped for groceries, and then got lost.  I hadn't asked Google for directions to the grocery store because I knew where it was, so Google didn't take that stop into account when it was giving me directions.  I had to find a place to stop, go online and look up a map of Panama City to figure out where I was and what I should do to get back to where I wanted to be.  But I did.

I passed a large facility labeled Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center.  And it looked like it might be officially part of the US Navy, rather than just a commercial business, so I looked it up.  They say they're a "unique training command" and are the "center of US Navy Diving."  And from the description of their classes, I have no trouble believing it.  Here're a couple of links.   https://www.netc.navy.mil/NDSTC   https://www.divingheritage.com/ndstckern

I drove all along Panama City Beach and then stayed on US-98, the coast road, known variously as the Emerald Coast Parkway and the Gulf Breeze Parkway.  I passed huge condos along the beach, and everything else was geared to beach tourism.  There were lots of public access routes to the beach, some that went through the high rises, but there wasn't much parking.  I did stop along the way, but the signs said no pets on the beach - not very friendly.  The towns had names like Laguna Beach, Sunnyside, Inlet Beach.

I passed Eden Gardens State Park, and I was curious about the name so I looked it up.  It's a special botanical park now, with a heritage rose garden and a butterfly garden and so forth.  It was all part of a family's homestead, and the 1897 mansion (renovated) is still there and available as a wedding venue, among other things.

When we got to Destin, I stopped at a Burger King (Whopper Jr. for me, a meat patty to split between the critters).  The woman behind the counter called me "hon" and "sweetie."  Granted we're in the Deep South where people tend to talk that way, but I'm joining the other older folks who feel like being addressed this way is denigrating.  I'll take it every day, though, over being called "young lady."  I didn't like that even when I was 10 years old, and I sure don't like it now.

US-98 is the road John Grisham wrote about in The Firm, and today I drove through those towns he mentioned.  I've been along this road a couple of times over the years, and I remember things then looking much as he described them.  They don't look like that any more.  I guess this area exploded with tourism and money - at least, that's what it looks like - because that string of dinky motels he talked about either doesn't even exist any more or it's been overwhelmed by all the fancy condos and tourist shops.  I couldn't find it today.  A shame, really.  But I've seen tourists and tourist dollars do that to a number of areas - especially in coastal Mexico - so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

Driving through Fort Walton Beach, I was surprised to see a sign saying "Indian Temple Mound Museum" and pointing right at what looked like those mounds I've seen elsewhere built by early Native Americans.  It was right there in the middle of town.  And apparently that's exactly what it was - a mound that served as the platform for a temple.  Here are a couple of links with more information.   https://www.fwb.org/fort-walton-temple-mound   https://www.fwb.org/indian-temple-mound-museum

Along here, the road is called the Miracle Strip Highway.

I encountered a lot of road construction today all along the route.

Passing through the town of Mary Esther, I was surprised to see a Greek Orthodox Church.  The church says it was established in 1964, which was actually a while back.  I'm linking to their webpage because it has a photo of the icons in their sanctuary.   http://stmarkella.org  I was surprised that there even was a town along here called Mary Esther (you know, because it's so un-beachy), and I learned that the first postmaster named it for his 2 daughters.

In the small town of Florosa, I passed a food truck labeled "Tonie's Gumbo House."  I don't usually connect gumbo with Florida, but here it was.  Maybe in honor of Mardi Gras?

Near Pensacola, a highway sign warned: "Heavy Traffic - Mardi Gras."  Apparently they're just getting prepared; their Mardi Gras parade is a week from tomorrow, and the Fat Tuesday itself is the week following that.

A sign told me I was passing part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore.  This is a very long park, encompassing a long series of islands just offshore, running from Mississippi over to Fort Walton Beach.  I remember visiting part of it during my month in Mississippi, so it seemed like an old friend to see it again over here.

The small town of Gulf Breeze is at the end of a narrow peninsula on US-98, and from there I crossed Pensacola Bay to Pensacola on what local folks call the Three-Mile Bridge.  That's because it is 3 miles long.  Actually, 3.7 miles.  Pensacola Bay is a really big body of water, and I was once again feeling a little proud of myself for crossing a long bridge without too much trauma.  The highway becomes Gregory St. as it enters Pensacola.

I got lost again somehow and wandered around a bit in Pensacola's Historic North Hill neighborhood.  It comes by that "historic" designation honestly.  Not only do some of the houses date back to the late 19th century, but the hill itself was the location of Fort George during the Revolutionary War.  In 1781, a Spanish army defeated English troops, and that win helped "turn the tide of the American Revolution," per Wikipedia.  I had no idea - no idea that the Spanish helped us fight the British, and no idea that a battle of the Revolutionary War was fought in Florida, and no idea that either of those things made a significant difference in the course of the war.  Just all around ignorant.

Driving north through town, we passed an old Coca-Cola plant that looked like it was still being used.  I know it was old because "Coca-Cola" was carved in stone on the front of the building, and it didn't look like that was done recently.  It took some research, but I found it was built in 1936 and was used until 1967.  After that, while it was vacant, it sustained water damage which led to mold, making it hard for the usual nonprofit historical groups to buy it for preservation.  But it was, in fact, recently sold to an electrical contractor who plans to renovate the building to expand his business.

We drove through a different kind of countryside than we did this morning, with trees and things, ending at the Bagdad Mill Site Park.  It's been designated a Florida Heritage Site.  I'd intended just to walk Dext around a bit, but the markers dotted around a walking path were more interesting than I thought they'd be.  

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Learning the answer to this question is the main reason I came here.

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Interesting that different types of oaks, for instance, react so differently to hurricanes.

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This park was built on the edge of the Blackwater River, and there was a historical marker here.

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The Thompson House (see text)

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From the park, it was just over 5 miles to tonight's campground.  I passed through Milton, "Where Good Life Flows" (I'm just reporting) and passed the Santa Rosa County Courthouse.

I was lucky to be able to hear some of Science Friday, which is one of my favorite NPR shows.  And I was amused to hear Ira Plato listing ways people could communicate with them, including "the old fashioned way - by email."  (I of course haven't mastered any method more modern than that.)

I was in our campsite by 3:40 and had several chores I wanted to get done.  But it was raining - had been off and on since Pensacola - so I lost any enthusiasm I might have had for that sort of thing.  Besides, I was tired from a day of driving - 7 hours on local roads.