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Texas Return

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This is a continuation of my post from last week when I wrote about meeting my family at Disney’s Coronado Springs at Walt Disney World. My sister-in-law and two nieces headed for Orlando International Airport (#MCO) – on their way back home to the Dallas Texas area. My brother came with me, and we spent a few hours at Disney Springs before driving southward to Highlands County, Avon Park, and Sebring.

Day 2 begins now, and on that Wednesday we did more shopping at my brother’s request. We ate lunch at my favorite Asian restaurant in Sebring – Cang Tong. (It’s really my only Chinese restaurant here, as I haven’t visited any other.) We saw a fun “action on an airplane” movie at the mall – “Fight Or Flight” – starring Josh Hartnett. And we made a Starbucks run.

Day 3 (Thursday) consisted of breakfast at Avon Park Diner (one of my favorites), more shopping, and then our monthly Sebring Historical Society spaghetti dinner fundraiser at our Charles F. Weigle House Museum. My brother got to meet some of my museum friends, and we both enjoyed being served a delicious spaghetti dinner. (Normally I’m preparing the desserts or in the kitchen helping prepare the meals, but on this special night I was a paid customer.) And we made a Publix run.

Day 4 (Friday) consisted of lunch at Olympic. Everyone I know seems to love Olympic, and so do I. The first time I ate there was back in June 2022 – 3 days after my 55TH birthday – after I had toured my 55+ dream neighborhood for the very first time and determined that I wanted to buy and live there forever. Olympic serves all kinds of great food for lunch and dinner, and I believe it’s one of the longest-running restaurants in the area. It’s been there with the same name for 47 years – since 1978. The left / west side of the building has been there since 1951 – when it opened as a different restaurant. There’s a lot of history there at that corner of U.S. 27 and Circle Street in Avon Park.

We went to another historic business down the road after Olympic – Maxwell Groves Country Store. Unfortunately they had a sign up at their door stating that they were closed due to minor repairs. So no soft-serve / dairy-free orange ice cream for us. Maybe next year.

We saw another movie at the mall on that Friday afternoon – the # 1 movie of the weekend and perhaps my favorite movie series of all-time – “Final Destination Bloodlines” – the 6TH in the series since 2000. I’m looking forward to # 7 in a few years.

On Day 5 (Saturday) we headed back north to the Orlando area. We ate an early lunch at Skyline Chili – one of my brother’s favorite fast-food places from when he lived in Ohio near Cincinnati and Columbus. After that we went to a couple of sports card stores – and then The Florida Mall. This mall is thriving and bustling – unlike many malls around the country. There were thousands of young locals and tourists at the mall on that Saturday afternoon.

I dropped my brother off at the airport (#MCO), and then I headed back southward to my dream home in my dream neighborhood in my dream part of Florida. My brother made his way back home to Texas via an unplanned (weather-related) trek through Houston’s Hobby Airport.

That ended an unusual span of 10 out of 19 days with my brother since the end of April – 5 days in Texas and 5 days in Florida. In summary – we did a lot of shopping (my brother’s favorite thing to do) and eating (my favorite thing to do). It’s what we’ve always done together for the past 40+ years in Virginia, Florida, Ohio, Texas, and beyond.

And this concludes my 6-part blog series on those 10 out of 19 days with my brother. It was a lot of fun to write, as it brought back great memories with my brother, sister-in-law, nieces, and sister-in-law’s parents. Next #TravelThursday I’ll put on my Meteorologist hat and look back at the cold Winter of 2024-2025 here in Sebring Florida. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Texas Brother

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This is a continuation of my post from last week when I wrote about my final day in North Texas – Saturday May 03RD 2025 – my brother’s 50TH birthday !

I flew back home to Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (#SRQ) that afternoon, and I returned to my dream home in my dream neighborhood in my dream part of Florida.

Fast forward 10 days later, and early on a Tuesday morning I drove 65 miles up to Walt Disney World to meet my family who had arrived 4 days earlier. But first I walked around their hotel complex – Disney’s Coronado Springs. It was built in the mid-1990s, and I’ve probably driven by it more than a dozen times. I took a bunch of pictures – some of which will eventually make their way onto my Flickr site. I met up with my brother, sister-in-law, and two nieces inside “El Centro” – the main entrance and lobby area. “Las chicas” took an Uber to Orlando International Airport (#MCO), and my brother came with me to my car with all of his luggage. He’d spend the next 5 days with me.

Our first stop was Disney Springs – the MASSIVE shopping, dining, and entertainment complex that was once known as Downtown Disney – West Side, Pleasure Island, and Marketplace. Me and my brother actually discovered Pleasure Island (and West Side) over 30 years ago on a family vacation with our parents, and we loved it so much that we kept going back there at least a few times a year for the next 10 years. I was actually an annual pass holder at Pleasure Island for many of those years, so I went back more often – all the way from South Florida 4½ hours away. The former Pleasure Island is barely recognizable nowadays. As we walked up and down the island we tried to figure out where various nightclubs used to be located at.

We ate lunch at Guy Fieri’s Chicken Guy ! at the request of my brother. YES – it was yet another chicken sandwich for me – along with fries and an amazing Banana Pudding Shake. I know. I know.

My brother did a lot of shopping, and I did a lot of browsing – and following my brother around. I’m not much of a shopper – unless it’s shopping for food – like at Publix – where shopping is a pleasure.

That afternoon we drove down to my home near Sebring. That evening we went to Wawa – which is the nearest business to my neighborhood. But I’ve never been there before. I’ve only passed by it almost every day for the past 2 years and 2 months. My brother showed me how to order food via the kiosk, pay for it at the checkout counter, and then pick it up when it’s ready. I think I’ve got it down now. I’ll probably be visiting Wawa on a regular basis from this point forth. I should probably create an account with them, download their app, and start collecting rewards.

