Autumn In Pensacola II: More History, Food, and Politics

After stuffing ourselves silly on great Greek food at the Pensacola Greek Festival, Mom and I were ready for some souvenir shopping and Greek dancing. After letting dinner digest and watching some of the Greek Parishoners and our dinner mate dancing with the children in the center square set up for dancing, Mom and I left our pastries with our dining partners, the retired Navy couple and went to another tent where many Greek souvenirs were for sale along with Greek pastries and cookies in gift packs. My sister Erika had asked if we could find Gyro meat there to pick some up, but none was available for sale. I was hoping to get some grape leaves for me to make my own vegetarian Dolma, stuffed grape leaves, at home, but I was disappointed that this festival didn't have Greek canned goods for sale like the festival in Boise had.

But this festival had a nice assortment of jewelry and other Greek souvenirs for us to choose from, and I got a pretty necklace on a black cord with purple beads and a Greek cross for $8. I added a little Greek flag for my flag collection for $3 and was happy to go home with something from this festival. Mom got another nice necklace for herself, and we took our goodies and returned to our table to watch the dancing that was to begin at any time.

The young dancers were just lining up in the big tent near the dance floor as Mom and returned to our table, and we paused long enough for the American and Greek National Anthems to play before sitting down and chatting with the Navy couple. The chatty hubby said they were coming back for more food the next day and said it's a great time for all to have when in Pensacola.

A few minutes later, the dancers began their routines. The first dance group were called Hara and consisted of young girls and boys from the ages of 6-10. The girls were dressed in black jumpers with colorful ribbon trim on the skirt and red kerchiefs. The boys had on red caps and knickers along with white shirts. They did a couple of dances and then we saw the instructor running up as if to fix the hat of one of the boys. We thought "maybe they should wait until after they finish dancing!," but after a while we started to see the parents of the dancers running up to their kids and putting money in their kerchief and hat bands in accordance to Greek tradition.

After the young kids finished their dancing, it was the older kids' turn. The older group of dancers were known as the Glenzethes and like the Hara Dancers, they are ambassadors to the Greek Orthodox Church in Pensacola and travel all over the world performing good deeds and dancing. The age of the Glenzethes was from 11-18, and the boys were dressed in white shirts with black knickers and burgundy vests with metallic trim. The young ladies had on blue velvet jackets and long skirts over white slips and blouses, and the outerwear had metallic gold trim. The ladie's hair was covered by beautiful long white scarves. The Glenzethes performed a couple of dances together before the finale which was the young men doing an awesome dance of leaps and turns. Now didn't Anthony Bourdain say on his show No Reservations that he felt like he was in the middle of a Greek "Riverdance?!"

The Glenzethes and Hara Dancers were all great and we enjoyed about 40 minutes of entertainment from them. By 6:15, Mom and I decided we had enough fun for the night and decided to head home saying we would be back next year for more fun and food.

The Greek Orthodox Festival is held every November in Pensacola, but you can sample much of the food at several local eateries like Chrisoula's Cheesecake Shoppe and Aegean Breeze Greek Food, Seafood, and Steaks thoughout Pensacola. The Festival is well-worth your time.

When Mom and I started to notice the billboards around Pensacola advertising the Annual Pensacola Greek Festival at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church last month, we got really excited and made plans to attend and enjoy some great Greek food and dancing.

The 2008 Greek Festival was held from November 14-16, and it was the first time that Mom and I got to attend. I had attended the Greek Festival in Boise in 2006, and I felt that there wasn't a big variety of food and the tiny location of the Orthodox Church wasn't condusive to the festivities that occur at Greek Festivals.

At first, Mom thought she would miss out on the Greek Festival after spending the previous Sunday afternoon in the hospital being treated for fluid on her heart and lungs, but after her doctor gave her a clean bill of health on Friday morning and told her to not walk around a lot and relax, our plans were back on schedule. As soon as I got home from work and changed clothes, Mom and I were off to the Pensacola Greek Festival.

The Pensacola Greek Festival is held annually around Veterans Day Weekend at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church on Garden Street heading towards Downtown Pensacola. Along with great food and dancing, there are tours of the Orthodox Church along with other cultural events.

After Mom and I toured the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, we were hungry and ready for some food. The Church's community center was next door to the church and had most of the food, but for those not wanting a big meal and preferring Greek street food, there were booths outside the buidling selling Gyros and other finger foods. Mom and I wanted to have a good Greek meal, and after perusing the menu that one of the costumed ladies handed to us outside the center, we went inside to get dinner.

