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Cutler Bay Florida

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. A couple of Sunday mornings ago (early on Palm Sunday) I drove 3½ hours southward from Sebring to Homestead Florida. It took a little bit longer than normal for the trek on that particular Sunday morning due to a bicycling event that I wasn’t expecting until I reached Florida State Road 997 (Krome Avenue) in Miami-Dade County.

And actually when I went to plot my trek on Google Maps a few minutes prior to leaving home – it warned me that my route was partially closed – the northernmost 18 miles of Krome Avenue from U.S. 27 southward. I figured that it was due to wildfires adjacent to the road, as that’s sometimes a problem at this time of the year (the end of dry season). It was actually due to the annual GFNY (Gran Fondo New York) Miami endurance competition – a 35-mile loop for bicyclists (70 miles if you do it twice). The left-hand lane of both directions of Krome Avenue was orange coned off and reserved for the bicyclists, as regular vehicular traffic continued in the right-hand lane.

That was pretty unique to be driving alongside an active bicycle event. We rarely reached the speed limit of 55 MPH, and actually traffic slowed down quite a bit as we drove by bicyclists.

I arrived at my Sunday morning destination – my longtime home church from 2015 to 2024. I got to see my Homestead Pastor preach LIVE for the first time since December. (I previously filled-in for him for a couple of Sundays in January and February.)

From downtown Homestead I drove around the outside of the airbase for the first time since I retired almost 14 months ago. There has been rapid development adjacent to the main entry of the airbase since I was last there. A MASSIVE Miami Dade County Transit Operations Center for electric buses is currently under construction on 20 acres of land that was previously undeveloped for 30+ years ever since Hurricane Andrew destroyed what used to be the base housing area of the original airbase.

I proceeded northward and eastward over to Cutler Bay Florida – picking-up a longtime friend along the way. We went to Applebee’s for lunch. I was not impressed with my meal – or the service. Both were slightly below average. I remember Applebee’s being a bit better than that; although, it had been almost 3 years since we last ate there.

From Applebee’s we drove around the Southland Mall – which was unbelievably packed (at least on one side of the mall – facing U.S. 1). That was my neighborhood mall (sort of) during my 36 years of living down the road in Homestead. Southland Mall redevelopment has begun, and the former Sears building of 48 years (1972-2020) is no longer there. About 5,000 residential apartments (via high-rises) will be built to create a new live, work, and play community experience, and the legacy mall itself will be supplemented with new “town center” stores individually accessible directly from the exterior.

Finally – we made it to The Dennis C. Moss Cultural Arts Center (across the street from the mall) to attend a concert – The 13TH Army Band of the Florida National Guard. Tickets were free, but they had to be reserved in advance. The Army band was large, and they mostly performed patriotic and military songs. This was the 2ND such concert that I’ve seen at this nice modern entertainment venue since it opened in 2011.

Next #TravelThursday – My Miami-Dade County Florida adventure continues with more nostalgia on the Monday after – including a visit to the first church that I called home for 8 years. Let’s keep traveling together.

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

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Arcadia Florida

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. It’s Equinox Day – the Spring Equinox here in the Northern Hemisphere and the Autumnal Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere. It occurs at 0501 U.S. East Coast Time / 0901 UTC. The Sun crosses the Equator at that precise moment on its trek northward to the Tropic Of Cancer.

Last week I wrote about my fun trip over to Arcadia Florida – 43 miles away from home. I visited the historic John Morgan Ingraham House Museum of the DeSoto County Historical Society. I also enjoyed a wonderful lunch at the cozy and quaint The Yellow Deli.

And this is where the story continues. After lunch I took a stroll down historic Oak Street, and I visited numerous antique stores. The historic district known formally as “Arcadia Main Street” is mostly antique stores, and they all appear to be thriving. Some stores even have multiple locations. Arcadia is informally known as “The Antique Capital Of Florida”. I don’t buy antiques, but I actually enjoy visiting antique stores just to see the 20TH Century memorabilia on display and for sale. Antique stores are like mini museums. On many visits to the Wichita Falls Texas area to hang out with my family there we often went on short road trips around the region to visit antique stores.

There were a lot of cowboys and cowgirls walking along Oak Street, as well as full tour buses unloading near The Tree Of Knowledge (a small downtown park with an old oak tree as its centerpiece). It didn’t take me very long to figure out that this was a special event weekend in Arcadia. In fact – it was Rodeo Weekend. Specifically – it was the start of the 4-day “97TH Annual Arcadia All-Florida Championship Rodeo“. My timing is impeccable. I picked the perfect day to be amongst hundreds of tourists along Oak Street. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. Historic Downtown Arcadia was vibrant with life on that Thursday morning !

This was my first visit to Arcadia. I had driven through a few times previously along U.S. 17 and Florida State Road 70. Both roads actually split into one-way roads through downtown Arcadia. It’s a nice small town with a fun historic pedestrian-friendly Main Street. I’ll be sure to visit again and again in the future. The coffee smelled really good as I walked by The Florida Farmhouse Coffee. Next time I won’t be walking by. I’ll be stepping in.

It’s back home to Sebring – and a first-time visit to our newest museum – next – #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.

