Home Is Where We Park It:  Blackwater River State Park

Date:  May 9, 2019

Milton, Florida – Riverwalk and Veterans Memorial Park

Another beautiful day that we awoke to today.  It was already really warm and the outlook was for even higher temperatures before days end.  There was also the promise of a cold front coming through with some severe weather behind it.  That weather was not due, though, until much later in the day.  Yes, it did come.  Point of fact as I sit here typing this the rain is pounding on the roof.  What’s the old saying, Into every RV’ers life a little rain will come.

I might also add a bit of smoke on occasion too if the Forest Service decides to do a controlled burn in the surrounding forest.  As we walked out the door this morning we almost gagged and our eyes began to burn.  What in the world was going on?  As we left to go sightseeing we soon found out the reason.  Fire in the forest.

They do it a bit different here we found out.  They light a section and then leave it to burn and move on to light another section.  What if the previous one gets out of control?  Good question.  We asked but never got an answer.

Time to go sightseeing once more.  Today we’ll take a break from the Naval Museum and go somewhere more local.  Don’t worry, over the next several days we’ll be bringing you more of the Naval Museum – promise.  Today we’re headed to the town of Milton, which is right down the road from the Park we are staying in.  It’s sort of funny and sad in a way, all the reviews I read of this area stated that there wasn’t much worth seeing or doing here.  I guess a lot of people don’t know how to use Google or just don’t take the time to go exploring.  How sad.

But we’re going exploring.  First thing on the docket is the Riverwalk Park.  Riverwalk Park  runs along the banks of the Blackwater River in historic downtown Milton.  This is the River as it runs through the State Park.  Sort of small, shallow and tranquil.

The Blackwater River of Florida is a 56.6-mile-long river rising in southern Alabama and flowing through the Florida Panhandle to the Gulf of Mexico. The river enters Florida in Okaloosa County and flows through Santa Rosa County to Blackwater Bay, an arm of Pensacola Bay.

This is the same river at Riverfront Park that flows through the State Park.  It’s gotten a wee bit bigger for sure and is almost at its end at Blackwater Bay.

Riverwalk Park is at the site of former Blackwater Landing in Milton.  Milton was once the center of the Blackwater River lumber trade.  Logs felled up river were floated in rafts to this location and then loaded on larger ships for shipment around the world.

 

At the north end of the walk lies  Milton’s Riverwalk Gazebo, a wonderful place to enjoy beautiful views of the river and waterfowl.

Come stroll with me down the Boardwalk to the other end.

At the other end is a small pavilion.

The best part of the Riverfront Walk, however, is in the middle.  Let’s retrace our steps and soon enough we come to

At the entrance.  I believe the flag between its wings says it all.

A closer look at the interior of the plaza.

The vertical monuments in the interior, one for each branch of the Armed Services.

On the outer wall are horizontal monuments in memory of our countries various wars.  Here are a few displayed.

There were several other monuments at various places in the plaza.

A monument in honor of a historic event in the South Pacific.

This one which was entitled Mail Call.

Let’s end with this and

with this quote that defines the purpose of this plaza:  May all who visit this memorial recognize and appreciate the sacrifices and contributions America’s Veterans have made for all mankind.

That brings us to the end of one part of our exploration of Milton.  More to come tomorrow – after that is we get ourselves settled in at our new home.

Our day on The Road of Retirement has come to an end.  The rain is just a gentle pitter patter now and no more.  I’m sure all the fires are now absolutely out – some where still burning when we returned home.  That’s fine by me!  Once again we had a great day done our way hand in hand, travelling along, singing our song.

Thanks for coming along with us.  We’ll have more to share with you tomorrow.  Till then have a good night.

