10/4/2008 Florida
The trip through Florida takes all day. We leave Pensacola around 10:50 AM, sunny and hot, and got to our final destination around 10:45 PM. Passing through FL we drive east along I-10, I-215 and then south on I-95. Along the way we pass a number of different eco systems. First the area in west FL is similar to the Mobile, AL area. Temperature 80 degrees. The Gulf makes it a tropic zone.
We pass by the Pensacola Naval Air Station, home of the Blue Angles. Didn't see any of them, but we did see three large cargo planes go overhead. Beyond Pensacola and the Naval Air Station is Eglin Air Force base which runs about 40 miles along I-10. Huge base, but we do not see much evidence of Air Force activity.
As we pass by Eglin Air Force Base, our course takes us by Fort Walton Beach, where my Grandfather once lived, and I visited at one time. An hour later, as we cross the Chattahoochee and Apalachicola rivers we change from central time to eastern time zone, and what was 2 p.m. is now 3 p.m; loosing an hour just like that.
Shortly after loosing an hour we drive through Tallahassee, Florida's capital. After Tallahassee, we drive through an area where we see very few, if any, palm trees and the "woods" contain more hardwoods and is more dense than we have normally seen. More and more the oak trees begin to have spanish moss. About an hour out of Tallahassee we cross the Suwannee river. Yes the same Suwannee river from the song - it said so on a sign at the bridge.
Along this section of I-10 there are ranches and farms; regular farms with corn, sugar cane and cotton and also a number of pine tree farms, but few towns. At one of the ranches we see a small herd of Long Horn cattle -- and so far from Texas, they must be on vacation also. The closer we get to Jacksonville, the more palm trees we see, with more evidence of towns and people. The Monticello area seems to be horse country with lots of ranches.
I-95 is familiar to us and we are back on a road we have driven a number of times in the past and welcome the familiarity. It also means we are only about three hours from the house. Those last three hours seem to go quickly, but we are getting tired and are glad when we take our exit off of I-95 and onto SR-512 east. 10 more minutes and we are unhooking the car and entering the code to open the security gate to get to the house. Yeah, we're here. We park the motor home for the night at the community center and we'll worry about unload it in the morning.
We left Calif. on Tues. at 2 p.m. and arrived in Sebastian on Sat., Oct. 4 at 10:45 p.m. It was a long eventful drive. The highways and byways we drove through had some spectacular countryside and we have had a lot of fun.
The trip through Florida takes all day. We leave Pensacola around 10:50 AM, sunny and hot, and got to our final destination around 10:45 PM. Passing through FL we drive east along I-10, I-215 and then south on I-95. Along the way we pass a number of different eco systems. First the area in west FL is similar to the Mobile, AL area. Temperature 80 degrees. The Gulf makes it a tropic zone.
We pass by the Pensacola Naval Air Station, home of the Blue Angles. Didn't see any of them, but we did see three large cargo planes go overhead. Beyond Pensacola and the Naval Air Station is Eglin Air Force base which runs about 40 miles along I-10. Huge base, but we do not see much evidence of Air Force activity.
As we pass by Eglin Air Force Base, our course takes us by Fort Walton Beach, where my Grandfather once lived, and I visited at one time. An hour later, as we cross the Chattahoochee and Apalachicola rivers we change from central time to eastern time zone, and what was 2 p.m. is now 3 p.m; loosing an hour just like that.Shortly after loosing an hour we drive through Tallahassee, Florida's capital. After Tallahassee, we drive through an area where we see very few, if any, palm trees and the "woods" contain more hardwoods and is more dense than we have normally seen. More and more the oak trees begin to have spanish moss. About an hour out of Tallahassee we cross the Suwannee river. Yes the same Suwannee river from the song - it said so on a sign at the bridge.
Along this section of I-10 there are ranches and farms; regular farms with corn, sugar cane and cotton and also a number of pine tree farms, but few towns. At one of the ranches we see a small herd of Long Horn cattle -- and so far from Texas, they must be on vacation also. The closer we get to Jacksonville, the more palm trees we see, with more evidence of towns and people. The Monticello area seems to be horse country with lots of ranches. 
I-95 is familiar to us and we are back on a road we have driven a number of times in the past and welcome the familiarity. It also means we are only about three hours from the house. Those last three hours seem to go quickly, but we are getting tired and are glad when we take our exit off of I-95 and onto SR-512 east. 10 more minutes and we are unhooking the car and entering the code to open the security gate to get to the house. Yeah, we're here. We park the motor home for the night at the community center and we'll worry about unload it in the morning.We left Calif. on Tues. at 2 p.m. and arrived in Sebastian on Sat., Oct. 4 at 10:45 p.m. It was a long eventful drive. The highways and byways we drove through had some spectacular countryside and we have had a lot of fun.
Next a summary of our trip.
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