Today we spent relaxing in Pensacola and the surrounding area.  We had never been to the Florida Panhandle before and decided that we would love to come back again and spend more time in the area.  There are miles of  beautiful white sandy beaches.  The highway along the coast goes for miles - the whole area is like one gigantic Myrtle Beach but even nicer.   I have included some shots from today with brief comments following the photos.

This snapshot has been included to remind everyone that summer is on its way!  Funny thing is that the temperatures remained close to 20 degrees C or 70 degrees F, yet people were swimming in the ocean all day long, even after sunset.  I of course was wearing my jeans and sweatshirt!

I included this photo just to show the colour  of the water beside the beach and the nice white sand that goes on for miles.  One of our walks of the day was to walk on a fairly isolated section of Pensacola Beach - I enjoyed every minute of it!

Of course I had to include a bridge pictures- there are bridges everywhere in this area.  This shot was taken from a walk we took on a boardwalk full of  restaurants, shops and people enjoying the weather.   

I think it would have been fun to have spent the day sailing by the sand dunes.  Of course it would have been a little chilly on the water.

The area is full of Pelicans.   For once I had a lens on the camera where I could get a close up shot.

Here is today's  attempt at an artistic shot.  Must be the accountant in me:).    I thought this barnacle looked interesting and I like how the water formed around it.

Again there were no clouds for the sunset pictures but at least there was some pollution.  You can see the hotels on Pensacola Beach in the background.  

I took this shot on a fishing pier just as the sun was going down.  

You can see some nice colours during twilight. 

I thought this beach shot  was interesting.  You can see the reflection of the sunset colours in the water.  I also used a long exposure to get a soft look to the water.

It was getting dark now so this was one of the last shots of the evening. 

Just  two last shots using long exposures.