Okay, so my last segment of this was a little out of order, thanks to wanting to match the Independence Day theme. Regardless of that, in sequence, when we left Tampa, the first thing we did was head farther south to Caspersen Beach Park to visit some old friends, and give the kids a taste of the ocean.
A literal taste, as it turned out. It seems that my kids have become true Midwesterners, and did not enjoy the smell and taste of ocean water. Their loss. I was remembering how much I miss the ocean, and a vast expanse of blue water stretching off into the horizon. Not enough to move, certainly, but definitely enough to want to plan some future Gulf Coast trips.
After far too short a time catching up, though, it was time to make the marathon drive up the coast to Pensacola, Florida, the cradle of Naval Aviation, and home of both MLGB and my alma mater, Pensacola Christian College.
This would also be where our first travel snafu of the trip would occur, when the hotel I thought we had booked turned out to have cancelled our reservation. Fortunately, they managed to find us another room in a different hotel. Lesson learned, call the hotel directly to sort out a credit card issue, rather than trying to fix the problem through the chain’s website!
Sunday saw us up bright and early to attend service at The Campus Church. I had graduated before the new church building had opened, and never had the opportunity to attend a service there. It was definitely the largest church the kids had ever attended too, and had a surprisingly large attendance, considering that the vast majority of the college students were away for the summer.
After service, we ate lunch in the cafeteria, and took a tour of the campus. Things have definitely changed since my wife and I graduated! A new mens’ dorm, massive upgrades to the Sports Center, benches where couples can chat outside, and no more ’70s relic “Social Hall” where couples stare into each other’s eyes for hours on end.
The kids were quite impressed. Who knows, we may see a second generation of Giddings on campus in a few years.