One of the benefits of staying in one place for so long is really getting to explore the surrounding areas. With our three month stay in Foley, we have had time to take things slow and to visit neighboring towns like Fort Morgan, Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, Mobile, and Fairhope. It also happens that Pensacola, Florida is just about a 45 minute drive from here and has several fun attractions.
We had already made trips over for some shopping- a visit to their mall and a flea market- but we wanted to take a few days to check out the Gulf Breeze Zoo and the National Naval Aviation Museum.
The Gulf Breeze Zoo, located in the town of Gulf Breeze just outside of Pensacola, sits on fifty acres and is home to hippos, giraffes, kangaroos, cheetahs, gorillas, alligators, maned wolves, and a variety of reptiles, birds, and African savannah animals. The exhibits are nicely arranged so that the animals are easy to see and encouraged to be active. They also have a boardwalk that goes out over the savannah area and a train ride where several animals can be seen as well.
This zoo offers a variety of animal feedings including birds, giraffes, camels, goats, Scottish Highland cattle, and even alligators! For a small charge, you can purchase cups of feed for the different animals at the front gate. We were able to feed a variety of ducks and goats and some of the cutest cows in existence. The alligator feeding is not available during the winter months.
We particularly enjoyed the exhibit with the Maned Wolves. These are not found in a lot of zoos and the times we have come across them, they are usually hiding from guests. These two were very active and were absolutely gorgeous! We managed to catch the training session for them, too, which was really neat to watch. A zookeeper came out and worked with them on target training. This involves placing a stick with a colored ball on it in front of the animal and rewarding them a treat when they come up and touch their nose to it. This is a common behavior that is trained in zoos as it allows for easier examination of the animal and delivery of medications, builds trust between the animals and staff, and serves as the base for other training. The male did a fantastic job but the female was very skittish and only successfully performed the behavior a few times. Hopefully, in time, she will improve.
They also offer several behind-the-scenes experiences. These are a little bit more expensive and vary in availability so be sure to check in advance if you plan to visit. During our visit, they were offering the following options: Giraffe, Indian Rhino, Hippo, Sloth, Albino Alligator and Galapagos Tortoise. Prices range from $25 to $40 dollars per person for each experience in addition to the general admission cost of $28 per person for adults.
We have done a variety of animal encounters at several different zoos over the years but we have never seen a hippo encounter offered so that is the one we chose. Our home zoo in Columbus, Ohio used to have a hippo when we were very young but it had passed away and they did away with the exhibit. We have seen hippos at a few other zoos -including Lu in Homosassa, FL who just celebrated his 65th Birthday- but they aren’t a super common zoo animal and we were so excited for this!
We met a staff member at the train station and were delighted to find that we were the only two who had reserved this tour for the day. We rode the train to the hippo exhibit where it stopped and let us off right outside the exhibit area. A zookeeper joined us and walked us up to a platform overlooking the yard for their male hippo, Kiboko. Kiboko is a 29 year old male and a new dad (we could just barely see the baby in the next yard with its mom) and was quite the handsome gentleman. He had been trained to he place his chin on the fence where the keeper told him to (a behavior called targeting) and hold open his mouth for us to toss in his treats. We were able to feed him his “afternoon snack” consisting of 3lbs of sweet potatoes and carrots. He would get several pieces in his mouth, chew and swallow, then return to the same position for more. Throughout the experience, the keeper was able to give us information about Kiboko and about hippos in general making it a really fun AND educational visit.
When the experience was over, we walked back to the train tracks and the next train stopped to pick us up and took us through the rest of the train ride and back to the station. It was a really wonderful visit and an experience we won’t soon forget.
Our other big adventure in the Pensacola area was the National Naval Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola- which is also home to the Blue Angels! We had seen the Blue Angels at an airshow at NAS Oceana in Virginia Beach last year and have visited several other museums during our travels but this one was one of our favorites!
When we arrived, we had to go through the security checkpoint at the air base which can be a little nerve-wracking if you aren’t used to it. The guard was very nice, though, and directed us to the museum. We arrived at the museum just in time to join a free guided tour led by a volunteer who also happened to be a veteran. Admission to the museum was also free!
We stuck with the tour for a little while and were just amazed at all of the information that our guide was able to share with us. We started by viewing a replica of one of the first planes ever built and a statue honoring pilots through the ages. We learned that in the first World War, pilot were encouraged to adopt small dogs to keep them company and provide emotional support. The dogs would often fly with the pilots on their laps during missions, also offering warmth as the early cockpits were not insulted or heated.
We started to get hungry as the guide walked us through WWI and WWII and ended up slipping off for a lunch break. The museum has a little cafe that serves deli sandwiches, drinks, and chips right in the main area. The Cubi Bar Cafe was really fun and unique because it used to be an actual bar and Officer’s Club located in the Phillipines. The bar operated as the Cubi Point Officer’s Club until 1992. When it closed, it was dismantled and shipped to the US where it was reassembled inside the museum and found new life serving museum guests. All of the interior artifacts and decor are authentic to the original location. It is a really cool experience and very affordable so definitely check it out if you visit the museum.
After lunch, we checked out the rest of the museum on our own. They have exhibits covering WWI all the way through space exploration spread out over two large hangars. And, being the home of the Blue Angels, they even have a few of their planes on exhibit there, too.
The best part of this museum and the reason that it is our favorite of all that we have visited is because it is so hands-on! Knowing that early planes were made from fabric stretched over a wooden or metal frame is one thing. Actually feeling how thin and fragile these flying machines were is quite another. They also have several replicas of cockpits from so many different aircraft that you can climb into! Many of the buttons and levers can be moved-it really brings out the kid in everyone! You can see that we had quite a good time and really got up close and personal with tons of different aircraft during our visit.
While on the guided tour, it was amazing to hear not only about the technology and capabilities of the different planes but also learning how some of the pieces came to be in the museum. My favorite plane was the 2MF 16. This plane had gone down during a mission and the pilot had ejected and been picked up and saved. He had gotten in trouble for a supposed mistake that he made in the plane crash although he insisted that there had been a malfunction and the crash wasn’t his fault. The plane sat submerged in the sea for over 50 years before being recovered and restored for the museum. When they recovered the plane, they flew the pilot out to see it. He was an old man by that time and was unable to climb up into the cockpit on his own but asked if a friend could just pop up there and take a photo of the inside of the cockpit for him as a special keepsake. The military granted the request and the photo was taken- specifically of the instrument panel which was still as it was at the time of the crash. The wiley old man then used the photo to show that, indeed, there had been a malfunction and it was proven that the crash had not been his fault. Vindication several decades in the making! As a person who also cannot stand to be blamed for something that isn’t my fault, I truly admire this man and his determination and sneakiness in defending his reputation.
On the way home from the museum, we stopped at the Pensacola Lighthouse, also located on the base, this lighthouse rises 191 feet above sea level and still functions today. Visitors are able to climb the lighthouse stairs and visit the museum for $10 per person but we were too tired at that point for such an undertaking so we admired it from outside and then went home.
Here are a few more photos from the museum to end the post.
