Amphibian Assault Vehicle

Before leaving Pensacola Beach last February, we reserved a spot on the waterfront beginning in October. We were hoping to experience the area at a time when winter coats weren’t necessary. We did have to go buy some, but have only had to wear them a couple of times so far. Shorts and flip flops today, so we’re not doing too badly!

We arrived to town a few days ahead of our reservations, so in the meantime we stayed down the road at Fort Pickens; a national park located along the Gulf of Mexico. We love to walk along the beaches there, explore the old fort relics, soak up the sun and gaze out at the water while being entertained by abundant wildlife.

You have to watch where you’re walking on these beaches because they’re full of ghost crabs. These crabs blend right in with the sand. If it weren’t for their blue colored eyes and innards you might not see them at all. You’d mostly see movement all around you, but not see what’s causing it. 

While Trevor paused along the water’s edge one evening, a stingray swam up and just hung there right in front of him. It was so close he could have reached out and touched it. I spotted another one a short way up the beach that soon made its way down and parked itself next to the other one. The stingrays and Trevor just stood there staring at each other for the longest time. We wondered what that was all about. When I loaded the photos I’d taken onto my computer the next day, it looked like one of them had something stuck to its tail. It looks like a tentacle from a Man of War to me. It’s so long and looks like it could be the blue color of the ones I’ve seen washed up on beaches. Maybe they were there because they needed help, or maybe that thing was just a mirage in the photo. We’ll never know. 

But the following morning, we were greeted by a pair of dolphins. So maybe the sea life in this town is just really friendly!

October was very pleasant with perfect weather for enjoying our campsite and the surrounding area. The nose of our rig faces the bay where there is endless entertainment; Regattas, pelicans, seagulls, dolphins, boat shopping and watersports. Trevor liked to combine his boat shopping with his watersports.

Across the bridge, the Blue Angels practice a couple of times a week. We watched them from a field behind the bleachers there one morning. They were amazing! Almost as amazing as the huge dragon flies in the field that mimicked the stunts the Blue Angels were doing. It was hilarious! 

For a while, there seemed to be no lack of amphibians on and around the RV and that was fine with us, because we think they’re pretty cute.

 But I started to get a little nervous while vacationing over Thanksgiving down in Ruskin, FL. There was one little guy who made me nervous because he blended in perfectly with our lounge chairs and I was afraid we might accidentally sit on him.

But the other guy was much larger with more powerful teeth. In the canal behind our RV, this gator started out swimming toward a bird on a post. The bird kept careening its neck out toward the gator as if to say, “Don’t even think about it buster!” Then the gator began to swim toward us! We were told once that gators don’t normally approach humans. They think that if they lay perfectly still in the water or on shore, that you can’t see them. So as far as we knew, a gator approaching us is one accustomed to being fed by humans (please don’t ever feed an alligator!!!). Not trusting it, we promptly walked away.

 But we thought it was pretty cool to see the bird, the gator and the two turtles sunning themselves on shore. 

 Hey, we did get the tissue box Gary made for us painted! Nothing fancy, kind of going for the buoy look. The box works great and we're very pleased with it. Thank you Gary!

We had a great Thanksgiving and we hope all of you did as well. We thank the Lord for each and every one of you and ask that His blessings be poured out in your lives.

We love you and miss you guys!

Love, Trevor & Roni