~~~ Pensacola Navel Air Museum ~~~

We spent the day yesterday at the Pensacola Air Station. They have the Navel Air Museum, Fort Barrancas, an old lighthouse and a national cemetery. We spent hours here enjoying all they had to offer. Alyssah was so taken back with all the airplanes & jets that were in the museum... she had so much fun. Did I mention that this is all free to the public? What a great way to spend the day... I know this post is big but we took over 200 pictures and I had a hard time picking out what I wanted to share with you all. If you want to see a larger image just click on picture twice to open.

The National Naval Aviation Museum is devoted to the history of naval aviation and displays over 150 aircraft and spacecrafts. It has nearly 300,000 square feet of exhibit space, including the restoration hanger with a flight line behind it displaying nearly 40 aircraft. When inside, one of the first and most awesome exhibits is that of the world famous Blue Angles; this aerial stunt team flies out of the base at Pensacola. The seven story glass and steel atrium features four A-4 Skyhawks in dive formation.

Here is Alyssah in front of the bronze salute to the Blue Angels & the actual Blue Angel full size jets hanging from the ceiling in formation...

Here are some of the plane exhibits

This was an exhibit on the Vietnam War... Very sad! Do you see the case with all the POW/MIA bracelets in it? I had one of those and to this day I remember the name of the young soldier on my bracelet... LT. Charles Boston. For years I wondered if he ever came home but when I visited the Veterans Memorial in Washington DC and saw his name on it I knew he didn't make it home... That was a very sad moment for me which brought tears to my eyes and also my husbands.

Here is the Apollo Space Craft

Here is an actual moon rock & my little darling in a space suit

Alyssah in a military helicopter and a fighter jet

More shots of the planes & jets inside of the museum

The picture on the right is a view of the Blue Angel Jets from the second floor. Look down into the first floor and you will see some young boys practicing with swords. They are getting ready for a change of command ceremony at that base.

After touring the inside of the museum we took a trolley out to the airfield where they work on and restore old aircraft. They also store some out there too. Our tour guide was a retired Marine who was just full of great information... This was very interesting! The plane on the right is an old boat plane that lands and takes off on water... It was not a huge success

The aircraft on the right has skis on it and is the only one left in existence... The jet on the right is the last jet that George W. Bush ever flew and landed on an aircraft carrier. If you enlarge the picture you will see his name on it.

This is the airfield where the Blue Angels practice... If you come here to visit be sure to look up their practice schedule on the Blue Angel web site so you can come and watch their show. (which is also for free) On Wednesdays when they are practicing they come into the museum and autograph pictures for you. We have never been lucky enough to see them... They were here the day before we visited... we saw them in the air but not the show

Fort Barrancas and the Old Lighthouse

Hope you enjoyed the pictures

Until Later