Pensacola

Today was a rainy day in Pensacola. We could not go to the naval air museum because it is closed to the public due to a high security alert. Only military personnel are allowed onto the base. I am sure it has to do with the Saudi aviation students who were sent home as well as the terrorist attack on that base just last month. Instead we went to Jones Swamp and wetland preserve. We walked on some paths that were less than desirable. We saw trash and old mattresses on the path. We found a better path. Here we walked along a stream. In the stream they made a rock weir (see top photo). The rocks are piled to disrupt the flow of the stream. Some of the stream flows slower and some flows faster. The faster stream digs a deeper channel. This variety of stream speed leads to more diversity in plants, animals, and insects that live in the stream. After that we went to the historical old town Pensacola. This is a collection of museums, old houses, and reenactment people who give tours. We walked through the T.T. Wentworth museum. This museum had the typical things you would expect in a museum on the first two floors. They had the military history of Pensacola and information about the people and the industries. To our surprise on the third floor was an exhibit about science fiction monsters on television and in film. We thought that was an odd combination. We visited the museum of industry which talked about fishing, logging and railroads. After that we took a guided tour of three historic homes. The church was unavailable for tours of weddings today. Here is a photo of a coal stove in one of the historic homes. After our tour the rain was falling down hard. We found a swing on a porch of a house where we could see the people walking around the historic village. We even saw a bride and groom walk by holding umbrellas. If it was nicer we could have walked around the town more or even go the beach. Even in sunny Florida some rain must fall.