See that line of darkness in the pic above, midway between the chaise lounges and the water’s edge?
…but between the water’s edge and about 8-12 feet onto the beach, there was brown, oil-soaked sand and those tar balls that everyone has heard so much about:
The officer told Av that if you had a shovel and dug into that sand a bit, you’d be able to see oil.
One night as we were going back to our hotel, the parking lot where the beachball water tower is was full with at least six buses full of workers lining up for duty:
The next morning, we saw them – this Gator was hauling plastic bags full of dirty sand and tarballs:
Helicopters were flying overhead:
…and as the morning went on, the workers got closer and closer to our section of the beach:
Some of the bulldozer drivers stopped and spoke with us, especially when Shugie waved at them. Who can resist a 20-month-old toddler? They were all really friendly and wonderful – working at making the beach clean and beautiful again.
The conditions at the beach change daily; this website is one guide. We would absolutely go back to Pensacola Beach – there’s so much more than the beach there to do (incredible food, all kinds of other family activities, plus the city of Pensacola has so many great shops and museums and history…) so we’ll be back soon.
Thank you to all the workers who are repairing what’s been done, containing the ongoing situation, and doing their best to make things whole again.
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We did not stay there on this trip (plus the rooms were over $300 and our hotel had the same Gulf-front views) but Jimmy Buffet’s brand new Margaritaville Hotel is open.