The Pensacola Summer Survival Guide, Part 1: Water Play

Amber, ICCE, ICD

 As the school year is coming to an end and the temperatures are rising, parents throughout the Florida Panhandle are cheering with excitement…am I right???

Yay!! It’s time to draw the blinds and sit through an endless loop of Caillou in the comfort of the air conditioned living room. Or is it??

While this option may sound exceptionally appealing (or like torture, depending on your feelings about Caillou), summertime survival in Pensacola, ESPECIALLY when you are pregnant or freshly postpartum, can be challenging. (I remember being 48 weeks pregnant in the third week of July 2007, and needing a commercial hoist to get myself out of the pool of my best friend’s apartment complex.) But, just because you are pregnant, or have a brand new baby, doesn’t mean that you can’t get out and enjoy the summer months. In fact, we recommend that our clients enjoy not only their pregnancy, but also their postpartum, as much as possible—which involves getting out of the house!
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As a mom who is now a Pensacola native-by-proxy (the mother of all native Pensacolians), I have compiled an Insider’s Guide to activities to occupy the summer months. Long-time Pensacola residents—please forgive me. Some of this info may be redundant for you. This Insider’s Guide is looooong, so we are going to split it up into three parts--Water Play, Free Indoor Activities, and Low-Cost Activities.

This week we tackle Water Play. Living near the beach, with 1000% humidity, clearly lends itself to automatic, summer-long submersion. But there are some secrets about water play around these parts.

The Beach. The secret to beach-going at Pensacola area beaches in the middle of summer is location + timing. While Casino Beach (the part of the beach with the big beach ball tower) is beautiful, it is not as family-friendly in the way of resources (ahem, facilities, if you know what I mean, potties if you don’t) as some of the other beaches. These resources are absolutely imperative for pregnant, new, and not-so-new moms who are prone to peezing (peeing+sneezing), and their children who need to potty every five minutes. (Trust me on this--I’ve timed the frequency). I like my bathroom within line of sight of the water, since it’s likely I will spend most of my beach trip at the bathroom, heading to the bathroom, or heading back from the bathroom.  Some great locations with pavilions, outdoor showers, and bathrooms CLOSE to the water are the Johnson Beach in Perdido, and the Ft. Pickens Beach past Pensacola Beach. Both require a paid pass, which is $15 for a week, or $30 for the year (just get the year pass), or FREE if you have a DoD ID card, and the pass is interchangeable for both beaches.

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Now let’s talk about when to visit the beach. This may seem (once again) obvious, but it bears review. 10am-2pm is the peak of the sun’s ascent, and as a result, peak time for UV rays. ESPECIALLY if you are pregnant, or have an infant’s skin to protect, maintaining hydration, coolness and avoiding sunburn is imperative. Ending your beach visit before 10am or beginning your adventure after mid-afternoon is optimal. And of course, staying hydrated and shaded is very, very important, as is cutting it short if things start to get too hot. Those pearly white sand dunes reflect the rays and can greatly increase chances of being sunburned on the sly, so we usually don’t hang out more than a couple of hours.

Beach Going Tips:

• Baby Powder: Always bring the baby powder to de-sand all the little (and big) feet getting back into the car.
• This thing: Our very own Lauren introduced me to this awesome umbrella designed specifically for beach trips. 
• Sun Protection: I know, I know, there are lots of varying views on sunscreen, especially cheap brands, or chemicals in general on pregnant or newborn skin, so check out this recipe for making your own. Also, check out these SUPER cute baby sun coverups!  And this article covers the safest and most questionable sunscreens on the market. 
• Also this: this 75oz bottle of water goes everywhere I do.​

Splash pads are an awesome way to not feel guilty about only spending thirty or forty minutes playing outdoors.

Splash Pads: Splash pads are an awesome way to not feel guilty about only spending thirty or forty minutes playing outdoors--there is little required prep, no lugging gear across sand, and NO SAND (well, for the most part.) There are five splash pads within a forty minute drive of Pensacola. 

• The fountains at Palafox Pier in Downtown Pensacola. Visits to the Palafox Pier splash pad are coolest early in the morning or late in the afternoon, especially because shade and seating is pretty sparse, but check their Facebook page out for daily updates on opening and closing times. Walking around the pier and checking out the sailboats and architecture is a pretty relaxing way to spend some time too--especially because the fountain area is fairly small and might not keep older kids occupied for long. (If you go, be sure to grab ice cream at Deluna Chat & Chew—the owners are buddies of ours.) Follow the fountain Facebook page for hours and open times/closures. 
• The Navarre Park Splash Pad on Hwy. 98 in front of the Navarre Beach Bridge has pretty great amenities, including bathrooms AND a regular water-front playground for the kiddos. There is also some shade and seating for the adults. Follow the park on Facebook. 
• The Splash Pad in the Eastern Shore Centre at Spanish Fort. Bathrooms right there (check). Lots of tables with umbrellas (check). We usually end a shopping trip at the Eastern Shore Centre with a jaunt to the splash pad. Check out the park's Facebook page!
• The Splash Pad at Spanish Fort. This splash pad is tucked behind the Bass Pro Shops, and is combined with a pretty large playground. There is a large pavilion next to the splash pad, along with bathrooms as well. There’s a lot of rock and concrete and not much vegetation at this particular park, and it seemed to be the hottest of all the options, although the splash pad itself had the best sprinklers and water play variety of all the options. Again, we usually end a shopping/browsing trip to Bass Pro with a visit to the splash pad. Find the park on Facebook. 
• The Splash Pad at Surf Style, Orange Beach. Located at the Surf Style store in Orange Beach, this Splash Pad is colorful and fun with lots of entertaining water sprayers, fountains, and sprinklers. Seating and shade for parents make this well worth the drive! Follow this splash pad on Facebook.

Pools: We are super fortunate to have close family friends with a pool (and outdoor bathroom) who live close by and leave their back gate open for us (please don’t hate). But, if we didn’t have the option of a pool, my top three picks for “public” pools would be:

• Roger Scott Pool, 2030 Summit Blvd., Pensacola.  You have to get there EARLY, folks. They have a maximum occupancy, and it is usually full within minutes of opening. It is a very clean facility with fun water play options, and a great toddler/wading pool. Adults $4.00; Children $3.00; Sr. Citizens $3.50; Children (2yrs & Under) Free; Non-Swimmers $2.00. See more info on their website. 
• The YMCA of Northwest Florida has THREE public pools, one indoors and two outdoor at three different locations These are a little smaller in size, but very well-kept. The two outdoor pools provide water play options, and passes are affordable and interchangeable for all three facilities. Find out more on their website. 
• University of West Florida Pool, 11000 University Parkway.  The great thing about this pool is that it is indoors, so you can swim rain or shine (great for the preggo mommas amongst us) from 12pm-6pm most days. The downside to this pool is that it’s indoors (noisy) and doesn’t have any real water play options (slides, sprinklers, etc,) so kiddos might not be as well entertained. (Family pass is $105 for the semester and $295 for the year but is less if you are a UWF student or alumni). Get more information. 

 ​Be on the lookout for our Pensacola Summer Survival Guide, Part 2: Free Activities, next week!