So that’s Day 1 of me and my brother’s excellent Highlands County Florida adventure. I’ll recap Days 2 to 5 – next #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Texas Chicken

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This is a continuation of my post from last week when I wrote about Barnes & Noble, Scotty P’s, Whataburger, and the circus-themed choral concert performed by a few hundred 5TH, 6TH, 7TH, and 8TH graders from two different schools – inside the auditorium of one of the local high schools.

That was the first time I entered a high school in 40 years – since I graduated with the Class Of 1985 in Northern Virginia. But wait – there’s more school fun !

Me and my brother went to Chick-fil-A (via the drive-thru), and I got the deluxe chicken sandwich with waffle fries. We then took our meals and went back to school – back to the 6TH grade. My youngest niece’s school has a program where students can eat with their parents / adult relatives on Fridays at special tables set aside in the cafeteria. So – we checked-in at the front office (excellent security), and we proceeded to the cafeteria and waited for my niece (my brother’s daughter) to arrive. (We bought her lunch too.)

It was my first appearance inside an elementary school since 1979 – at the end of the 6TH grade for me. I attended Magnolia Elementary School in Lanham Maryland from 1972 to 1973 (Kindergarten), and from 1975 to 1979 (3RD through 6TH grades). ♫ “We’re the blue and gold. The pride of P.G. Magnolia Mustangs # 1 …” ♫ (We had to sing that school theme song a lot back then, so I still remember it nearly 50 years later. I doubt they’re still using it.)

After lunch with my niece – me and my brother headed over to the local AMC Theatre to see “The Surfer” starring Nicolas Cage. It was a good movie about local Australian surfers protecting their territory from outsiders who don’t live there. (It was a psychological thriller.)

Later that afternoon we (as a complete family of 7) ventured over to Babe’s Chicken Dinner House. We went there once perhaps 16 or 17 years ago, and I loved it. I think we went back another time since then, but it’s been a long time. I’ve wanted to go back there for the past several years. It’s probably one of my favorite non-steak / non-fast food restaurants in the #DFW area. We finally made it there after all of these years – despite the objections of my sister-in-law and oldest niece who wanted to go to Chili’s instead. Chili’s is OK, but I can go there anytime I want right here in Sebring. (I go there a few times a year.)

At Babe’s each person at the table orders what drink they want, and what type of chicken they want (fried, hickory smoked, tenders, etc.). A few minutes later the chicken arrives family-style (4 pieces per person) – along with buttermilk biscuits, house salad, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, and corn. Everyone digs in. There’s plenty of food to go around, and whatever chicken doesn’t get eaten – they will bag it up for you so that you can take it home. Each meal costs less than $20 per person. It’s a good deal, and it’s good food. Hopefully we’ll make it back there again in less than a decade.

So that was my Friday May 02ND 2025 in North Texas. It was a fun day of chicken, grade school, Australian surfing, and more chicken. Next #TravelThursday – it’s Part 4 of my fun with family, as we attend a full Catholic church service and watch my oldest niece get confirmed. And then I fly back home to Florida. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Texas Concert

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This is a continuation of my post from last week when I drove 76 miles from Sebring to Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (#SRQ), and then I flew nonstop direct to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (#DFW). Last week I wrote about Jollibee, Starwood Cafe, and Texas Theatre.

This week – the adventure continues. We’re up to the day after Night 2 – Thursday – and this was really the only day that we were forecasted to receive nice weather. In fact – it was supposed to be sunny, clear, and warm on that day with a high in the mid-80s. Yeah – that didn’t happen. It was cloudy (even a bit foggy at times) and chilly with the 60s and the 70s. I think the sun finally emerged for an hour or so during the early-evening hours. North Texas weather can be difficult to forecast during the Spring and Fall months.

Me and my brother went to Barnes & Noble to check out books, magazines, and music. Remember all of the great bookstores that used to exist back in the ’80s and ’90s ? I’m thinking B. Dalton Bookseller, Waldenbooks, Borders, and even Crown Books up in Maryland and Virginia. Those were fun places to hang out at – those and record stores. Most of the bookstores had records, and most of the record stores had books. I’m glad that Barnes & Noble still exists as the last of all of them.

For lunch me and my brother went to Scotty P’s – a local fast-food restaurant. I had the chicken sandwich with fries. (I see a trend developing here.)

For dinner my brother picked-up Whataburger meals for our family. I requested a cheeseburger, fries, and fried apple pie. I got the fries and apple pie, but no cheeseburger. When my sister-in-law handed out all of the burgers – there was none left for me. My brother was either shortchanged, or he ordered incorrectly. (I suspect the former.) I watched everyone else eat their burger as I went without. I kept quiet about it. No need to dwell on it; although, let me just add that Whataburger does make a pretty good fast-food burger. Maybe next time I’ll get to enjoy one. Maybe in November.

OK – here’s the reason for the title of this blog post. Our family attended a circus-themed choral concert performed by a few hundred 5TH, 6TH, 7TH, and 8TH graders from two different schools – inside the auditorium of one of the local high schools. I think it was my first such school concert ever, and it was the first time that I’ve been inside of a high school in 40 years – since I was a graduate of the Class Of 1985. My youngest niece was a performer at the concert. She showed off her gymnastics skills. The concert was actually better than expected – a lot of fun. It was also a bit long – 90 minutes !

So that was my Thursday earlier this month in North Texas. Next #TravelThursday – it’s Part 3 of my fun with family, as me and my brother see a movie and I eat more chicken. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp