Our first day in Pensacola

Hello, everyone. My name is Sara James, and I am a freshman History major at the University of Memphis. Today was our ASB's first official day in Pensacola. We started our day by cleaning the beach of our national park Santa Rosa It was by far the best way to start the morning. Wait, picking up trash can be fun? Surprisingly, it can be. With the array of seashells at my toes, the ambient crashing waves, and the bevy of flying seagulls (or Pelicans, whichever), it was a peaceful and thankfully, rainless morning. When we started collecting trash on the ocean side, I was pleasantly surprised at how clean it was. Honestly, I thought I was doing something wrong because I could barely find any trash. Unfortunately, that changed when we cleaned the bay side. Not only was the water murky, but also the bay side had had litter everywhere. We found everything from endless cigarette butts and honey bun wrappers to plastic container bin tops. Cleaning up the bay side of the beach affirmed what I already knew: people are nasty creatures. From the remnants of past parties and the fact that the bay overlooked the city coastline, it made sense that this side was filthier than the ocean side. However, it was really sad to me that one beach can be a visual paradox for itself.

After the beach clean-up we explored the Santa Rosa Island's museum and the historic Fort Pickens. The museum was small, but it was a nice facility. From the museum I learned more about the local marine life--most importantly of the existence of tube worms--the severity of the changing coastline, and actually what the purpose of Fort Pickens was. After the visit, we journeyed to the Civil War Union Fort Pickens. I have never really gone through an actual fort before, so for me, this was one of the highlights of the day. It is one thing to see pictures or reconstructions, but to experience the original piece of history was such an amazing experience. Getting lost in the labyrinth of tunnels, seeing real cannons, being on top of the fort, overall, everything was a great experience.

     To end our day we had the wonderful meal that Habitat for Humanity so graciously provided for us. This was the perfect was the perfect way to end our day, by eating  great food and sharing tons of laughs over absolute ridiculousness. While this is only my first official day of ASB, I can honestly say that this has already been a worthwhile experience for me. This early in the week I have already begun to reach my goals for this trip: befriending complete strangers and being able to serve and learn about the wonderful community of Pensacola. I can definitely say that I would not have chosen any alternative to Alternative Spring Break.