This past weekend, Anthony and I were in Pensacola, FL for Carlos' wedding. While we can truly say we missed Los Angeles because it was really really REALLY hot and muggy there, we did have some good times (and history lessons) when we were not dripping sweat from our noses.
For those who have not heard of Pensacola, here is a quick history lesson. Pensacola is located in the Florida panhandle and is very close to a naval base. It was deemed to be the first European settlement in the continental United States, currently celebrating their 450th year of establishment. Their claim is that St. Augustine was the longest continuous occupied city while they were washed away and had to rebuild. In 2004, Pensacola was devasted yet again by hurricane Ivan - the reception location and the hotels where most of us were staying had to be reconstructed. While we did not get to see this, Pensacola is said to have some gorgeous white sand beaches.
We flew into New Orleans Thursday night, the next morning drove 3 hours - note: don't speed in Mississippi, and arrived in Pensacola around 11:45am or so. We checked into the hotel, which had an old train station as a lobby, grabbed a bite to eat, then headed to the pier and watched the Blue Angels practice for Saturday's show.
Charlie: You were in a 4g inverted dive with a MiG28?
Maverick: Yes ma'am.
Charlie: At what range?
Maverick: Um, about 2 meters.
Goose: It was actually about 1 and a half I think. It was 1 and a half, I've got a great Polaroid of it, and he's right there, must be 1 and a half.
Maverick: Was a nice picture.
Goose: Thanks.
Charlie: Eh lieutenant, what were you doing there?
Goose: Communicating.
Maverick: Communicating. Keeping up foreign relations.
It was JUST LIKE THAT! It was amazing how close two of them really got to each other. At one point, two planes shot straight up to the point where you cannot see them anymore, then came back from the clouds, and flew to each other upside down and missing each other by so little that you swear they were going to crash. Words can't really explain how awesome they were. The synchronized flying formations are also incredible! Four planes flying as one - flying upside down, doing rollercoaster spins, breaking formations to look like fireworks, and various other specialty moves. And thank goodness, there were no accidents like a few years back.
On Saturday, the ceremony was held in the Old Christ Church. Old Christ Church is the oldest church in the state of Florida and is still standing on its original site - surprising as I mentioned before about Ivan the Terrible. It was used as a hospital and barracks during the civil war by union troops. The church is a national historic landmark and has been restored to its glory.
After both the rehearsal and the reception, we headed down the street from where we were staying to this bar called McGuire's Irish Pub. The first thing you notice when you walk in are the walls and ceilings being COVERED in dollar bills and the live entertainer singing various covers and Irish drinking songs. But if he notices that you were out of the ordinary, whether it was your birthday or bride and groom-to-be, you have to "KISS THE MOOSE!" Yes... there is a giant moose head mounted to the wall by the stage and many many people have laid their lips on this stuffed head.
The next day, we wanted to see New Orleans a bit before heading back to California. Unfortunately, we hit some weather and lost a bit of time to traffic. Although we didn't get to see much of New Orleans this past trip, we still managed to get one good meal at Pierre Maspero. We tried fried alligator - it tastes like chicken but had texture of pork chops, and the "city sampler" which included famous jambalaya, gumbo, red beans and rice (best thing ever!), and shrimp étouffée. Oh man... the food was to die for! *drools*
We then had our brisk walk through Bourbon Street back to the car and took a scenic route to the airport, mostly because we got slightly lost while trying to find the on ramp to the highway. Unfortunately, it wasn't much of a sight to see as the rest of the city is still littered with many abandoned, dilapidated buildings following both hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The parts other than downtown seem to have been overlooked since the tourists only concentrate on the French Quarter. But let's just pray no city has to go through what New Orleans went through as we are getting close to hurricane season.
One thing we are sure of... Anthony and I already said we will be revisiting again in the near future when we can spend more time there... in the not so hot and humid months.
