On Monday, March 19, I headed toward Fort Pickens. It is located on one of the barrier islands off the coast - the same island Pensacola Beach is on, but much further out. Large white dunes of sand abound as you drive several miles out to the fort. Along the way, you pass multiple concrete gun batteries, each containing a different type of gun to deal with specific threats at the time they were created. None of them serve as effective defenses against atomic bombs and cruise missiles, which is why they are now historic landmarks, rather than active facilities.
The first of these batteries, Battery Langdon, I stopped at on the way to the fort. It originally contained 2 12" M1895MI-A4 guns which had an impressive 16 mile range - quite amazing when you consider the shells were 1070lbs! Firing these guns made experienced gunners wet their pants. Unfortunately, these guns are no longer present, and the battery is closed off by thick steel doors. Because this battery is closed, I decided to go straight to the fort, rather than stop at the others I passed.
Upon arriving at the gate to the fort's outer walls, I was truly impressed. Fort Pickens is one of the largest forts in the United States, and it feels bigger when in your car than on foot. This is because you drive through the outer gates to the fort, and circle all the way around it to get to the parking lot (this driveway is not original to the fort, but was added for easier access to Battery Pensacola). It feels massive - and it is.
This was not a fort that was heavily bombarded by an enemy, yet when you get to the front gate you notice it has a whole corner (bastion) of the pentagonal structure missing. This fort was used through WWII, and has a correspondingly modern concrete battery, Battery Pensacola, installed in it's parade. This battery originally was outfitted with 2 M1895 12" rifles. On June 20, 1899, a powder magazine in this bastion containing 8000 pounds of black pounder exploded , the missing corner was being used for powder storage, which exploded, sending debris as far as 1.5 miles, reaching Fort Barrancas on the mainland.
When I arrived at the fort, I grabbed a self guided tour pamphlet, and started looking around.
The tour first takes you into a room that served as officer's quarters with a ~15 min video about the fort and it's history - hosted by the ranger I met at Fort Barrancas. Walking through the open doorway, you step into a casemate with a cannon, then on to a series of short (roughly 4ft tall) hallways that were intended to be used as mine chambers if the fort was beseiged, a powder room, and a hallway lined with what historians believe to be the base of shelving units for mines from one of the fort's retrofittings. Around a corner is a casemate that was retrofitted to house two generators to power searchlights and other modern equipment.
From the generator room, you enter the dry moat, where you can observe the counterscarp (the outer wall). Here, I diverted from the tour to explore the outside of the fort.
Emerging from the bastion, you arrive at the base of Battery Pensacola. There was originally a tunnel that allowed supplies and guns to be transported from end to end of this battery, but was closed off after the collapse of the warehouse area it connected to, leaving about half of the tunnel accessible.
Around the corner from the tunnel is a pair of large cisterns, which were the source of the water for the fort. They are no longer functional.
The bastion in this corner has taken a lot of damage. Large sections are missing, and the stalactites and mold are more intense.
A torn up section of the building reveals how it was built, not only with the supportive structure of arches above, but below the passageways.
Moving along to the tower bastion, there is a grey refrigeration unit that was installed around 1900.
On top are two Rodman cannon - an 8-inch and a 15-inch. Neither of these particular guns are original to the fort, but their models and positioning are.
Next, I checked out Battery Pensacola. The outer gates were locked, but the gate leading to the powder magazine under one of the disappearing gun mounts was open, so I went inside to check it out.
I walked around the parade, and went up to the flagpole, where a mortar was located, which also gave me another perspective on the rest of the fort.
Nearby the fort are several buildings that originally served as officer's quarters, as well as other support buildings.
Leaving Fort Pickens, I stopped at three of the more modern batteries: Battery Cooper, which houses a 6" Endicott Period disappearing gun, Battery 234, which houses one of only two sets of WWII era 6" rapid fire guns with their Shielded Barbette Carriages, and Battery Worth, which no longer has any armaments, but was originally equipped with 8 M1890 12" mortars.