A parting thought:  A perfect marriage is the union of two good forgivers.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

See you on down the road

 

 

 

Home Is Where We Park It:  Blackwater River State Park

Date:  May 8, 2019

National Naval Aviation Museum – Cubi Bay Cafe

Another day of sightseeing and discovery was in order for us today.  We had already spent one day at the National Naval Aviation Museum but had not even gotten through one fourth of building one.  Then there was building two!  It clearly was going to take a few days to see it all.  Thankfully, we have the time.  And the desire to see it all.

At a glance the museum has 35,000 square feet of exhibit space set on 37 acres.  It contains over 150 historic aircraft.  Along with them are an array of exhibits containing a priceless collection of memorabilia and art work that documents signature events in Naval Aviation history.  It is one of the largest aviation museums in the world.

Let’s get going.  It all begins here with a full ID check.

This gives you access to the museum but not the full base itself.  Once in this is what we are looking for.

We’re at the front door.

One of the first exhibits that grabs your attention as you walk in is the Blue Angels Atrium.

Then this.

Then these banners on the wall.

Ready to go exploring?  Wait, we’re first going to take you to a truly unique place to eat.  It, in it’s own right, is a museum exhibit.  It is called the

The Cafe’s decor and layout duplicates the bar area of the famous Cubi Point Officers’ Club that was a major source of enjoyment for Navy and Marine Corps squadrons, ships and units as they passed into the Western Pacific.

For nearly 40 years, the Naval Air Station Cubi Point Officers’ Club, in the Republic of the Philippines, was a marvelous mix of American efficiency and Filipino hospitality. The club was especially famous for its Plaque Bar, where transiting squadrons retired old plaques and commissioned new ones to commemorate each Western Pacific tour. The tradition of placing plaques in the O’ Club bar was started during the Vietnam Conflict and endured until the closing of the base in 1992.

When the original officers’ club was closed in 1992, the thousands of plaques that adorned the walls of the club as tokens of thanks were packed up and sent to the Museum to be placed as they were when the Cubi Club was closed. That is, some of them are on the wall.  There are still over five hundred in storage because there is no room for them in the current cafe due to its size.

Without further ado here is a little bit of what is on the walls today.  As you view them see if you can spot some of the following:  The Skinny
Dragons; The Swordsmen; Fighting Red Griffins; The Fighting Redcocks; The Bengals; First Fleet Hornets; Black Sheep; The Rat Pack; The Knight Riders; The Indians; ; Free Lancers; Black Lions; Nighthawks; Black Knights; Fighting Vigilantes; Moonlighters; Can Do Indians; Crusaders. 

So how many did you find?  I believe you’ll  agree with me that this is a really unique and fascinating place for lunch.  An added bonus is the food is good and the prices reasonable. Now how about that!

What about the museum itself?  Here are a few pictures that will give you an idea of what is on the main floor in just one section.

We’ve got a lot to see, lots to learn, and lot’s of exciting discoveries waiting for us.  Stay tuned and we’ll bring it all to you in coming blogs.

That brings us to the end of our day on The Road of Retirement.  The last two days have been a whirlwind of sight-seeing.  With lots more to come.  We’ll be moving on Friday but we’ll still be in striking distance of the museum so we’ll be going back for another day or two.  In addition to finishing up the museum we also have a lighthouse and two historical forts to visit.  Tomorrow we’re going to scope out some more local attractions.  No idea of what we’ll find but we’ll let you know when we get back.

Thanks again for joining us, have a good night and we’ll catch up with you tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

See you on down the road

Home Is Where We Park It:  Blackwater River State Park

Date:  May 7, 2019

Blue Angels 

Oh yes!  Today was the day.  We’ve been looking forward to this day for oh so long.  Time was awasting so we were up and at it.  We had a bit of a ride before us so we were out the door bright and early.  What had us so exited?

This!

Today was a practice show for the Blue Angels and the show is free and open to the public.  We were cautioned to get there early and we soon found out why.

Soon enough we were at the entrance gate.

As we moved out to the flight line we discovered this.  The Blue Angels maintenance and support crew travel aboard a similar C-130 aircraft known affectionately as Fat Albert.  The aircraft is flown by an all-Marine crew consisting of three pilots and four enlisted crewman.

