Neither of us has spent any time in Pensacola so this was a good chance for us to explore. So far the weather hasn’t been very picturesque — no sun, lots of fog — but we ventured back across the bridge and causeway to Pensacola to explore a little. 
It was suggested that we check out the weekly Farmer’s Market, known as the Palafox Market — named after the street it occupies. A weekly occurrence between 9 and 2 on Saturdays the market occupies the medium strip of the boulevard. On the Saturday after Christmas there weren’t a lot of customers and the selection of goods was a little eclectic but we had a nice time and the vendors certainly were friendly!
MEGASHIPS
If there’s a port there, I’m going to go check it out and so we visited the Port of Pensacola to see what might be docked. There’s more about big ships that I don’t know than what I do know but I was mightily impressed by the NOR GOLIATH that just sailed into the port a few days ago. She’s been repossessed by the bondholders after her last owners (Oceanographia) were nationalized by the Mexican government amid fraud allegations. She’s here to be refitted.
According to my limited research she’s a construction ship — or an “anchoring supply ship” — depending on your interpretation — that mast extends upwards and turns her into a crane ship. I can’t imagine the counterweights involved in turning a ship into a crane, but all I can say is I would not want to be on that thing when it’s working! Yikes.
Pensacola
If we get a day with some sunshine we’ll make another trip over to town. There’s a delightful historic district here — with buildings reminiscent of New Orleans. There are also a lot of wood frame historic homes — posh ones and very humble one. It’s quite a pleasant variety of architecture — and I hope we have a day or two when the weather will lend itself to some nice images.
Somehow I had the impression that this is a larger town than it’s turning out to be. But I really hadn’t done actual research. That is often a conscious choice — to arrive without bias other than I may have acquired in a lifetime of maybe-never-having-been-there-before!
Pensacola Beach
The one conclusion I am drawing is that beach towns are pretty much all alike — so many people want to be near the beach/water that condo developments abound which are of absolutely zero interest to me. The older I get the more I realize just how much of a maverick I am — and just how much I don’t like things that are just like other things. Individuality is way up there on my list of priorities. But that’s ok — We pass through some of these areas and we don’t have to spend much time there. Which is what we like. It’s nice to see how other people live — as long as we don’t have to live that way all the time. 🙂
Sounds of Nature
One of the ‘little’ blessings the last three days — in spite of the rain — and during the rain — has bee hearing the sounds of nature again. It’s warm enough here that the windows are open day and night (for a week or so — out temps will dip at the end of the week so we may have to close them then) and we hear frogs and what sound like crickets or something at night and the sound of birds during the day. We are close enough to the beach that the surf is a constant even though we’re on the wrong side of the street and maybe an 1/8 mile from the surf. As long as I’m hearing nature and not sirens I’m happy. We may have more traffic noises in Ocala but for now, this is wonderful.
Ok — enough for today. Thanks for stopping by and I’ll talk with you tomorrow.
From the Far Side of '70 
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