A visit to the Naval Air Museum is a vacation tradition for our family. We drive to Pensacola from our home, and this is usually the first stop we make. Or, sometimes we take a break from the beach mid week and spend the afternoon at the museum.

As a boy, my son was facinated with all the planes, helicopters, etc. As a teenager, he really began to appreciate all the HISTORY that went along with the exibits.

We like to eat lunch at the Cubi Bar cafe located inside the museum. The food isn't much to brag on (salads, hot dogs, sandwiches, nachos), but it's fun to sit in the club that was dismantled and reassembled from an actual naval base.

There is an IMAX theater that shows aviation themed movies, and flight simulators that make you feel like you're taking off from the deck of an aircraft carrier.

A vacation in Pensacola would not be complete without a stop at the Naval Aviation Museum. (And admission is FREE!)

Oh yeah. You can check the Blue Angels website to see their practice schedule. You can bring your lawn chairs out to the Navy base and watch them practice for free.

The museum was absolutely outstanding! The tours are a must - we learned so much from the guide it was amazing - he really brought everything to life for us. While I don't believe it is a big as the Smithsonian Air & Space museum - I felt it was similar in the quality of the building & displays. Three out of four family members loved it, however I must warn those with young teen daughters who are not into aviation - my daughter thought the whole experience was excruciatingly painful! :)

We stayed at the Navy Lodge and it was wonderful, beautiful room overlooking the beach, clean, any thing you could need was in shop, had laundry facility right there. The museum is just outstanding...awe inspiring. Golf course is one of the best we have ever seen, rented a pontoon all day at a great price and watched the Blue Angels fly over us. Everyone was very friendly, helpful and it was a great place to be for the 4th of July. Ft. Pickens is very interesting and we walked to the lighthouse every day also.couldn't have been better!!