Pensacola/Memorial Day Weekend

What a wonderful weekend we had in Pensacola! It was one of the best trips we've taken there I think.
On Friday evening after work, Patrick and I headed on up the state. We got there are 1 a.m. and almost immediately went to bed. It was 2 a.m. our time and we're usually in bed by 10:30!

On Saturday, Patrick headed to Ft. Walton Beach to hang out with a friend and I met up with Michele at the New Yorker Deli. Man that place is good. I have missed it! I find it funny that everytime I've gone, I've had the same server and he's been there at least 7 years. It's always good catching up with Michele and I miss our long coffee chats and working together.

Patrick's parents took us to Fuji, our favorite sushi and hibachi restaurant on Saturday night. Hibachi there is a 2.5 hour ordeal, but at least the food is great. Patrick and I went to Josh and Tiffany's house after dinner and spent a couple hours catching up with them. Sometimes I wish that I could move back to Pensacola. I loved everything about it except the job market. :(

On Sunday, the weather was horrible, so we stayed in and relaxed most of the day. We had a birthday dinner at Macaroni Grill that night. Patrick's parents and me all had our birthdays in May.

I went to Milton to hang out with Diana, Peggy and Ruby on Sunday night. Peggy and Ruby had a cookout and had the most fantastic foods (beer brats...enough said.) There were about 10 of us hanging out and swapping ghost stories when someone mentioned Coon Hill Cemetary, one of the most haunted cemetaries and places in the state. Then someone suggested we go out there. We all geared up (changed clothes, put running shoes on, grabbed flashlights, etc.) What an adventure this was......

Coon Hill cemetary is located in Chumuckla...excuse me if I can't spell that correctly. It was about 35 mins from Milton. The cemetary has deaths recorded as early as 1836 according to the following article, but I swear someone in our group said they saw a tombstone from 1802. There have been some fires in the cemetary over the years, so a cement wall was built around it. Its about 4 feet tall and surrounds the entire cemetary. Rumor has it, if you stand on the wall you will get pushed off. There are google images of hand-print bruises.

So back to the story, we piled into two cars and headed to Chumuckla. We parked at the gate (which is closed due to previous vandalism). Keep in mind, we're already in the middle of nowhere. Not a house/building/light in sight. We get out of the cars and 6 of us start trekking through the woods, while 2 stay back and keep guard. We've got 4 flashlights total...for 6 people. The walk to the cemetary is 1.5 miles of complete darkness in the thick forest. There are bears, coyotes, you name it. We weren't worried about the ghosts so much as the wildlife and possibility of other people out there.

Was this a stupid idea? Probably. We were all running on adrenaline (and some of them liquor...)

So we're walking the path and anytime we heard a noise we all scream. A bird, running water, etc. At one point we smelled something dead...most likely an animal, but who knows. About 3/4 mile in, we hit a fork in the road. Ok....complete darkness, fork in the road. We had been seeing foot prints all the way up the path until the fork. No prints to the left, no prints to the right. Standing there in the middle we felt like targets because we weren't moving. All of a sudden I look down. Wait! There's a print. Ahhhh helllllll noooo....that's a BEAR track!! We all gather around and aim the flashlights. It's confirmed. Bear track. Huge bear track....claws and all. At that point, me and Peggy dip out. Of course, theres a 3/4 mile walk back. We take two of the flashlights and hit the path while the others are left standing there trying to figure out: Left or Right? Which path?

It takes us a while to make it back to the two parked cars and the rest of the group is still trying to reach the cemetary when we get back to the cars. They finally make it to the Coon Hill gate and have to walk through it and across a large field. They said the cemetary was less scary than the walk there because it was a wide open space. All 4 of them walked the wall, but none of them got pushed off. Bummer. They took pictures, and yes, there are orbs in the pictures. I will post them when I get them on my own computer. While they're exploring the cemetary, we're about 45 minutes away in the car. It's kind of nervewracking being 45 minutes and not being able to do anything if something happens. The group finally turns around to come back to the car. We're staking out the area and in watch of anything...cops...people. Whatever.

So they make it back to the car and tell us their experiences. It was fun, but scary. Will I do it again? Maybe...but not a 1.5 mile walk in  the middle of nowhere. I'd like to be able to see the car and run to it if I have to. 7 girls, 1 guy. no bathrooms. You bet we all took turns peeing against the back bumper of the car. It was definitely an experience and out of the 7 people I went with, I knew three of them and now know the rest of them very, very well.

Here's a website for any of you that want to see where we were. It's rated in the country as one of the top haunted places. Coon Hill Cemetary

That's my story for today. Stay tumore ghost hunting adventures. Not.