June 26, 2022 Pensacola, FL Day 2

Another morning to sleep in is always welcomed. Bob made our usual Sunday breakfast and we got ready for the day. We decided to take a drive to Flora-Bama, on the border of Florida and Alabama, the most famous beach bar in the country. We have been there before, but it’s always fun to visit and see what’s changed. It is located in Orange Beach, Alabama AND Perdido Key, Florida. We left the campground at 11:30 and drove the 25 miles to Perdido Key where Flora-Bama is located. We crossed the tall bridge over Bayou Texar to the Key.

There was a lot of boat traffic on the bayou on this beautiful day.

We drove along Perdido Key Drive which took us along the coast and through Perdido Key State Park. The park is left in its natural state with lots of sand dunes and beach accesses along the way.

We arrived at Flora-Bama after a beautiful drive. It was noon and it was a busy place!

We walked out to the beach to put our toes in the sand. It’s been awhile.

From the Flora-Bama pier, we could see all the action on the beach.

Bob and I walked around on all the levels in the building to see what was going on. The stage was set up for the next entertainer. The bars were not too busy yet!

Flora-Bama has 5 stages for live music and there are multiple bars. We checked them all out. Later, one of the stages had a singer performing on it. There was seating all around the dance floor in booths and a balcony all around where you could enjoy the band from above. Ladies “donate their bras” and they throw them over the lines hanging above.

In walking around, we discovered this room. This is their “liquor room” where they keep all the bottles that feed all the bars.

We found a place to sit upstairs in the shade where we could watch the beach and the water. We saw a few sportfishing boats motoring along the coast.

We enjoyed a cold beer and Bob had some oysters. He said they really hit the spot!

There was a lot of people to watch which kept us entertained.

There were a lot of interesting decorations. People can sign their names anywhere to leave their mark.

[The history of Flora-Bama is that in 1962 the state of Florida gave the state of Alabama two miles of beachfront land in return for the construction of the Perdido Pass Bridge. The Tampary family decided to build a small bar on the New State Line. In 1964, two years after the road was completed, the Flora-Bama was constructed and it was practically the only thing in the area. As traffic increased, business grew, and the bar grew to match it with new construction added piecemeal to accommodate the larger crowds. When Flora-Bama was established, Escambia County, Florida where it is located was “wet”, but across the state line in Alabama it was “dry”. It was sold in 1978, and the new owners made live music a daily staple and created calendar events like the “Interstate Mullet Toss”, Rodeo on the Beach, Songwriter’s Festival, chili cookoffs, fishing rodeos, big beachfront concerts, and other special events to bring in the people. The World Famous Mullet Toss is an annual event where those who participate in the Mullet Toss throw a dead mullet over the state line of Florida and Alabama to see who gets the farthest. The mullet are then donated to Alligator Alley for the alligators to eat. It is a large, fundraising charity event. It is usually held in April and draws thousands of people from near and far.]

We spent a couple of hours there, doing some “people watching” and listening to the music. We took the drive back along the coast and arrived back at the campground around 2:30. It was starting to rain lightly as we got back. I took Auggie outside for a quick potty break. The skies cleared up by dinnertime and Bob was able to grill pork chops for dinner. Tomorrow we leave for the town of Carabelle, about 25 miles east of Appalachicola, where we’ll spend 3 nights in one of our favorite campgrounds.