On Friday morning before the girls got up, I was sitting in the cockpit enjoying my coffee and the cool morning air. We were still at the Palafox Marina in downtown Pensacola. A man walked by along the dock and struck up a conversation. He is a South African sailor living in Key Largo who had come into the marina at midnight the night before after helping deliver a catamaran from Key West to Pensacola, where the owner lives. A six day trip. The captain of the vessel had been en route for over 60 days moving the boat from South Africa, to Brazil, then to Key West and finally Pensacola. The captain and man we met were going to shower and fly back home later that day. One thing I've enjoyed about our sabbatical is meeting other boat people and learning about their journeys!
After our morning school work, the girls and I went to Pensacola's historic village. It's more than a city block of historical buildings, some of which have been moved onto the premises from their original locations. We joined a tour and were able to go inside four of the buildings, decorated with furniture and artifacts from different historic periods. For example, the Clara Barkley Dorr house--built in 1871, had not only furnishings from the period, but had photos of the original family members on the walls and china on the dining room table that belonged to the actual family. 
Our guide was an engaging college student that kept the girls' attention and she was dressed historic clothing--probably late 1800s. She was proud to share that Pensacola is, in fact, the first European settlement in what is now the United States, established in 1559. St. Augustine, Florida usually claims this title because it is the oldest continuously occupied settlement. The Spaniards that settled in Pensacola left a few years later after being hit by a devastating hurricane, which they were completely unprepared for.
On the walk home from the historic village, we saw craft and food vendors setting up along the street. We decided to come back out after dinner at the boat to see what it was all about. We learned later that it was downtown Pensacola's monthly Gallery Night, featuring an art market, bands, and food trucks. The girls really loved browsing the craft stands--we must've seen five different vendors selling their crocheted stuffed animals.
I should add that the the girls spent the late afternoon hunting for crabs at the marina. The harbor--save for its entrance--is enclosed by walls. Kind of like a breakwater. The docks are floating docks and they and the water line are about 6 feet below the top of the walls. The part of the wall below the water line is covered in oyster shells. And perched on top of some of these shells are blue crabs. After the girls figured out how to catch the crabs, they started collecting them --one or two at a time--in a bucket. We informed them that we were not going to be boiling the crabs. So they set up an "aquarium" with their catch.
And if you ask, they will tell you how they catch the crabs. The most exciting part of their show is when they let the crabs go by dumping them out on the dock. They quickly scuttle away, plop into the water, and then swim away in a strange crab swim. When it was time to leave the marina on Saturday morning, Marguerite was so disappointed she would not be able to hunt for crabs anymore. The girls always find something to love about the marinas where we've stayed! Next stop, Ingram Bayou where we will anchor for a night and then on to a marina in Gulf Shores.