The Panhandle of Florida is longer than you might think. We had friends in Panama City and Freeport and Jay wanted Chris to see the Naval Museum in Pensacola, where he completed his flight training in the 60s. We decided to stay in a location central to it all; the Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park in Niceville, a little west of Freeport. As it turns out we should have stayed further east as most of our day trips were to Freeport and Panama City. A valuable lesson was learned about spending less money to stay at a State Park but a lot more on gas and time to travel to our daily destinations.
The clouds threatened rain our entire drive from Tallahassee. Within seconds of checking in at the State Park office, and driving to our site, Zeus roared and the heavens opened. We pulled to the side of the road in front of our site and waited for it to stop … and waited … and waited … a full 45 minutes with no decrease in intensity. We decided we had no choice but to grin and bear it and at least get backed into the site and bump out the slides. Hookups could be done later. So, Chris dug out her red boots, donned her rain jacket and gripping an umbrella in one hand and walkie-talkie in the other, talked Jay into the site. Dodging the drops he completed the hookups and in no time we were fully functional and snug inside. Had we waited until the rain stopped, or even subsided, we would still have been sitting by the road the next morning. The storm we experienced was part of the system that caused massive flooding in Nashville, TN.
Our first stop the next day was Cort Furniture in Pensacola. Chris had called ahead and confirmed that they had a desk chair that would meet her needs and she practically bounded into the store in anticipation. After fifteen minutes of testing several chairs, debating about the size of the seats and if we could remove the arms on our favorite, we walked out with our slightly used, in perfect condition, for about 40% of new price, chair.
One would think that an 8’ bed of a pickup truck would hold a measly little ol’ chair, but no. It wasn’t the depth or width that was a problem, but the height. The bed of the truck has a heavy vinyl cover that keeps the contents secure from inclement weather and curious eyeballs and fingers. If we laid the chair on its back or side, the seat was too tall. Upright was definitely out of the question and even when we disconnected the back, the leg and seat portion was still too tall. The only solution that worked was to remove the seat back and wedge both pieces into the cab space behind the front seats. Whew!!
The Naval Air Museum is truly an amazing experience. It must house close to 200 aircraft, from four A-4 Skyhawk, Blue Angel jets suspended from the ceiling; to planes flown in France in WWI; to Coast Guard helicopters; and that is just what is under its roof. A trolley ride took us to the back lot where an additional 80+ planes were displayed, all neatly lined up in rows. Our driver/guide was a 70 something year old retired Navy pilot who explained what the planes were and their significance. We saw a radar plane which is used to fly into the eye of a hurricane. They are named for the first hurricane they fly into; in this case, Bertha. Nearby was the jet in which George W. Bush flew to the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln during the Gulf War, and lots more. A nearby hanger housed more aircraft in various stages of restoration.
Four of these jets are suspended from the ceiling of an atrium area in the museum.
This jet is now known as Navy 1.
An H-19 helicopter the predecessor of the H-52 that Jay flew during his time in the CG.
At the end of our tour our guide told us to get the cookies at the museum restaurant. We did and they were fabulous. The restaurant was a museum within a museum. Every flat surface, except the tables and floors, were covered with plaques of the many air/sea missions that left from the Subic Bay Naval Air Station on Cubic Point in the Philippine Islands and originally hung in the Cubi Point Officers Club. Each was completely unique ranging from flat wooded plaques with the mission logo and list of crew names to a 3-dimentional carving of a boxing glove holding a bolt of lightning.
The boxing glove along with dozens of other plaques.
Despite her many years of boating, Chris has always had a problem with motion sickness. The museum had two simulator rides totaling about ten minutes of “flying time”. Ten minutes? No sweat. Halfway through the second ride she had to close her eyes and the feeling gripping her stomach persisted through dinner until bedtime. Oh yeah! That’s why she doesn’t do carnival rides either! (Old Iron Gut Jay wanted to go again.)
On our way back home we wanted to pick up a few grocery items and pulled into the Hurlburt Air Force Base to find a commissary. The store was closed but just inside the front gate was a garden of immaculately restored planes. Of course Jay could not leave without a thorough inspection. Even Chris marveled at the design and obvious power of some of them.
An AC-130 Spectre Gunship
I’d hate to be on the receiving end of this guy.
Notice how the engines are about as big as the fuselage on this plane. It has to scream.
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