Pensacola: Parks and Pelicans!

After retiring from the University of Missouri, I was excited to take our first big trip in the RV. Naturally, we opted to head somewhere south to escape the harsh Missouri winter. We chose Pensacola Florida because it was relatively close and the temperatures were supposed to be in the 70s. Mother nature had other plans.

When: Thursday, February 4 to Monday, February 8, 2021 (four nights)
Where: Five Flags RV Park, Pensacola Florida, Site 11
Cost: $40/night ($38/night with Good Sam) for full hook-ups
Bucket Lists: Graffiti Bridge and Pensacola Pelican Statues
Beer: Goat Island Brewing (Cullman, Alabama) (en route to Pensacola)

After retiring from the University of Missouri, I was excited to take our first big trip in the RV. Naturally, we opted to head somewhere south to escape the harsh Missouri winter. We chose Pensacola because it was relatively close and the temperatures were supposed to be in the 70s. Mother nature had other plans.

The RV gods also had other plans for us as well. During the two-day trip down to Pensacola, it seemed like one thing after another went wrong.

Goat Island Brewing — Cullman Alabama (our first Harvest Host!)

After driving 8+ hours, we were looking forward to staying at our first Harvest Host at Goat Island Brewing in Cullman, Alabama. We arrived mid-afternoon and were eagerly awaiting some good beer. Unfortunately, the beer would have to wait because the battery in our tow vehicle (a 2019 Jeep Cherokee) was dead. After unsuccessfully trying to jump the Jeep with a portable DeWalt charger, we ultimately repositioned the RV to jump the Jeep using the RV battery. The battery issue was not a big deal, just time consuming.

Next, when we got ready to level the RV in the Goat Island boondocking area, the electronic panel for the automatic levelers was dead. Kasie quickly realized that the ground wire to the leveling system was dangling from the bottom of the RV. The ground wire has a very small gauge (it is very big) and so it took Kasie some time to re-connect it. Meanwhile, I just hovered and stressed her out.

After fixing the Jeep and the RV (so we thought…), it was time for beer. Goat Island Brewing did not disappoint. We fell in love with the Blood Orange Berliner Weisse while we talked about our traveling woes. We were grateful later to find the beer in several other places on our trip — both in cans in grocery stores and on draft as a guest tap.

The next morning, our bad luck continued. The Jeep was displaying a warning light that the 4WD was not working. That meant that we could not place the Jeep in to neutral to tow it. We tried various fixes, including resetting the fault codes with an OBDII reader. (This is a handy diagnostic tool to have, and I highly recommend it). We also tried disconnecting the battery for 30 minutes to see if that would reset the electrical system. When neither approach worked, we ultimately decided that I would just drive the Jeep and follow Kasie in the RV to Pensacola. We stayed in touch using some walkie-talkies. There is something about saying “Breaker 1-9” that made our separation more fun.

Magically, the 4WD issue fixed itself en route around Montgomery. When we stopped to get gas and fill up our propane tank, I noticed that the warning light was gone. We aren’t sure what happened, but based on some subsequent research, my guess is that the Jeep is not being sufficiently lubricated when it is being towed for long periods of time, and that driving it restored the necessary lubrication for the 4WD/neutral to work properly.

Five Flags RV Park

We stayed at two different campgrounds while in Pensacola, the first of which was the Five Flags RV Park. It turned out to be on of my favorite RV parks to date. We’ve decided to do a separate RV park review video on Five Flags. Check it out if you are thinking of staying there.

Graffiti Bridge

As a lover of public art, I don’t think it gets any better than Graffiti Bridge. It’s free. Its public. It’s communal. The contributors range from teenagers with spray paint cans to professional artists. The art work is also ever-changing, and usually reflects a wide range of political, social, or artistic viewpoints. It would be interesting to take a photo of it each day and watch the evolution – the same spot is just as likely to show a George Floyd mural, a Trump tribute, or a funny cat. There is true beauty in all of that free expression.

Of course, as I lawyer, I wondered about the legality of Graffiti Bridge. Luckily, the City of Pensacola specifically carved out the Graffiti Bridge from its graffiti ordinance so you won’t get slapped with a ticket if you decide to contribute.

We saw Graffiti Bridge - just before the Brady v. Mahomes match-up in Superbowl LV. Hope the #12 jersey was painted over.

Perhaps the more interesting legal question is whether the artists have any enforceable rights under a federal statute, the Visual Artists Rights Act (“VARA”), 17 USC 106A. This statute gives “the author of a work of visual art” the right “to prevent any destruction of a work of recognized stature” and provides that “any intentional or grossly negligent destruction of that work is a violation of that right.” It’s entirely possible that some of the artwork might have achieved “recognized stature” such that one or more artists could prevent its destruction. If the city ever wants to replace or remove the bridge, it could have a VARA issue. This would be a good topic for a law review article.

“Pelicans in Paradise” Statues

Pelicans are the unofficial mascot of Pensacola. Over a decade ago, the Pensacola News Journal embarked on public art project: a series of 70+ fiberglass pelican statues created by local artists. After stumbling upon our first one, we located nearly a dozen walking around downtown and spent a good chunk of our Pensacola stay trying to hunt down as many statues as we could. We later found that someone had mapped most of the locations, which I’ve shown below.

I love public art projects like the Pelicans because they encourage visitors to see parts of the city they might not otherwise venture. These statues also help reflect the diversity of the city. Each statue obviously reflects something about the artist and the creator’s take on what Pensacola means to her/him. Plus, they are just cute.

Florida State Parks Near Pensacola

Florida is blessed with a number of great state parks. After securing our Florida parks pass, we checked out Big Lagoon state park. Unfortunately, much of the park was closed because Pensacola was still recovering from hurricane Sally. We had a little better luck with Tarkiln Bayou state park. The weather was drizzly and cold, but the park was still beautiful.

Because we were staying in the northern part of Pensacola, we also opted to take the bikes for a day to the Blackwater Heritage Trail across the Escambia Bay in Milton. The temperatures were still a little too cold for our comfort, but we saw enough of the trail to know it is one we would like to revisit at some point.

If you want to see and learn more about our adventures in Pensacola, please check out the video below! Pretty please.

For more information on Pensacola, please check out:

Pensacola Song (Official Music Video) — A Classy Broads original!
Fort Pickens: Biking, Beaches & Battlegrounds — A bike ride that is a true bucket list!
Pensacola Breweries (Classy Beer Awards - Pensacola Edition) — We review nearly a dozen breweries in the area!