Being a beady-eyed vegetarian who eats mainly meat from ugly animals, I can be limited on food in some places. But the Pensacola Greek Festival had a big assortment of foods for carnivores and vegetarians, and everyone is happy. I got The Greek Chicken Dinner (Kotopoulo) for $9.50 while Mom got an assortment of Greek dishes including Moussaka that had beef and veggies in a spiced tomato sauce and Spanikopita, the spinach and feta cheese pie. After I got my Kotopoulo, I noticed the gorgeous array of Greek desserts on the other side of the center and dashed over there to drool and get a couple of desserts. Everything looked sooooo good, and it was difficult to decide what to get, but after a while of fogging up the glass cabinets, I did in Rome what the Romans did and got a piece of Baklava ($2.50) and a huge piece of Chocolate Kok ($3.75), which was a honey sponge cake with custard filling and chocolate on top. That was being saved for the next night's dessert. You had to pay for dinner at one register and dessert at another. So after I paid for everything on my tray, Mom and I found a seat in the huge tent set up for everyone to eat at.

Mom and I sat across the way from a retired Navy couple, and the husband was all excited that Mom and I looked alike and was very talkative while Mom and I dug into our food. Mom said her Moussaka was great, and my Kotopoulo was very moist with the chicken coming off the bone easily. It wasn't greasy like a Greek chicken I had in a restaurant in Chicago, and it came with manestra, a Greek rice in tomato sauce and fresh green beans in tomato sauce. I had a bite of Mom's Spanokopita and immediately wanted a recipe to try at home. Mom and I then split the Baklava and declared ourselves stuffed and happy.

For more Greek Festival Fun, go to my next entry OPA! Food and Fun at the Pensacola Greek Festival II,.

Mom and I went to the Greek Festival at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church the weekend of November 14 and were very happy that the church was conducting hourly tours for non-parishoners in order for them to learn more about the history of the Greeks in Pensacola and their church.

Before we sat down to feast on the many Greek dishes at the Festival itself, Mom arrived at the church to catch the 4 p.m. tour. At first I thought we would miss out on the tour being a few minutes late, but when I opened the door to the church, one of the church Chorus members said the tour was just starting and to have a seat in one of the pews that are part of the church.

Our guide was a white-haired gentleman who was also part of the chorus, and he was very informative, witty, and allowed us to participate in his tour of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church by checking out our knowledge of the Orthodox Religion in comparison to our religions be it Catholicism or Judaism. Some of the facets of the Greek Orthodox Church are similar to Judaism and there are also similarties to Catholicism and other Christian Religions. Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church is part of the Metropolis of Atlantat and its Greek Orthodox Dioscese.

First our guide told us about the shape of the church. Usually a Greek Orthodox Church has a domed roof, but due to budget constraints, Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church doesn't have a domed roof, but the inside ceiling is domed in order to keep in accordance to the church. The first Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Pensacola was built in 1910 on the corner of Wright and Reus Streets in order to accommodate the 240 Greek families who had been settling in the Pensacola area since the mid-late 19th Century. Our guide then asked us why the church was built the long way, and Mom answered in accordance to Noah's Ark, which was the right answer. Usually Greek Orthodox Churches in Europe don't have pews for one to sit in during the services and have to stand up all the time, and the pews are a Western comfort and the churches in Europe have men on one side of the church and women on the other while services in the USA are co-ed.

The history of the Greeks in Pensacola dates from c.1865 when Greek settlers who manned many of the Greek sailing vessels began to settle in Pensacola. Eventually for the next 45 years, hundreds of more Greeks came to Pensacola for a better life in America under the pretext of three rules:

Bb>1. Work Hard.

2. Help and support family back in Greece.

3. Remain faithful to the church and his adopted country.

With all of the Greeks coming to Pensacola, they didn't have a place to worship and the first Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church was built in 1910. Soon the Greeks in Pensacola outgrew the church on Wright and Reus Streets, and a bigger Annunciation Church was completed in 1954. Also the Greek-American Society The Parthenon was established in Pensacola in 1904 and was incorporated under its new name The Anangennesis Greek Association on April 10, 1910 and continues to offer support and maintain the Greek culture in Pensacola. The first permanent member of the Greek community in Pensacola, Constatine Apostolou served as mayor of Pensacola from 1887-1888.

Back to the tour. Mom and I learned a lot about Greek Icons and their history. The Greek Orthodox church uses Iconography in many aspects of their religion, not as an art form. Everything constructed or painted in the churches has a religious meaning. Near Father Papanikolaou, the parish priest seated and listening in the front row of the church, was a piece of furniture with communion items that is only used at the equivalent of the Christian Good Friday before Orthodox Easter.

After that great lesson of Greek Orthodoxy, we were able to wander around the tiny church and take pictures. We could not go on the stairs leading to the altar with the crucifix of Jesus and the Archangels Michael and Gabriel or sit on the chair reserved for the Metropolis when he was in town. Walking around the church took a short time and we thanked our guide and Father Papanikolaou for letting us share their church and headed to the festival.

Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church is located on W. Garden Street in Downtown Pensacola and is open to non-Orthodox people and Orthodox parishoners. Services are held every Sunday starting with the Orthos at 8:45 a.m. followed by the Divine Liturgy at 10. For more information on Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Pensacola, see their website at www.annunciationgoc.org. I highly recommend a visit there during festival time or Easter.

November 4, 2008 was a historic day in America. For the first time in our history, we were voting for an African-American President and looking forward to change in our country that is suffering from a recession. This was the first time in my 41 years that I was excited about a Presidential Election and wanted to do my thing to help the Democratic Cause.

At the Michelle Obama Rally a couple of weeks earlier, I had put my name down to Volunteer on Election Day at one of the many Obama headquarters throughout Pensacola. The day before Election Day, I received a phone call from one of the ladies in charge of the Obama Headquarters that would be located at the Pentacostal Temple on North Palafox Street near our home. She saw that I was available to help on Election Day and asked me to help out in canvassing the neighborhoods for Barack Obama, and I told her yes and if I could bring Mom along. They wanted as many volunteers as possible to get Barack Obama elected into office, and they had no problem with me bringing extra help.

So come Election Day, Mom got dressed up nicely for canvassing the neighborhood and made our way over to the Temple. We were greeted by the lead volunteer Carrie and told we had to wait for one of the other volunteers to return with the corrected fliers we were to pass out in the neighborhoods. It turned out that the fliers had the wrong times and places for people to vote, and we also needed the phone number for people who needed a ride to the polls to contact. During this time we chatted with other volunteers and of seeing Michelle Obama speak in Pensacola.

A few minutes later, Carrie returned to the room to say we needed our cell phones in order to call her if we had anyone who needed a ride to the polls or had trouble in the neighborhoods. Oh crap! Mom and I left our phones charging in my bedroom, and I had to run home to get them before we could go. It didn't take long for me to get the phones, and I got back to the temple in time to get instructions from Mom who had been told that we didn't have to go to the Republican houses on our lists because some of the canvassers had trouble with some McCain supporters the day before. Finally we were on our way to the neighborhood on Clifton Street about a mile from our condo on Michigan to make history.

It was a relatively easy day of canvassing for Mom and me with many of the residents of the neighborhood being at work or had already voted. We met one elderly lady who said one son was in the Army in South Carolina and was voting absentee and the other had to go and vote after work. The neighborhood had more Obama/Biden signs on their lawns than McCain/Palin and the make-up of the neighborhood was equally African-American and white folks.

Mom and I avoided anyone on the list with an R next to their name per rules and Mom and I would not enter any yards with Beware of Dogs signs or dogs in them. "We are not getting paid to risk getting bitten", Mom said. One house's residents were on their porch looking at us like we were Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons as we canvassed their street, and Mom and I were glad they weren't on the list. "Revenge for my shutting doors in their faces for many years!", Mom joked. "Hell, Ma, Loki and Katie barked so much at them, they were afraid to come in the yard!"

Of the few people we met along the way canvassing, they were very nice, and would say "thank you" and some would say "GO OBAMA!" One lady said she was on the way to the polls and was being lazy that morning, and her friend who was visiting told us that Wendy Bennett, the woman who spoke at the Obama Rally, was his aunt, and we spent a good 10 minutes chatting with him and the lady about the rally and how great it was. She was one of our last houses, and Mom and I enjoyed meeting her.

After finishing our canvassing, Mom and I headed back to the headquarters on Palafox via Cervantes Street. At the corner of Palafox and Cervantes a man held a sign at the corner saying "HONK IF YOU VOTED FOR OBAMA!", and I scrambled for my car horn. Mom thought I was honking at someone who cut me off or something, and I had to point out the guy on the corner. When we got back to Obama Headquarters, we told Carrie about our great experiences on the trail to history, and she told us to get a sandwich from the tray in the kitchen before going home.

Later that night, Mom and I cheered as Obama won the election and McCain conceded, and when we found out Florida had flipped in Obama's favor, I yelled from my room where I was resting, "HEY, MOM! ALL OF THAT WALKING WAS WORTH IT!" The next day as Mom and I were riding along to Palafox Pier, she said, "Here we are two white women as white as the driven snow driving a car with a bumper sticker with the name of an African-American who will be our 44th President. 40 years ago, this would have never been thought of and to consider an African-American to run for supporter and for whites to support him would have been trouble for all, but history was made and change is coming!"

After spending a good chunk of Election Day canvassing one of Pensacola's neighborhoods on behalf of the Obama/Biden campaign, Mom and I were looking forward to the day after to relax and enjoy some time with each other. Mom suggested a picnic, and after a quick pitstop at the store to get a sandwich, Mom and I were off to Downtown Pensacola for more new adventures.

I had been interested in seeing Fort George, an old fort dating from the time of the Revolutionary War, but when Mom and I turned onto the street the fort is supposed to be located on, we could not find it at all. Mom remembered seeing Palafox Pier and Plaza de Luna during our previous travels to downtown Pensacola, so off we went.

Plaza de Luna is named after the Spanish explorer and Conquistador Don Tristan de Luna, who first set foot in what is today Pensacola in 1549. The plaza and Palafox Pier have been in existence since the late 1920's and was home to some of Pensacola's most notorious brothels and bars. If Guy Fieri hosted a program during that time, it would have been called Bars, Brothels, and Bums! Sailors on leave from the Navy would come to Palafox Pier at the end of Palafox Street and get drunk, fight, and fraternize with ladies of the evening who frequented Downtown Pensacola.

Today, Plaza de Luna and Palafox Pier are home to several high-end condos and their owners along with many yachts docked in the marina and several insurance companies and doctor's offices in the modern-day buildings overlooking the marina and Gulf of Mexico. Amateur fishermen of all ages come out to the little park on the Pier early in the morning and most afternoons to catch mullet and other fish indigenous to the Gulf of Mexico.

Mom and I got a parking spot near the Pier and made our way to the park benches in the little park and ate our turkey sub. There were several pigeons and seagulls on the patch of grass in the park, and I was fearing getting swarmed by the feathered creatures the instant I pulled my sandwich out. Since childhood, I have always been afraid of pigeons especially when they fly to close to me with their flapping wings. Maybe it was seeing Tippy Hedren getting attacked by a swarm of birds in Hitchcock's classic movie The Birds as a kid or something else, but I have not outgrown the fear. Mom had to remind me of it during our picnic, but luckily, no pigeons mooched from us since there were bigger fish to fry when other folks fed them seeds and other goodies on the other side of the park.

Bellies full and pigeons occupied elsewhere, Mom and I got up off our bench and walked around the pier watching the fishermen. We were curious to know what kind of fish they were catching, and I asked one of the guys if they were catching mullet, but he said he was trying for trout, redfin, and other fish. The mullet swarm the waters overlooking the pier in the early morning hours, and then the guy asked if Mom and I were sisters, and I thanked him for the nice compliment, and we were on our way to the other end of Palafox Pier.

Mom and I sat down on another bench on the other end of the Pier and watched a couple of guys getting a net ready for net fishing. One of the guys was practicing his throwing of the net, and his friend kept telling him if he kept throwing it upwards, the net would open before it got into the water, and he wouldn't catch any fish that way. The net has to be thrown like a frisbee, and I turned to Mom and said, "With all of the frisbee throwing I did with Loki, I might do well at net fishing!" The guy throwing the net was joking about catching some of the pigeons for Thanksgiving dinner along with a few pelicans, but his friend said he would be in serious trouble with the police for poaching pelicans.

After a few minutes more of relaxation, Mom and I left the bench and walked to the marina to watch a yacht come into the docks and a kayaker rowing along the Pier at a fast clip. There is a nice fountain near the marina, and Mom and I admired it for a minute and I cooled off my hot neck with some of the cool water gushing from it before we headed back to our car for the short trip home.

