Of all the cities in Florida that I have traveled to (which is only 5) Pensacola is my favorite. I loved how easily you could slip between downtown Pensacola and the touristy beach strip. I loved how you could enjoy the stereotypical beach vacation restaurants and shops, but still wander through the historical streets of downtown.
Springhill Suites Pensacola Beach
We arrived in Pensacola just before 2 on Sunday afternoon, rented a car, and then headed to our hotel. We stayed in the Springhill Suites right off of Via De Luna Drive. It was right on the beach and within walking distance of some restaurants and shops. We absolutely loved our room. It was spacious and clean and I loved how it was decorated. We wanted to take advantage of our beachfront stay as much as we could so we quickly got changed into bathing suits and went for a walk on the beach.
Physically getting onto the beach is always the first thing I want to do when I get to a beach town. I don’t necessarily need to be in the water or laying in the sand, I just need to be standing in the sand where the waves roll in and out, looking out into the forever blue horizon, and breathing in the salty air.
Andrew and I both adore being near the ocean so we try to soak up as much oceanfront-time as we can. We always fall into deep conversations or reminisce on family vacations of our childhoods or talk about family vacations we want to take with our future family.
After our walk on the beach, we decided to go to the pool until dinner. We spent the rest of the evening poolside and playing cornhole. I almost won our cornhole game. It was probably the best I’ve ever played.
Crabs On The Beach
For dinner, we went to a spot in Pensacola called Crabs. You can’t miss it when you’re on Via De Luna Drive. It’s massive and bright red. We order hushpuppies to share and we both ordered the Naked Fish which was a chargrilled red snapper served with a stuffed Crab Garnish, French Fries, and Asparagus. I’d highly recommend sitting outside if you go. The back patio is, as the name says, on the beach. It was really relaxing sipping on our drinks, munching on dinner, and enjoying the breeze and view as the evening melted away. After dinner, we were both exhausted and stuffed from the day so we headed back to the hotel and went to bed early so we were refreshed for Monday.
Fosko Coffee Barre
We woke up early in Pensacola on Monday and headed downstairs to the hotel lobby for breakfast. It was a bit of a disappointment. Everything was pre-packaged, even the waffles and egg sandwiches. There were no eggs or any clean options, so I went with raisin bran, a banana, and coffee.
We quickly finished our breakfast and headed out for the day. To work, we set up at a beautiful coffee shop in Downtown Pensacola, Fosko Coffee Barre. It was a cozy, bricked space and was probably the quietest coffee shop I was in all week. We both had a busy, productive, and highly caffeinated morning.
The Nest General Store
For lunch, we crossed the street and headed into another beautiful coffee shop, The Nest. It was bright, cool, and filled with plants, a stark contrast to Fosko. I ordered the Turkey sandwich, which I told Andrew and I will tell you all now was the best turkey sandwich I’ve ever had. It had hummus, spouts, arugula, & cucumbers on it and the bread was perfectly toasted.
Legendary Performance
We finished out the workday at The Nest and then headed out to find a gym. There was an Anytime Fitness right around the corner, but they ended up not offering day passes. Luckily we found Legendary Performance, which we absolutely loved. The staff was incredibly welcoming and helpful, the gym was well organized, and everyone there was focused and friendly.
Felix’s Restaurant & Oyster Bar
It was our last night in Pensacola so after our gym session we rushed back to the hotel to change into bathing suits and soak up some more pooltime. We spent an hour at the pool before getting hungry enough to head back to the room and change for dinner. For dinner we went to Felix’s in Pensacola. We shared crawfish pies and fried oysters. We only ordered 6 oysters, but our waitress accidentally put the order in for 12 by mistake. It was a very delicious accident, but we were both full after appetizers so we decided to get salads for our entrees. I got the seared tuna salad. On the walk back to the car we passed Kilwin’s and stopped in and each got a scoop. 😋
On Tuesday morning, we packed up our things and checked out of the hotel. I played it safe and had Andrew drop me off at The Nest again while he went to his meetings. I didn’t want to risk choosing a new coffee shop and it not be a great spot to work. I ordered a honey & lavender latte and got to work. I had a full day of meetings and kept my head down the entire day either on the phone or working on something. Andrew picked me up after his meetings and we started the drive to Tampa.
Love always,
