Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Art Show - Air Show

Fat Albert JATO Takeoff
We spent part of each of the last two weekends in Pensacola, FL. The first trip was to visit an art show that was held in the historic district of downtown and the second was to witness an air show that was conducted at the Naval Air Station.
For those of you in PA who have visited "Art in the Park" that is a yearly event at West Park in Allentown, this venue is at least 10 times that size and includes artists of all sorts, locals and from around the world. While it was interesting to view much of what was on display, the prices and the space limitations of our home precluded anything more than enjoying the works where they stood in the stalls along the street and through the park. Also on hand was a large variety of food vendors which included a bakery with goods of all sorts being baked right there in the middle of the street. The area is surrounded by many cottages of all shapes and sizes as well as a selection of historic structures. We also spent some time taking a drive through parts of Gulf Breeze and a part of the road that runs the length of Pensacola Beach. At the end of the road is a National Seashore that remains closed due to damage caused by the numerous hurricanes that have devistated this area in recent years.
The NAS at Pensacola is a huge property that lies right along the Gulf of Mexico. It is not only the home of the Blue Angels Demonstration Team and the "Cradle of Naval Aviation", but also a training facility for many aspects of the Navy's air related activities. It also houses some small components of most of the other armed services, including such things as the Air Force's Parachute Water Survival School. The air show included a number of 'demonstrations' of extreme flying with several types of aircraft. One demo was a 'dogfight' between two aircraft that was complete with some pretty awesome pyrotechnics. Of course, the main attraction was about an hour's worth of some amazing aerobatics performed by the Blue Angels. Perfroming at speeds and altitudes that would have been difficult to appreciate from a distance, these guys thrilled the audience (many thousands) time and again. I think Deb did just a fantastic job in capturing images of what we witnessed and we hope you enjoy the show (sorry you'll be missing all the sounds (deafening - nearly 140 Db) and smells (acrid)).
Click here for art show photos.
Click here for air show photos.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Small Town America

You can't find a much smaller town than where we are currently located in Holt, Fl. So far I've not been able to confirm a population figure, but I'm guessing it is probably not more than a thousand or so and probably only a few hundred within the actual "city" limits. Nearby (8 miles North and East) is the town of Baker (Pop. about 7000 - and most of that population must reside well outside of town). Since the time we started on this adventure, we've enjoyed participating in 'small town' events and activities in many of the locations we've had the fortune to explore.
The last two Saturdays we spent some time on the grounds of the Baker Block Museum enjoying sunny afternoons and an art show, music, the museum itself and a heritage celebration which included demonstrations of such things as lye soap making, bee keeping and hand hewn wooden shingles. This part of Florida is of a very conservative bent and one major attraction at yesterday's event was a mobile GOP headquarters which I've included in these photos.