Palafox Pier and Plaza de Luna is worth a short time when visiting Pensacola. It's a nice place for a little picnic in the park or a day of fishing for trout and other fish. Parking is free near the pier, but it can be crowded during the day and on weekends, so be prepared to walk a distance if it's crowded. Still unsavory characters frequent the park at night, so night visits are still not advisable. Located at the end of South Palafox Street, Palafox Pier is good for a short break and picnic after a long day of shopping and sightseeing in Downtown Pensacola.

Mom and I thought we would be moved into our new condo about a mile from my sister Erika's house in Pensacola by last week, but the powers that be and the dingbat lady at the moving company office forgot to tell us that the movers had to drop two other customers' furniture off in Texas, and our stuff wouldn't be arriving until sometime this week. I had done some grocery shopping and dropped it off at the new place thinking we would be having our meals there.

So Saturday night rolls around, and Mom and I need a place to eat for dinner. When we first moved to Pensacola and were in search of good restaurants, Erika suggested Kirin, a very good and popular Chinese/Japanese restaurant near the Cordova Mall. After the disappointment of the China Express in Baton Rouge during our trip cross-country, Mom said the next time she would go for Chinese would be at the Rickshaw Inn in our old hometown of Riverside, Rhode Island. That wasn't going to happen for a long time, and I convinced Mom to go to Kirin for dinner on Saturday night.

Mom and I got an early start that night in order to be home in time for the Red Sox/Rangers game on MLB Extra Innings and to get some clothing and supplies from our unoccupied new home. We pulled into the parking lot just before 5 p.m., and the lot was filling up with the cars of other early diners wanting to beat the later crowds. The entrance to the restaurant was decorated with the familiar male and female Chinese lions that decorate many Chinatowns around the world, and Mom and I were seated in a booth at the window immediately by the nice hostess. Unfortunately, we were seated next to a girl and her boyfriend, and she seemed to have total control of the conversation and wouldn't shut up through the whole meal, and we could hear her freakin' life story from our table.

After ordering some water to drink from our waitress, Mom and I were able to hit the buffet immediately. There were about a half-dozen tables bursting with many Chinese delicacies. "Oh where to start?", I thought to myself. Finally, I hit the appetizer table first and piled my plate with small portions of skewered chicken, crab rangoons, an eggroll, fried shrimp, stir-fried asparagus, and stuffed mushrooms and a little Chinese hot mustard for dipping. All of the appetizers were great, but I enjoyed the stuffed mushrooms and crab rangoons the best, and the asparagus was in a light soy sauce and was crisp and bright green.

After eating my appetizers, I was was ready for Round 2 and hit the main courses. I took small portions of lo mein, chicken and broccoli, my favorite General Tso's Chicken, more asparagus and skewered chicken. Mom got a second plate of fruit, fried rice, and other main courses. The General's Chicken was some of the best I have had in a while with a hint of orange flavor and not overpowered with ginger. Oh yeah! I forgot about the sushi bar at Kirin. I grabbed a few morsels of goodness from the extensive Sushi bar on the way back to the table, and some of the pieces looked like works of art you'd rather admire than eat!

Mom stopped after the second trip to the buffet declaring she was full, but I wasn't done and was eyeballing the fruit and dessert table. Except for the General's Chicken and some of the appetizers, I was being pretty good with eating small portions of foods with veggies or fruit and not gorging myself like many others do when they go to a buffet. For dessert, I got a couple of chunks of honeydew melon, canteloupe, and watermelon along with some bananas in raspberry sauce. I was a bad girl though and got a couple of melt in your mouth Chinese cookies and a little piece of custard cake, but hey!, it was Saturday, and it's OK to pig out on the weekends.

By the time I forced the last bite of cookie into my mouth, I was really stuffed. Stuffed like some of the Super Bowl feasts we used to have when we lived in Rhode Island Stuffed. I thought the waitress would have to run to the Home Depot across the road for a flat cart to haul me to the car, but Mom and I managed to waddle our way to the car and up the 16 steps leading to our condo (had to burn off the calories somewhere!).

The buffet at Kirin is reasonably priced and only cost Mom and I about $26 plus tip. The service is good, and the food is hot, fresh and plentiful. There is plenty of seating for small and large groups and take-out is available. Kirin is open seven days a week from 11-9:30 Monday-Thursday; 11-10:30 on Fridays and Saturdays and from 11-9 on Sundays. It's located about a mile after the Davis Boulevard/Brent Lane intersection on the right side of the road. I highly recommend Kirin if you are ever in Southwestern area of Pensacola.