{"id":12750,"date":"2025-10-26T18:57:30","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T01:57:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/petersontravels.com\/?p=12750"},"modified":"2025-11-26T16:16:03","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T23:16:03","slug":"pensacola-beach-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/petersontravels.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/26\/pensacola-beach-florida\/","title":{"rendered":"Pensacola Beach, Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our first stop in Florida was Pensacola Beach, just across the bay from Pensacola.\u00a0 There is a $1 toll to cross the bridge.\u00a0 Almost seems silly to charge a single dollar.\u00a0 If you are renting a car be aware that some rental companies (like Hertz) will charge you as much as $30 just to process your toll.\u00a0 Fortunately my former boss John added us to his Florida toll account so we don’t have to worry about Hertz screwing us with fees, but now I owe John $2 ( went across the bridge twice).<\/p>\n

After checking in we made our way down the beach to Drift<\/a><\/strong> restaurant, where we opted for some pre-dinner cocktails.\u00a0 William and Myra are changing out drinking habits!<\/p>\n

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The view from Drift is excellent!\u00a0 The food was great as well.\u00a0 Nice spot right at the base of Pensacola Beach Pier.\u00a0 Odd that they actually want to charge you a few bucks to walk out onto the pier??\u00a0 We’ve not seen that before, and why is it more expensive than the huge bridge we just crossed??<\/p>\n

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The sky was beautiful as we walked back to our hotel.<\/p>\n

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This heron was posing in the surf.<\/p>\n

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We stayed at the Pensacola Beach Resort, which is a nice place positioned perfectly on the island, within easy walking distance to plenty of restaurants.<\/p>\n

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Here is the view of the beach from our balcony.\u00a0 Gorgeous, and we actually had some minor surf due to Hurricane Melissa!\u00a0 There was zero surf the day prior.<\/p>\n

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On our first morning we had an early lunch at Paridise Beach Bar and Grill<\/a><\/strong>, which sits right on the inner bay.\u00a0 It’s easy to miss as it sits in the parking lot of an old motel.\u00a0 I had to try the local beer, Rip Tide Amber Ale.\u00a0 Pretty good!<\/p>\n

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We then drove east along the beach to Gulf Islands National Seashore, with some absolutely pristine (and nearly empty) beaches.<\/p>\n

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Look at those selfie skills!<\/p>\n

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A view from the small dunes along the beach.\u00a0 Beautiful spot, and we could not have asked for better weather.\u00a0 We had always thought Florida was going to be humid, but not at this time of year, at least not on the panhandle.\u00a0 We are loving how nice it is!<\/p>\n

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We still had free time that afternoon, so we headed back across the bay to the city of Gulf Breeze and did a short hike along the “Shoreline Park Nature Trail”.\u00a0 It meanders through a forest, and meets up with a boardwalk over marshlands.<\/p>\n

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Stunning scenery!\u00a0 The background is nice too!<\/p>\n

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This plant was everywhere!\u00a0 This is the American Beautyberry, and it was out in force!\u00a0 The roots, leaves and branches were used by Native Americans to treat malarial fevers and rheumatism.\u00a0 In the early 20th century farmers started rubbing crushed leaves on themselves to repel mosquitoes.\u00a0 As soon as I read about that Kim rubbed numerous leaves all over herself!<\/p>\n

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Every beach community seems to have one of these beach balls with the name of the city.\u00a0 Pensacola is the home of the Blue Angels, and while we saw several jets flying around, it seems the Angels have been likely been grounded by the Schumer Shutdown.\u00a0 Still a beautiful beach to visit!<\/p>\n

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Coming up next, we head to Rosemary Beach, another gorgeous spot along the Florida panhandle.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our first stop in Florida was Pensacola Beach, just across the bay from Pensacola.\u00a0 There is a $1 toll to cross the bridge.\u00a0 Almost seems silly to charge a single dollar.\u00a0 If you are renting a car be aware that some rental companies (like Hertz) will charge you as much as $30 just to process … <\/p>\n

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