Checking Out Pensacola

   We've done our best to settle into Pensacola over the last week.  We've run errands and picked up groceries, checked out more of the base, and met some interesting people.  We've also been doing our best to check more items off our to-do list and are, for the most part, succeeding. 

No the Picture isn't Fuzzy - Those are Dollars

  

Pensacola Beach

   On Saturday, we made further use of our rental car by hunting around town for a few things we needed for boat projects.  We stopped in for lunch at McGuire's Irish Pub and Brewery.  This place definitely had character.  Nearly every square inch of wall and ceiling was covered in signed dollar bills.  Customers, famous or not, can sign a dollar bill and have it pinned up.  The food and drinks were great (though they definitely offer an Irish-American menu).  We talked to a few former submariners, and one even offered to help with some of our boat repairs.  After that we headed over to Pensacola Beach  to walk along the water and pick up shells.  We finished the day by meeting up with some boating friends who are headed in the same direction we are, S/V Raindog and Palm Latitudes.

Water Tower/World's Biggest Beach Ball

  

Float Planes - Part Boat, Part Plane

 We spent Sunday morning exploring. We started off with a haircut for me (Bill got his earlier) and some shopping around the base (hooray for lower military prices).  Next was the Naval Aviation Museum.  It was definitely worth going and we plan on going back because we didn't allow enough time to see it all.  For the afternoon, we met our sailing friends again at Shaggy's Bar and Grill for the Super Bowl.  We had a great time and it was nice to spend time with new friends/fellow boaters.

WW II Corsair (The model featured in Disney's Planes)



Shattered Windshield of Returned Plane

Each Rising Sun Represents a Successful Attack



An Aircraft Carrier Propeller










   The work week was spent, well, working.  Rewiring, sewing, cleaning, scraping, drilling . . . tiring but, things are slowly getting done (at least the laundry is free - we can save our quarters, woohoo).  It's interesting living on a project boat (not that there is a boat in existence that couldn't be called a project boat).  Sometimes the projects are major, sometimes they're small; Some projects show an immediate improvement upon completion and some, like an oil change, don't really show at all.  We just have to keep in mind that this is a process; it's getting a bit better with every project. 



2 of the 4 Shelf Covers

   Our major projects this week included:


New Propane Sensor

• Sewed and installed shelf covers (curtains) - to prevent things from flying everywhere in bad weather
• Added GPS input from chart plotter to our new VHF radio (Bill installed the radio last week) so it could be used for emergency broadcast and a backup AIS
• Finished scraping out epoxy from windows (a bad attempt by the previous owner to prevent leaks) and installed new screens - this was very hard on the hands and quite frustrating
• Installed propane sensor and safety switch

This may not sound like a lot at first but, those covers took me almost three days to cut and sew together and Bill had to run a lot of wire through some pretty unruly places in the boat to complete his installations. 

   We plan on working on the boat through Tuesday.  Then, if the weather still looks good, we'll head out on Wednesday morning for Destin.  We'll stay there for a couple of days to visit with a Navy buddy of Bill's and then sail on to St. Joseph Bay.  Our stay here has been very enjoyable, albeit colder than we expected (still no flip flops and shorts . . . guess we'll break those out in Southern Florida).   

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