Out at the flight line we grabbed a couple of chairs and joined the multitude of others waiting for the show to begin.

Now for the star of the show the F/A-18 Hornet.  This is a high performance aircraft designed to operate from aircraft carries.  As you view the pictures that follow keep in mind that each aircraft is flying at 700 mph and often no more than eighteen inches apart.  Do they sometimes touch?  Brush wings?  They train to avoid this but last year during a show two planes did brush wings.  Fortunately, that’s all that happened.  That’s why they practice, practice, practice.  These two are at our end of the field.  Four others are at the other end of the field.

Here are the other four coming past us just after take off.

Up in the air and coming back the other way.  We’re down to five aircraft.  One developed landing gear issues and when resolved came in for a landing.  Usually, four fly in formation and the fifth and sixth perform solo maneuvers.

Coming at us right over our heads.

Look closely, flying at 700 mph, two are inverted and two are right side up.  Think about it, if you are inverted every movement you make with the stick has to be the opposite of what you are used to.  Talk about concentration.

Close formation flying.  Again only eighteen inches apart.

Watch closely, straight up.

Then they each peel off and go in separate directions.

Again up as a group.

Over the top and back down as a group.

Then they break off.

And finally reform as a group.

They start off as a group again but then watch what happens.

Coming again right at us as a group.

Watch what they do.

Coming at us from the left and this is where it gets interesting.

Here they are after the show and back on the tarmac.

What a thrill this was.  This was an absolutely awesome show.  If you ever have the chance to catch a show do go you will be glad you did.

From here we moved to

And here.

But those are stories for another day.  In fact, we figure we will not be able to see all that the museum has to offer without spending at least another three to four days there.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  What a picture perfect day.  What a fantastic experience.  W’re so thankfully for this life that the good Lord has blessed us with.  Oh, before I forget we also had the privilege of meeting and talking with so many wonderful people today.  Not to mention being able to meet and talk with  so many exceptional men and women who have stepped up to the plate and decided to serve their country as a member of the Armed Services.  I call these experiences  the icing on the cake.

Thanks again for joining us on our journey.  I hope through the pictures – though no picture can do the show justice – that you were able to experience a bit of what we saw and what got us all excited.  Till tomorrow, have a good night.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

See you on down the road

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home Is Where We Park It:  Blackwater River State Park

Date:  May 6, 2019

Housekeeping

Short, sweet and to the point – nothing shaking today.  Since we knew we would be running the roads the next several days we figured we had better take care of our housekeeping chores today.

Barbara took off in search of a local wishy washy.  She discovered a really nice one in

Milton and was able to get caught up on our wash.  Next park we know we’ll have washers and dryers available to us so it will be a whole lot easier.  If, and this is a big if, if we ever get another rig I sure would like to have a washer and dryer on board.

I on the other hand stayed home and put a fresh coat of wax on the front of Graybeard.

Hopefully, this will make it easier to get the multitude of bugs off that like to commit suicide on the front end.  I have never had it this bad in the past.  Drive down the road even a mile and the front end becomes a mess.

I also spent some more time sorting and cataloging all our pictures from last year.  It’s going to take a lot more time before it’s all done.  Learning from last year I now have a much better system in place this year.  What’s the old saying, Live and learn.

Regarding the park guess what we discovered?  They pick your trash up each morning

right from your site.  Just leave it out front and they’ll come and get it.  How about that.

While we’re on the subject of the park, have a look at people having a splash in the river.

This is the bridge over the river that leads to the park.  I took the above pictures from here.

One more picture I just have to share with you.  Dig this Ford Fiesta brought to you by Hillbilly Customs!  Not my cup of tea but it sure is different.

That’s it for our journey today  down The Road of Retirement.  Tomorrow we start running the roads again.  Thanks again for hanging in there with us.  Till tomorrow, have a good night.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

See you on down the road