Today was the first full day of our RV trip. It is called Southern Exposure and is organized and hosted by a company called Adventure Caravans out of Texas. There are 20 RV's plus the Wagon Master and Tail Gunner. Most of the rigs are motor homes larger than ours, but there are a couple of 5th wheels, a couple of smaller travel trailers, and a couple of smaller Class B+'s. Most of the participants have made other trips, and there are a number of folks who know each other from doing other trips together. This is our second adventure with Adventure Caravans, but it is our first moving trip. We did the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta with Adventure Caravans in 2011, but that was an event termed a "rally" which is not a caravan trip but all are gathered together at a convenient location to the event and there is no moving of the rigs. Participants in this Southern Exposure event come from all over the US and there are two from Canada. The woman next to us is from California, drives a larger motor home than ours, has been on a number of trips, is older than I am, and is traveling solo. Interesting group.

Today we boarded a coach bus and headed to the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola where we spent a half day getting a taste of the museum. Part of the time was spent in an IMax Theater watching a Blue Angels film. The museum traced the development and adoption of airplanes by the Navy. They had every imaginable model from the Curtiss flying boat that was the first plane to fly across the Atlantic, although it landed in the Azores before making it to Spain, to the latest jets that blast off from carriers. They even had a Sopwith Camel with Snoopy in the cockpit. So, if it is airplanes and especially planes from WWII, this is the place to be.

We then headed to Joe Patti's Fish Market. Workers were not throwing around fish as you see in the fish markets on the West Coast, but there were more fresh whole fish, fillets, and seafood on display than could be conjured up in my imagination. We had a tour of the facilities behind the counters and got to walk through coolers and freezers full of boxes of shrimp and other seafood ready for overnight shipping. It inspired us to eat more seafood in the days ahead. A challenge that we are ready for!

Of course at the rear of the fish market is the bay which eventually opens up into the Gulf. Sitting on one of the docks were what the guide called the "welfare birds," brown pelicans, gulls, and one cormorant. We then finished the day on the bus with a guide that took us on the tour of the city and out onto a barrier island called Gulf Shores. Pensacola looked like a place that we would like to spend some more time getting better acquainted. However, we leave tomorrow and probably will not pass this way again.

We are in the Sunshine State, but we have mostly experienced rain since arriving in Florida. So far the rain isn't measured in tenths of an inch but in inch increments. Last night it was over 2.5 inches. On Saturday and all day today, we must have had at least that much each. We have had some intense lightning and sharp, close cracks of thunder that has made everyone jump and even instilled the fear of God in our cat. Rain in a motor home can be deafening even to a deaf guy. Thankfully the campground seems to have good drainage and no one is sinking out of sight, but rumors of the sighting of a pair of elephants and giraffes in a wooden boat has made us all uneasy. Tomorrow, sunshine is promised.

And, tomorrow is a travel day. The log calls for us to drive 180.6 miles along the Gulf Coast to Carrabelle, FL. The only rule is that we cannot get to the campground before the Wagon Master since he is the one who secures our entry and organizes the parking. So, we are kind of on our own tomorrow. It will be our first experience driving on non-intersate highways. I'm sure there will be some white knuckles and lots of intense staring at the road. So, onward in our great adventure.