Exploring Panama City Beach and Pensacola, Florida

We're thrilled to visit Panama City Beach and Pensacola next month! We cruised the Florida Panhandle some years back but didn't have time to explore the area. We only saw Pensacola from our anchorage at Fort Mac Rae. 

Our family got a timeshare at Marriott's Legends Edge for a week in September, so we'll have plenty of time to linger and enjoy the sugary white sand beaches that dot the Emerald Coast (aka the Redneck Riviera that stretches from Panama City to Pensacola,) as well as the Gulf Island National Seashore. We're determined to visit Pensacola and see the Blue Angels in practice at the Naval Aviation Museum. 

We had anchored off Shell Island, across Saint Andrew Bay from Panama City, and marveled at the sparkling waters, the wildlife and the shelling. This time I hope to round up the gang and rent a pontoon boat to explore the seven miles of undeveloped paradise. Bring snorkeling gear, hats and lots of sunscreen, you all!

Shell Island

Pensacola Light

Pier at Panama City Beach

Sunset at PCB

Getting excited. Care to share some of your favorite beaches in this neck of the woods? 

This post is shared on Skywatch Friday.

  

You might also like:

Port of Call: Apalachicola, Florida	Summer Weekend at Fort McRae Anchorage	Port of Call: Jacksonville, Florida

Flora and Fauna in the Tampa Bay area

Most everyone agrees climate change is unfolding before our eyes. While western Canada (Jasper National Park in Alberta) and Greece are fighting deadly wildfires, China and Japan are battling floods and earthquakes. In the Tampa Bay area, we're experiencing sweltering temperatures, in the mid-90s most days. Thankfully, rain came down almost everyday for an hour or two in the late afternoons in the last several weeks. Then we were dealt with Little Debby, the tropical storm that brought more rain, torrential at times, even though we were not in the storm's path. 

As a result, our garden is lush. Birds love it. An array of birds - bluejays, mockingbirds, cardinals, woodpeckers, ibises, rabbits, squirrels and recently a white egret - visit everyday. They mesmerize us for hours :-)!

One beautiful morning in July, we met some friends at Weedon Island Preserve in St Pete for a kayaking adventure. We did the 4-mile paddling trail that meanders through a mangrove forest, giving us a chance to get up close and personal with the wildlife - birds, oysters, crabs - that calls it home. Florida mangroves help protect land from erosion, provide shelter and protection for birds and shellfish and absorb storm surge impact from extreme weather such as the recent Tropical Storm Debby.

Kayaking through a tunnel of mangroves

White ibis

Yellow-crowned night heron

We captured the following sceneries on a walk to the beach a week ago.

A family fishing under the causeway

Oleander bush

Palm and plumeria (flowers used to make Hawaiian leis)

Sea grape

Oyster catcher

A walk in Phillipe County Park

Oak trees with Spanish moss

A flock of ibis in neighbor's yard

A white egret wandering past the garden

A lovely Florida gulf sunset

These are the flora and fauna we frequently see in the Tampa Bay area.  You might see alligators in lakes at the county or state parks, but we haven't encountered any recently.

TS Debby brought cooler temperatures for a couple of days. Now it's right back up to high 90s, but feels like 100! How's the weather in your neck of the woods?

This post is shared on Skywatch Friday, Image-in-ing, **Art*Journal*Journey* and Hello Monday.

You might also like:

Best nature park in Florida - the Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Delray Beach, Florida	Port of Call: Tampa	Remnants of Hurricane Ida drench the Mid-Atlantic