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

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Frostproof Florida

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. 6 weeks ago I embarked on a short road-trip up into the neighboring county to my north – Polk County Florida. (I live about 8 miles from the Highlands / Polk County Line.)

I went to the Eagle Ridge Mall – 31 miles north in Lake Wales. While we have a “dead mall” here in my county (just a few miles south of my neighborhood) – I think that Eagle Ridge Mall is perhaps just a “half-dead mall”. While it’s far from its late-1990s peak – there’s actually life in this mall with lots of little family-owned stores and a surprisingly large and vibrant food court. There are also many different entertainment options open including a Regal Cinemas, a bowling alley, and an arcade. It sure looks like management knows what they are doing to keep the mall open for business – particularly small businesses – during these tumultuous times for shopping malls nationwide.

From the mall I took Chalet Suzanne Road over to Florida State Road 17. (Chalet Suzanne was a popular French restaurant in the area for over 80 years from 1931 to 2014. Famous movie stars dined there. The building is on the U.S. National Register Of Historic Places.)

Florida State Road 17 is also known as Florida Scenic Highway 17 (or The Ridge Scenic Byway) in this area. I enjoyed the ride and its view southward with 24 miles of scenery up and down the rolling hills and around the curves alongside the orange groves, natural lakes, and historic communities. Elevations exceed 300 feet above sea level at its highest point south of the small town of Hillcrest Heights.

The Byway runs parallel to U.S. 27 the entire way, and it was once known as Alternate U.S. 27. It serves as a local bypass to U.S. 27 in both Polk County as well as Highlands County (my home county).

I entered (from the north) – and drove through – Frostproof Florida – for the first time ever. It’s the southeasternmost municipality in Polk County. It was settled during the middle part of the 19TH Century, and it was incorporated in 1921. Previously known as Fort Clinch, Keystone City, and Lakemont – not quite 3,000 residents call Frostproof home. Its population has remained fairly steady since the 1950s.

Frostproof is sandwiched between two natural freshwater lakes – Lake Clinch (1,219 acres) on the west side – and Reedy Lake (3,504 acres) on the east side. It’s low land, and parts of the scenic highway drop to nearly 100 feet above sea level.

I enjoyed lunch at a popular restaurant on the north side of Frostproof called Frostbite. They serve your typical fast-food items as well as every ice cream dessert imaginable. It’s highly-rated by reviewers on Google. They are open every day from 11 AM to 9 PM. Just find a table, be seated, look over the menus (already on each table), and a member of the wait staff will come to you for your order. I had a wonderful cheeseburger (made to order) and a side of fries to go along with my sweet tea. #Yum

U.S. 27 is really a nice drive between Sebring / Avon Park and Lake Wales and points north and west. I fell in love with the Heartland of Florida because of U.S. 27 and its own unique scenery and history. But Florida Scenic Highway 17 is also a nice drive through a part of the region that seems to be stuck in time from an era long gone by. It’s unspoiled Florida at its most beautiful !

Next #TravelThursday – Will I ever reach my 25TH cruise ? Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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St. Johns River Cruise

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last Thursday me and 42 of my Sebring Historical Society friends met at our Charles Frederick Weigle House Museum early in the morning, and we boarded a chartered bus – courtesy of Small World. We departed for historic downtown Sanford Florida – 108 miles north of Sebring.

We arrived 2½ hours later, and we immediately boarded the 105-foot Rivership Barbara-Lee – courtesy of the St. Johns Rivership Co. We were treated to an interactive comedy wedding complete with singalongs and dancing on the dancefloor. The show essentially started as soon as we got off the bus, and it kept on going intermittently until the ship returned to its dock 3½ hours later.

Our multi-course lunch was pretty good. Nothing spectacular, but better than a typical lunch for me. I had the Prime Rib (cooked perfectly medium-well) served with mashed potatoes and green beans. A side salad and rolls were served beforehand, and delicious dessert (red velvet cake) was served afterward.

Our trek along the St. Johns River actually started dockside on the south shore of 9,406-acre Lake Monroe. We continued WNW – past the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens – off the lake and onto the river proper – underneath both I-4 and U.S. 17 / U.S. 92.

Crossing-over from Seminole County into Volusia County – we went about 7 miles up the river, and then we went around an island and came back southward. It was a nice slow cruise up and down the lazy river on a mostly sunny and hot afternoon; although, it felt cooler (with a nice refreshing breeze) outside – especially on the upper decks of the rivership.

On our way to and from the dock – we caught a glimpse of the vibrant historic downtown district of Sanford. I’d like to walk around and check it out on my own on a future daytrip to (or through) the area. I definitely want to visit the Zoo. I think this field trip was my very first visit ever to the area northeast of Orlando. There’s a lot to see and visit up there !

Fun Facts: We avoided I-4 between Kissimmee and Sanford by taking the “Eastern Beltway” (Florida State Road 417) northward and the “Western Beltway” (Florida State Road 429) southward. Both routes combined form a 108-mile ring around Orlando. On this field trip we traversed 7 counties – Highlands, Polk, Osceola, Orange, Seminole, Volusia, and Lake.

As we returned to our museum in Sebring – our Director announced our next field trip in a little over 3 months to Clewiston to visit an Indian Museum and to Okeechobee for a big Lunch. I’m looking forward to it !

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll tell you all about Frostproof Florida. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp