19201, 2018hr, florida time.

from pensacola, we crossed the bridge into the city of gulf breeze. ah, absolutely beautiful, exactly what i expect florida to be like. the whole area is basically a very narrow island made up of sand deposits - so narrow that there's no single point more than a mile wide. so most of the time, as we drove down the road, we could see the sea on both sides of the car. my goodness, it was simply breathtaking.

we mainly visited fort pickens, where we had a guided tour and basically a history lesson in american and military technology. i realise i do like archeology after all, i was very engrossed in listening to the park ranger's explanations. there was just this sense of drama in seeing the traces of time left on every single brick on the walls and the ceilings of the fort. the park ranger had a very dry sense of humor. the fort was built before the civil war, by the black slaves, but was destroyed during the civil war. in his words, in some sense of poetic justice, the fort was built by the slaves to protect the liberty they were not meant to enjoy. but after that, the first colored platoon was stationed at this fort again. the wheel of life at work, i guess. to me, it's just really interesting.

the best part, however, was the beach we went to after port pickens. we were the only people at that stretch - when we got there, we left the first set of footprints on the sand. i walked in without my shoes, folded up my jeans, and tied up my bandana on my head to keep my hair down. i felt truly liberated, as i stepped right into the clear waters. the sea was shimmering blue, but the waves looked green as they approached the shore. i walked along the waveline, and as i turned back, my footprints were washed away by the waves. i was laughing so hard, i didn't even really care, when tk was taking all these candid shots of me. i had an instinctive fear of the waves, i screamed everytime i was caught in a big wave. so silly. haha. i tried picking seashells, but there weren't any big pretty ones around, so i only took a small pair away - after all, i'm getting old. gotta keep some tangible stuff around to remind myself of the non-tangible stuff. like feeling of joy. and freedom.

like i mentioned before, i love the sea. i love playing the waters, i love breathing deeply facing the open sea. i love digging my feet into the wet sand. i love screaming in fear when hit by the waves. i simply love it.