Linsey Lanier
Sally Kilpatrick
Sia Huff
Romily Bernard
Darcy Crowder
Marilyn Baron
Tami Brothers
Sandra Elzie
Carol Burnside
Debbie Kaufman
Maxine Davis
Tammy Schubert
Susan Carlisle
Pam Asberry
Lindy Chaffin StartPensacola, Florida with writer Jillian Chantal
Welcome to Pensacola, Florida!
With writer, Jillian Chantal!!!
Jillian is a practicing attorney in the Pensacola, Florida area who dreams of having one of her romance novels published. She has had some success in the short story realm under her real name. She adopted her nom de plume to protect her modesty when she realized that most her colleagues would think she was a bit of a wild woman if they knew her secret passion was romance writing.
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola is a diverse town. Known as the City of Five Flags, it has been ruled by five countries in the last 450 years. We have a downtown historical district which offers tours of old houses and museums, including the transportation museum. We have a great tradition of ghost tours as well. The old Christ Church is still used for weddings and events. We are also a casual beach town. Sugar white sands are a real draw. Pensacola is the home of the navy’s Blue Angels and you can catch them at practice any Wednesday that they aren’t on tour.
Why Pensacola?
I live here and I am lucky enough to call paradise home.
“Local” restaurants
All three of these are family run restaurants:
McGuire’s Irish Pub is a medium priced restaurant/pub. They brew their own beer and you can order a sampler of several small glasses of each one.
They have a great tradition of patrons signing dollar bills and stapling them to the walls and ceilings. another tradition for first time visitors is to kiss the moose in the main dining room.
Sam’s Seafood is a low to medium price restaurant that serves the freshest seafood on the coast. While their seafood is great, this writer usually orders the hamburger with Swiss cheese. It is a rockin’ burger! The place is known as Sam’s by the Sewer as it is right down the street from the sewage treatment plant. The name is necessary as there are other Sam’s in town.
The Tuscan Oven is a modestly priced Italian restaurant. It has a beehive oven imported from Italy that uses real wood for the heat. Makes for a wonderful pizza. I recommend the Abbondanza pizza. It is all meats. The caprese salad is great as well as the Tuscan sandwich.
A hot local topic
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Luckily, the rain and wind directions since the spill have kept the oil off our shores. We still have our beautiful beach.
What is this city known for that is not stereotypical?
We celebrate Mardi Gras in a big way here. There are more than twenty five Krewes that hold balls. Parades are abundant during the Mardi Gras season.
Odd historical fact:
Geronimo was a prisoner at Ft. Pickens in 1866.
General population
Outdoor town- beaches, rivers, and lots of boats. Plenty of retired and active duty military.
Anyone we know from Pensacola, Florida?
Dr. James Andrews, internationally famous orthopedic surgeon
Emmitt Smith, former Dallas Cowboy
Roy Jones, Jr., boxer
Justin Gatlin, Olympic gold medalist
Don Sutton, Baseball Hall of Famer and TV sportscaster.
Major ethnic communities
White upper/middle class: Scenic Highway area, Cordova Park and North Hill.
African American: Belmont/Devilliers area and Montclair/Mayfair subdivisions.
Vietnamese: Myrtle Grove area.
There are also many retired military personnel living in the Myrtle Grove area.
There is an area called Brownsville which is a racial mix of Asians, African Americans and Mexicans. This is also the area for prostitutes and their johns.
Something that might interest the Petit Fours type readers
The romance of a moonlight stroll on the beach. The lovely restaurants both in town and on the beach where they could dine al fresco with the man of their dreams.
Something that would catch the attention of the Hot Tamales
The beach offers half-clad men and surfers. The Navy base offers macho Navy Seals. There are a plethora of available hot men to choose from.
Must see, can’t miss recommendation Jillian has for someone new to the city
The Naval Aviation Museum – It is an amazing place. It covers the gamut of aerospace travel.
Web sites highlighting Pensacola, Florida
http://www.fiestaoffiveflags.org/
http://www.pensacolachamber.com/
http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/
You can find out more about Jillian Chantal at the following links.
http://jillianchantal.wordpress.com/
http://sherryfowlerchancellor.wordpress.com/
http://southernsizzleromance.wordpress.com/
Tags: Jillian Chantal, Pensacola Florida, Travel the World
About the author
 |
Tami Brothers | http://www.tamibrothers.com I’ve always wanted to live a fun, sexy and exciting life. But when my clumsiness left me with an aversion to high heels, my fear of wardrobe malfunctions cut out those plunging necklines, and my skydiving instructor politely suggested I take up golf; I decided the only way to keep from breaking my neck would be to write about such a life.
|
June 20th, 2010 at 9:53 am
I was away from my computer for a few days and Jillian sent me an update on the Hot Topic happening in her area.
“The rain and winds kept the oil off the shores for a long time but the tar balls are there now and the color of the water has changed. We do still welcome visitors and the hotels and restaurants still need tourists. The sands are still sugar white and the hotels have pools. Please remember we still welcome all to our shores and hope the media hasn’t scared everyone away. There are lots of things still to enjoy on Pensacola beach.”
Thank you, Jillian, for sharing this wonderful place. I already have a trip planned for Pensacola in August and I’m crossing my fingers that the Blue Angels will be there…grin….
Love all the neat facts. Thank you!!!!!
Tami
June 20th, 2010 at 10:06 am
Navy Seals? okay, tipping up the piggy bank and shaking it, hard!…
Blue Angels as in those fabulous airmen?
nO nO nO… I’m just looking for inspiration for my heros…
Really, it does sound like a great place to visit!
