Pensacola Vacation Highlights
190 miles west of
Tallahassee, 355 miles west of
Jacksonville The National Museum of Naval Aviation at the U.S. Naval Air Station
captures the history of pilots who trained
at Pensacola. This remarkable museum has more than
100 aircraft dating from the 1920s to the present day.
There are 2 IMAX
theatres on the premises plus a 15-minute ride in the museum's
flight-motion simulator. The Blue Angels regularly demonstrate their
skills with exhibitions of team precision flying in the
navy's latest fighters.
From the Naval Station,
Fort Barrancas looks across the
bay to Perdido Key and Santa Rosa Island.
The spectacular gulf
shores
include the small resort center of Pensacola Beach, the area's
prime vacation spot, and home to resorts, condominiums, cottages,
restaurants and shops.
On the western end of
Santa Rosa Island, travel about 7 miles (11km) west of Pensacola Beach
to Fort Pickens. Built to combine with Fort Barrancas to
guard Pensacola's harbor entrance, this massive structure is best
known as the prison of the Apache Geronimo from 1886 to 1888.
Take
a walk through Historic Pensacola Village, a part of the original
Pensacola that resembles a shady English colonial town, but with Spanish street
names. Some of Florida's oldest homes, preserved
by the state, are to be found here with tours of the major
landmarks. During summer costumed characters demonstrate the daily lives and
crafts of the period.
To learn more about
Pensacola's diverse history, spend a few minutes at the Pensacola
Historical Museum, housed in a period building built about
1882. For those with an interest in history, the Civil
War Soldiers Museum provides an
insight into the daily lives of soldiers of that period.
Things to do on a Pensacola vacation? Take a guided toursof Fort Pickens .. fishing from the Pensacola
Beach Gulf Fishing Pier .. off-shore fishing charters.. scuba
diving.. jet-skiing and windsurfing.
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