Pensacola - head in the clouds

We left Florida twice. First time to get to Mobile (Alabama), where was our next stop, second time on the next day - we went back to Florida to see National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola. Campground in Mobile (Chickasabogue Park RV Camping) was another interesting experience: it was the cheapest so far paid campground with full hook-ups. On internet we read that it's not in the best area and there are "scary permanent residents". But it was cheap - with Passport America discount it was 9.36 USD per night. 

We spent two nights there. Guy at the gate said he's been to Warsaw twice, he has a Polish friend from New York. He liked it, so there was no reason we shouldn't like his place. Warsaw also has some scary permanent residents. The ones at the campground (we didn't see any non-permanent ones) in their 20- and 30-year-old trailers didn't come out too often, but it was raining too, so maybe that's the reason. We found some earplugs and bullet jacket from a shotgun near our site so probably it's a fun place sometimes. But we can't complain, for two nights we stayed there it was nice and peaceful.

In Alabama woods

Our plan was to spend 2-3 hours in National Museum of Naval Aviation and on the same day make a quick stop at USS Alabama. We even managed to get up early - we left campground around 9, which is not bad for us.

Parking and museum are free. We decided to go also the IMAX (8.5 USD for an adult, kids free) for a movie about history of aviation, which was really about Blue Angels - Navy's flight demonstration squadron. Kalina slept through entire movie and Maciek, despite our fear that he'll get bored quickly (it was 45 minutes long) watched the whole thing. In the movie there was of course our favorite motive of dreams coming true - it's becoming a leitmotiv of our journey. We overpaid a bit, just after we bought the tickets some nice lady  working there gave us coupon for 2 USD discount - tip: ask the staff first if they have any coupons.

Can you squize in one more little plane?

In museum there are lots and lots of planes standing and hanging in two huge hangars. Firts one starts in the beginning of 20th century and ends around Korea war. In the second one picks up where the first one ended, and unfortunately we didn't have enough time to go there. There are of course descriptions next to each exhibit but also there are guides driving around in their electric wheelchairs adding some anecdotes often from their own experience. You can touch most of the exhibits, go into some of them, there is also playground but even if without it kids won't get bored. 

Captain's little helper

On top of planes and IMAX there are also flight simulators, a street from small American town from middle 1940s, exhibition about space conquest, aircraft carriers maquiets and lots of other attractions. Even the giftshop was so interesting that it was difficult to leave (without Maciek!:).

We won't write too much about planes. In the first hangar there was probably more than a hundred of them. Even though we know that there are lots of different types of fighters, bombers, reconnaissance aircrafts plus some strange things ordered by the Navy, we were absolutely amazed. It's one thing to know and the other to see and touch. Technical thought and detailes evolved so quickly, making such a difference in just half a century, offering huge variety of shapes that only looking from esthetical point of view keeps you there all day long. 

Evolution...

Sometimes Navy people did some spinning in descriptions. Just after entering the hangar there is a huge NC-4. There's a whole exposition dedicated to it's crew, flight and route, as it was supposed to be the first plane to cross the Atlantic. There was even a prize mentioned that Daily Mail founded for this achievement,but it was stressed that Americans didn't enter the race for the money but to develop their skills. But they did get the money, didn't they? - we thought and we googled.

Well, they didn't, because they floated a couple of times before they reached Europe and they landed on Azores Islandes. Brits got the prize a month later for a flight by a plane and not flying boat, without any "stopovers" and they completely overshadowed NC-4, at least in Europe. Officialy it is them who were the first ones to cross the Atlantic. The exposition is great but there's nothing about the fact that the euphoria lasted a month and world quickly forgot about NC-4...

 NC-4

As we paid attention mostly to esthetic side we couldn't walked past Me 262 without any feelings. It's well known that the nazis were masters of esthetics. Among other aircrafts from that time you could easily say that first jet, which was first used in a battle in 1944, was ahead of its time. We thought that its role in development of military aviation should be much more exposed. Looking around one can say that after it was seized by Alies their planes quickly turned into modern jets. But after we did our homework and spent some time on wikipedia we knew that everyone at that time was pretty advanced in working on their own jets. So it wasn't that Germans were brilliant and everyone was copying...

German technical thought

In Pensacola there was some space for the enemy. There was Me 262, and Mig hanging near by, there was also Japanese fighter, probably one of a few that made it to the US. Me 262 was definitely the prettiest one. It was even prettier with a group of German soldiers who just completed some training or internship in Pensacola and had a ceremony under hanging planes "Na ja, und das ist ein Messerchmitt"- we could hear when they went to see the prouf of nazi Luftwaffe. 

At 5 PM they had to to kick us out. We were the last ones to leave and there were three guards behind us pushing us gently towards the exit. One asked us where we come from and where we are going next. He said that few months he spents in Florida and few in Yellowstone so we would probably meet soon. Who knows....

We hadn't had enough so we considered coming back on the next day, but at least we decided not to. At least we have a reason to go back some day. This part of Forida is definitely worth seeing again. Maybe after we retire?

We'll be back!!!