Pensacola Beach, Finishing Fort Barrancas and the Lighthouse. Starting National Naval Aviation Museum
After looking at the fort and it's batteries, I decided to pause at Pensacola Beach for a little while, before heading back to the NAS to try, once again to finish photographing Fort Barrancas, climb the lighthouse, and explore the National Naval Aviation Museum.
I was also able to get back to Fort Barrancas and finish taking pictures of it (posted on Day 3), and I had time to climb the lighthouse, so I finished off those two destinations at the NAS.
I was only able to go through the main building of the museum before they closed, so I decided I'd want to go back to the hanger the next day.
McGuire's Irish Pub
After leaving the museum, I wanted to eat dinner - but I wasn't in the mood to make something, so I wanted to go out for a decent meal. Unfortunately, I didn't know where to go, so I drove all the way back across the Fl-Al border to the KOA to get online. When I did, I pulled up the Food Network map of restaurants, and there was only one listed for the Pensacola area. It was McGuire's Irish Pub.
Eggroll. That sounded yummy, even though it also sounded like an appetiser. I pulled up the link to the restaurant, and decided to check it out.
Arriving at the restaurant half an hour later, I knew it should be good. This "pub" is massive, and had a many people waiting to get in. The decorations of the building and the signs directing you to it were also encouraging. Since daylight was waning, I took a walk to get pictures of the exterior before swapping cameras and getting my buzzer.
When my buzzer went off, I went inside, and started noticing the detail they had in the decor. Though the place is massive, it is divided into many rooms, each of which has it's own feel - and all of them are cozy. I don't drink often, but the waitress offered $2 margaritas. I asked about their beer. They "home brew" all of their beer and root beer, so I asked for a beer that wasn't too hoppy or yeasty, but had some good depth to it. She recommended their most popular - the McGuire's Irish Red Ale. It suited me well. Worked well for sipping between large gulps of water (drank about 7 glasses full during the meal - I was very dehydrated), and for all courses.Looking at the menu (it's available online, but I hadn't downloaded it, since that KOA limits access), I confirmed the Reuben Eggrolls are an appetizer. I seldom order an appetizer, but all I had eaten that day was 2 hard boiled eggs and an apple for breakfast, and this one sounded excellent, so I went with it. While looking at it on the menu, I also noticed they have a bean soup for 18 cents if ordered with anything else. For 18 cents, I couldn't go wrong.
Not being the sort to normally order an appetizer, I also looked through their main courses. They have 25 3/4lb burgers to choose from - all of which sound good, and are happy to make you a completely custom one (they are also apparently a well respected steakery, but these burgers were $10 vs the steaks being around $25). I selected the Hawaiian Burger.
Within a couple of minutes, I had a plate in front of me of their Reuben Eggrolls. They were awesome.
After they took the empty plate away, they brought me the soup and a loaf of fresh baked pumpernickel/rye bread drizzled in honey. Again, the food was awesome. By now, I had almost forgotten about the beer. It didn't matter. Though it was good , I didn't care. The food was better. Also, being dehydrated, I wanted to drink more water anyway.
After finishing the appetizers (not the bread), I was almost completely content with the meal. Then they brought out a rather large cheeseburger topped with two large slices of pineapple and a spicy polynesian sauce, with a side of home made steak fries. It was fantastic, and though I was completely full after less than half of it, I couldn't let it go uneaten.
Yes, this meal more than made up for skipping lunch, but it was one of the best meals I've had...ever. It's almost worth driving to Pensacola from home just to eat there. Almost. There is much worth doing in Pensacola, though, and much of it is free, so if combined with some of those things, it would definitely be worth a visit.
That eggroll sounds really yummy...
ReplyDeleteOh, it was. Everything there was. The 18 cent soup was fantastic! The burger was massive and juicy. It's almost worth the drive to Pensacola just to eat there, but there's other stuff to do there too. I'm certainly not opposed to going back.
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