Ft. Pickens National Park, Santa Rosa Island, FL:  This morning we got going early and took the laundry over to the facility here in the park.  Nobody in front of us so we got the job done quickly.  After that we relaxed around our site, had some lunch and then headed to Ft. Pickens to tour the fort with a National Park Ranger.  She just started in May, but she gave a great tour with a sense of humor and a lot of knowledge.  I was so impressed I gave her a $20 tip.  Drove to Pensacola Beach and had an early dinner at Hooters and then drove back enjoying a beautiful sunset.  Our park is packed this weekend—what with the holiday weekend.  Poor Mike has a tooth bothering him.  He has a great dentist in the Keys, but we won’t be there for a couple of weeks.  Not sure he’ll be able to wait that long. 

Ft. Pickens was built entirely by slaves.  Sad commentary. The owner of the slaves received compensation for their use, but of course the slaves got nothing.  Except for the fact that these slaves were highly skilled masons and must have taken a lot of pride in the results of their labor.  There's a lot of intricate brick work in this structure.

Mikey on the beach

This pristine beach goes on for miles.