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America’s first settlement looks remarkably young for its age.

Pensacola is way up near the Alabama border, about where you’d grip the “handle” of Florida’s Panhandle.

It’s where snowbirds staying on or around Perdido Key, the subject of last week’s column, go to shop and sightsee.

Pensacola was founded in 1559 by a Spanish sailor.

The original settlement collapsed, which is why another Florida city, St. Augustine, claims the title of America’s oldest continuously inhabited community. Still, the current city has been around 1698 and is rich in history. It’s where Spain ceded Florida to the United States, and where Andrew Jackson was sworn in as territorial governor.

The city has wisely preserved 28 buildings from the colonial through the Victorian eras in an area called Historic Pensacola Village.

After following a costumed re-enactor on a walking tour – offered three times a day from Tivoli High House — I made a pit stop at Pensacola Bay Brewery. Part of the brewery itself is visible from the bar.

There was a steady stream of customers. I compared notes with a couple next to me sharing a tray of seven “samplers” for $8. A word of warning: This isn’t your typical American dishwater; some brews are in the 6.4-6.9 % alcohol range.

From there it’s any easy walk to Palafox St., the heart of a downtown where 125 new businesses — including restaurants, wine bars, a renovated theatre and a music hall — have opened in the past five years. A multipurpose stadium scheduled to open in April will be home to a new Double A baseball team affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds.

But Pensacola’s biggest attraction is the National Naval Aviation Museum, located at the huge naval air station. It’s crammed with more than 150 restored aircraft, from raked-wing jet fighters to clunky First World War biplanes that look like they’re held together with cellophane tape and baling wire.

Sporting macho names such as Wildcat, Vindicator, Cutlass and Stingray, these cover the floor and hang from the high ceilings. One I noticed was an German ME-262, the first operational jet fighter. Launched in 1944, it could hit 869 kph, some 160 kph faster than the next fastest plane, the American P51-Mustang.

Admission to the museum is free, as are guided tours led by retired military volunteers. There’s easily enough in the museum for several visits. Climb into the cockpit of an F-8 Crusader, for example, test your skills in a Top Gun air combat simulator or watch films in the IMAX Theatre.

Pressed for time, I caught a video called Sunken Treasure, about pilots practising carrier landings on Lake Michigan.

Lunch was in the Cubi Bar Cafe, surrounded by historical artifacts. When the Cubi Point Officers’ Club in the Philippines closed in 1992, the bar was packed up and moved to the museum. Squadron plaques that covered the club walls were brought, too, and now cover the walls of the bar cafe.

I especially enjoyed chatting with one of the volunteers, Bob Moran, nattily dressed in blue blazer and stars-and-stripes necktie, who was an underwater ordinance man in the Navy for four years during the Korean War.

The naval air station is home of the Blue Angels aerobatics team. They’re on the road much of the year but they practice over Pensacola from March through November and perform at the station in July and November.

More information

For museum details, see navalaviationmuseum.org. For tourist information, see VisitPensacola.com or phone 1-800-874-1234. For information on Gallery Night, a free event at which many businesses provide light refreshments, see downtownpensacola.com/gallerynight. Dining tip: Our group ate well at Global Grill, 27 South Palafox, popular for its tapas-style dining.

denglishtravel@gmail.com

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