Veterans Day Parade in Pensacola, Florida - Wednesday, November 11, 2020

On Tuesday, November 10, we arrived at Avalon Landing RV Park in Milton, Florida, for a six-night stay. Bob's brother Tom and sister-in-law Rosemarie live in Milton. Every time we pass through the area, we only stay one or two nights and don't get to spend much time visiting and sightseeing. So on this trip, we allowed for quality time.

They invited us over for a chili dinner on Tuesday. After dinner, we taught them how to play Sequence. Even though there was a little frustration at the beginning, they caught on very well. We made arrangements to go to the Pensacola Veterans Day Parade on Wednesday.

Wednesday the 11th, the parade started at 10:00 a.m., so Tom and Rozie picked us up at the RV park and took us to Pensacola. The parade ended at the Pensacola Veterans Memorial Park and that is where we parked. We were amazed and inspired by the richness of Veterans Park. There are many sculptures honoring the different wars throughout the years. There is even a memorial wall honoring fallen soldiers in the style of the wall in Washington, D.C. This is an impressive park!

Persian Gulf War Memorial.

Global War on Terror Memorial.

Flags for Veterans Day.

In Flanders' Fields poem.

"Homecoming."

Rozie, Tom, and Bob next to the
Veterans Memorial Wall.

Tom and Bob walking along
the memorial wall

Next, we came to the amazing "Marine Aviation Memorial Tower," which admonishes us to "Take Time to Remember." I am including the information markers for this clock/bell tower because there is so much to it.

Marine Aviation
Memorial Tower.

The Meaning of the Tower.

Marine Corps Aviation Centennial
History: the First 100 Years.

The bell in the tower.

Tom by the Navy marker.

Memorial to WW I.

Memorial to WW I.

Military Order of the Purple Heart.

As we continued our way around the Veterans Memorial Park, we saw sculptures and plaques honoring the Korean War, World War II, the Submarine Lifeguard League, and many more. I captured photos of a few.

Wandering through the park.

Korean War Memorial. 

History of the
Korean War.

World War II Memorial.

World War II Memorial

Flag plaza.

Quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Honoring the Submarine
Lifeguard League.

We never knew this before now.

Lots of lizards out in the sun.

At 11:00 a.m., they had a veterans
recognition service in the park. We did
not stay for that. It was too hot

A pond at Veterans Memorial Park.

The parade was starting, so we ventured over to a bend in the road where we could get a good vantage point. It wasn't very crowded, but the people who were there to watch were enthusiastic with lots of accolades shouted to the veterans in the parade.

Motorcycle cops lead the parade.

They were followed by
more police officers.

Mounted police.

Love the trike and the dog! LOL.

Classic cars.

Nice!

Pensacola High School Air Force JROTC.

Escambia High School
Gator Elite Navy JROTC.

Corvettes.

Tom in his Navy cap.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
VA Vet Center Mobile Unit.

While we were watching the parade, we were next to Pensacola Bay, so we saw a few interesting things.

This is the bridge that was damaged
by barges that got loose during
Hurricane Sally. It will be closed
about six months for repairs.

People enjoy stacking rocks.

While we were standing by the bay, all of a sudden fish started jumping out of the water. They were all the same kind of fish. It was crazy. There were so many, I actually got a shot of one of them!!

Jumping fish.

The parade ended. The four of us went to Chicken Salad Chick for lunch. That is the best restaurant and they told us San Antonio will be getting one soon. I hope it's on our side of town!! 

After lunch, Tom and Rozie dropped us off at our 5th wheel. I made a big salad to take to their place for dinner. Bob took the ingredients to their house to make the main dish, Chicken Enchiladas. We don't have an oven in our 5th wheel, so we needed to use Tom and Rozie's oven. Bob makes amazing enchiladas. They were so good! 

Chicken Enchiladas fresh
from the oven.

Mega-salad.

Rozie and Bob eating.

Tom concentrating on Sequence.

After dinner, we played Sequence again. The guys routed us.

We had such a good day. Spur-of-the-moment planning worked well for us once again. (Last time we visited, Tom and Rozie hired a boat and guide for a tour of the Blackwater River. That was wonderful, too.)

Travel Bug out.