From the top of the walls of Fort Pickens we could look across Pensacola Bay and see the Pensacola Lighthouse. To get there by roads, we had to drive about 45 miles, crossing bridges and driving through downtown Pensacola before arriving at the Naval Air Station Pensacola where the museum and lighthouse are located.
National Naval Aviation Museum
The National Naval Aviation Museum is one of the world’s largest aviation museums and has been rated by TripAdvisor as the number 12 museum in the United States. The history of U.S. Naval aviation comes alive with more than150 beautifully restored aircraft hanging from the ceiling and on display on the floor for close inspection. In addition to the aircraft there are exhibits including an Apollo Space exhibit, models of air craft carriers, flight simulators, an IMAX theater, and the Blue Angel 4D experience (great fun!).
Pensacola Lighthouse
Across the road from the museum is the Pensacola Lighthouse. The lighthouse is still in use as an aid to navigation. We had planned on climbing the 177 steps to the top but the tower was closed for renovations the day we visited. We wandered around the grounds and visited the keeper’s cottage before walking across a boardwalk to the beach for a look back at the lighthouse.
Next up, a wrap up of our Ft. Pickens stay.
Wandering Dawgs 
Go Navy! this was a 3 hour visit for us.
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Great post! The museum is now on our bucket list. I was in VF 41(first picture) from 1979 to 1982. Thanks for bringing back the good memories.
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Thank you for your service. Gove yourself a lot of time at the museum. We spent about 3 hours and could have spent all day.
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Awesome! That reminds me of the National Air and Space Museum, which I loved. Will keep this in mind if/when we visit this area. 😉
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What a wonderful place to visit. You were probably oohing and aahing all day, or at least I would have been. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
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Yes, it was very impressive. I loved seeing the old air planes.
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Love the Blue Angels!! Love me an air show!! And I would love this museum!
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The Naval Air Station Pensacola is the home of the Blue Angels. We were hoping to see them practice but they won’t be starting until March 23. We did see plenty of other Navy jets and other airplanes flying over us when we were at the National Seashore.
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While I do absolutely love lighthouses I would really love to see that museum. Thank you for sharing it.
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When we lived on-base we stopped by the museum and survival exhibit many a Sunday after church. This was back in 1969 when the museum was *slightly* smaller. 🙂
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