Blue Angels Air Show and Wildlife at Gulf Islands
National Seashore in Florida
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讀萬卷書    行萬里路

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Sparkling white quartz beaches with singing sands and crystal clear, emerald green water along miles of
pristine shoreline of the Emerald Coast on Fort Pickens Road on the Florida District of Gulf Islands National
Seashore. 10 miles of nothing but pristine gorgeous beach -- no hotels, condos or other retail obstructions will
block your view. Gulf Islands is one of the top 10 most frequented national parks in the country, exceeding
Yellowstone, Yosemite, or the Grand Canyon.
Sparkling blue waters of Emerald Coast of Gulf Islands National Seashore. The landscape is breathtaking,
scenic and untouched. An absolutely beautiful place to visit! Definitely a must see when you are in the area.

On January 14, 2014, we came to tour the Florida District of Gulf Islands National Seashore. It is on off-shore
barrier islands along Gulf Coast and Pensacola Bay of Florida’s panhandle.

Map: Click here for interactive Google Map showing location of Gulf Islands National Seashore
Some birds were flying in the sky over Gulf Islands National Seashore.
An osprey was also in the air hunting for fish.
Suddenly, we were happily surprised to see and hear the thundering big birds of Blue Angels jets in the air
over Gulf Islands National Seashore and over Pensacola Bay. We did not know and did not expect this. It
was a total surprise to us.
The spectacular air show by Blue Angles over Pensacola Bay lasted for more than one hour. What a
surprising treat for us!
It turns out that Pensacola is the home of the renowned Blue Angels based at the Pensacola Naval Air Station.
I also took a movie clip of the Blue Angels Air Show as shown in the following YouTube website:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQK6sYzSlGk&feature=youtu.be

We did watch and took pictures of many birds at several birding hot spots in Gulf Islands National Seashore.
However, those birds pictures are similar to those in Parts 1 to 7 of this trip and will not be repeated here.

This spectacular Blue Angels Air Show puts a fantastic finishing touch for us to complete our 2014 Winter
Tour of Florida.

We drove south along east coast of Florida to tour several Points of Interest along east coast. Then in
southern Florida, we drove from east coast to west coast while touring northern part of Everglades National
Park and Big Cypress National Preserve. Then we drove north along west coast of Florida to tour several
Points of Interest along west coast. Then we drove northwest into Panhandle Region of Florida to tour two
major Points of Interest in Panhandle.

The sequence of Points of Interest that we visited in Florida is the following:

Sandollar Restaurant and Marina near Jacksonville -> Blue Spring State Park -> Merritt Island National
Wildlife Refuge -> Viera Wetlands -> Lake Okeechobee -> Everglades National Park -> Big Cypress National
Preserve -> Myakka River State Park -> Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park -> Cedar Key National
Wildlife Refuge -> Lower Suwannee NWR ->  Paynes Prairie State Park -> St. Marks NWR
-> Gulf Islands National Seashore


There are many interesting places in Florida to see various kinds of birds and wildlife. Parts 1 to 8 of our 2014
Florida Winter Wildlife Watching Trip are at:

Part 1 on Big Swarm of Sea Birds Surrounding Fishing Boats near St. Johns River Ferry in Florida

Part 2 on Hundreds of Alligators and Many Birds in Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National
Preserve in Florida

Part 3 on Beautiful Pink Roseate Spoonbills and Other Wildlife in Myakka River State Park in Florida

Part 4 on Hundreds of Manatees in Beautiful Blue Spring in Florida

Part 5 on Many Birds in Merritt Island, Viera Wetlands and Lake Okeechobee in Florida

Part 6 on Majestic Whooping Cranes and Many Birds in Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park in Florida

Part 7 on Sand Hill Cranes and Other Wildlife in Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park and St. Marks NWR in
Florida

Part 8 on Blue Angels Air Show and Wildlife at Gulf Islands National Seashore in Florida


While driving from New Jersey going south to Florida, we also toured Wright Brother National Memorial, Pea
Island National Wildlife Refuge, Cape Hatteras National Seashore on Outer Banks of North Carolina, Magnolia
Plantation and Gardens in South Carolina, Savannah National Wildlife Refuge in South Carolina, and Fort
Pulaski National Monument in Georgia as shown in the following web pages:

http://shltrip.com/Wright_Brothers_NM.html

http://shltrip.com/Magnolia_Plantation.html

While driving from Florida going north back to New Jersey, we also toured Mystery Hill in North Carolina and
Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware as shown on the following web pages:

http://shltrip.com/Mystery_Hill_NC.html

http://shltrip.com/Bombay_Hook.html
Old Civil War fortress and WWII gun batteries in Fort Pickens National Park at the westernmost point of Santa
Rosa Island near Pensacola. It is a part of Gulf Island National Seashore.
Unspoiled beach with breathtaking white quartz sand and clear emerald Gulf waters. Nothing soothes the
soul like a walk on such beautiful beach.

Gulf Islands National Seashore offers nature lovers miles of federally protected, undeveloped shoreline – the
longest continuous stretch of protected beach in Northwest Florida, perfect for sun seekers, birdwatchers
and outdoor enthusiasts. The shoreline boasts sand so clean and powdery white it literally squeaks under
traveler’s toes. The warm Gulf waters also attract a plethora of fish, making the region famous for the
beloved pastime of fishing.
Emerald Coast: white sands and azure blue waters, an effect created by the sun’s reflection off of the
almost 99% pure Appalachian quartz sand lining the shore.
Of the seven species of sea turtles, four nest at Gulf Islands National Seashore.
How I use information age technologies to enhance my enjoyment greatly of sightseeing large driving tour loop
of thousands of miles and of one to two weeks in duration covering many Points of Interest is described on my
web page at:

http://www.shltrip.com/Sightseeing_in_Information_Age.html