June 20th, 2010 at 10:36 am
Great post, Jillian! Been to McGuire’s, but will check out Sam’s. My standard measure for seafood on the Gulf Coast is an oyster poboy with fries and slaw-don’t even need to look at the menu. Don’t know how much longer we can enjoy oysters, though. The Mobile and surrounding area oyster beds are closed-Lord only knows for how long. RitaVF
June 20th, 2010 at 10:50 am
Tami- Thanks for posting the update.
Kathy- Yep. Lots of hot Navy Seals and airmen, Come on down!
June 20th, 2010 at 10:54 am
Missed you while you were in the Big Apple! This post convinced me Pensacola has a much warmer climate and people. Being married, I resort to hiding behind being a Marine Corps Mamma who simply MUST check out the *cough* military competition of the SEALS and Blue Angels. (Hey, I don’t sculpt, paint or draw, either–but I love a good museum for its esthetic value!)
Beautiful (dangerous!) hard-bodied men, white sand beaches and wonderful food! Who could ask for more?!? lol Pensacola, here I come!
Runere
June 20th, 2010 at 11:35 am
Great post, Jillian! Pensacola is such a beautiful city.
June 20th, 2010 at 5:50 pm
What a great post on a great city. We are fortunate to live here and you showed many reasons why. I’ll be sharing this with my Georgia friends to give them even more reason to visit.
June 20th, 2010 at 9:10 pm
Rita- I pray you can get oysters here again. I’m not an oyster eater myself but I hear that the poboy at Sam’s is great.
Runere- glad to be missed. Come on over and we’ll sightsee those hot bodied dudes together.
Cynthia- thanks. I love Pensacola, too. Beautiful!
Darlene- Send them down and we’ll show them a grand time.
June 20th, 2010 at 9:11 pm
Jillian,
Thanks for your post on Pensacola…any baseball there? I’m a sports fan…but I could be talked into watching Blue Angels and Navy SEALS on the beach!
June 20th, 2010 at 9:12 pm
Thanks to all that read my review of Pensacola today. If you ever need any info, email me- at Chance.llor@att.net
Be glad to help in any way on info on my city.
June 20th, 2010 at 9:14 pm
Anna: we have a semi pro baseball team called the Pelicans. AND we even have a minor league Hockey team. We have lots to offer in sports. AND the Blues practice every Wednesday when they are home- you can go to the base and watch or even see them fly by downtown.
June 20th, 2010 at 9:18 pm
Well I learned several things I didn’t know, but the part about Geronimo was the most surprising! Thanks for your work in putting this post together. I’ll probably get back to your area next year. We stay in San Destin every couple of years and usually try to catch an airshow.
June 20th, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Debbie- the sad thing about Geronimo was that he was used as a tourist attraction at the fort.
Be sure to let me know when you’re coming so I can let you know of anything new and exciting going on. Jimmy Buffett is actually opening a hotel on the beach here in the next few weeks.
June 20th, 2010 at 10:55 pm
We on the opposite side of the 49th parallel are just sick about what you are going through with your beaches and oyster beds.
I believe both booms and workers from here in Vancouver have already been at work, helping.
I live a mile from the Pacific Ocean and we’re always concerned/worried about oil spills.
I read recently that hair is the big secret ingredient for mopping/soaking up oil! There is so much available through animal clipping as well as hairdressers and (sorry – slaughter houses) that I’m surprised no big calls for donations have come out…. two llamas in the front yard need a clipping?
I hope to make it to your beautiful beaches next summer!
take care and good luck, Kathy.
June 20th, 2010 at 11:05 pm
Kathy- thanks for your concern for us. It is so sad to see all the poor animals covered with oil. That is very interesting about the hair. It makes sense and I wish someone would ask for donations if it would help. I’ve been to your beautiful city and hope you can make it down here sometime.
June 21st, 2010 at 2:06 am
My local Hair Cuttery was advertising that they’re collecting all their hair clippings for the Gulf cleanup, so apparently there is some kind of request for donations.
Love the Gulf beaches and wildlife. What’s happening is so sad, but your post reminds us that there’s much to see and do in your area. Thanks!
June 21st, 2010 at 8:55 am
Jillian,
Thanks for the post. My best friend married the Navy–oops! married into the Navy, and we had the pleasure of visiting her in Pensacola. I think I even went to McGuires, but I didn’t kiss the moose.
Glad to hear about the beach. Lord willing, the mess can be cleaned up soon.
June 21st, 2010 at 9:50 am
Carol- I’m glad to hear that about the hair donations. Our paper today says that the tar balls are practically non-existent. I’m glad to hear that, too. I have got to get back out there and check it out. I’ve been out of town.
Sally- Happy you got to visit. I wouldn’t kiss that moose either- he looks kind of mangy to me!
June 22nd, 2010 at 4:28 am
Hi Jillian –
Wonderful post on Pensacola. I have dear friends there and one side of my family came from Pensacola. I also have family in Biloxi and we have all fished our entire life so I can’t begin to tell you how much the oil spill is affecting everyone I love.
Posts like this are going to help. If you haven’t been to the new restaurant on the Pensacola Beach side of the bridge, check out the Grand Marlin that just opened in March. The chefs came from Atlanta and it’s got an amazing deck for relaxing on.
June 22nd, 2010 at 6:01 am
Hi Jillian,
So sorry to be late. Love, love, love Pensacola. (and not just for the beaches and the guys)
Haven’t been back in quite a while, so I’ll put it on the list of things to do, places to go.
Thanks for sharing with us.
Sandy
June 22nd, 2010 at 9:54 am
Dianna- Thanks- I have been to the Grand Marlin and I love it- The good n ews this morning was that Escambia Bay is doing better than a lot of places. I sure wish the media would quit acting like the beach is closed. We need our tourists.
Sandy- Glad you like my city. It is a great place to live. We hope you’ll ocme back soon.