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Hertz Arena

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last Saturday night I attended my 14TH LIVE event over the past 15 years at the Hertz Arena in Estero Florida (adjacent to I-75 – between Fort Myers and Naples). Opened in 1998 – it’s my favorite medium-size arena. It’s got a maximum capacity of over 8,000, but a little over 7,000 for most events.

I attended the MercyMe, Zach Williams, and Sam Wesley concert. MercyMe and Zach Williams are two of my favorite Christian rock artists – with a combined 20 hits on my weekly music chart since 2017 including 8 # 1 hits. Sam Wesley is an emerging artist, and he’s the eldest son of Bart Millard – the lead singer of MercyMe.

It was my 5TH time seeing MercyMe, 3RD time seeing Zach Williams, and 2ND time seeing Sam Wesley. I bought my ticket to the concert last July First. It was originally scheduled for Thursday October 10TH 2024, but 3 days beforehand it was postponed and rescheduled for almost 6 months later due to Hurricane Milton approaching the area. (It made landfall and devastated the area late on the night before the scheduled night of the concert.)

The original concert had two different opening acts for MercyMe – Crowder and Cochren & Co. (I’ve seen both of them twice before.)

The concert itself was wonderful. I shared a few details on Zach Williams this past #MusicMonday. I love his “Rescue Story” – his song and his testimony on how his salvation started in 2012. He’s been praising and worshiping his Lord + Savior Jesus Christ ever since. His music truly reflects his fantastic journey and his love for Jesus.

MercyMe have been a band for 31 years. I’ve only been a fan since 2017; although, I actually saw them for the first time in concert as an opening artist in 2015. I saw them as headliners for 3 years in a row in 2019, 2020, and 2021. It was the last LIVE event I saw in March 2020 a few days before the COVID pandemic shut down the world. It was the 2ND LIVE event I saw in October 2021 post-pandemic. A MercyMe concert is always a fun time for all ages – from kids to adults. It’s always great to attend a concert that’s filled with families – all singing along in unison – with a little bit of swaying and even some “happy dancing” mixed in.

It cost $30 to park in the arena parking lot (cashless). For a 4½-hour event (arriving an hour before the start of the concert) – that’s less than $7 per hour. Considering that there are some other arenas in Florida charging as much as $75 to park – I’d consider $30 to be a bargain. (You can also park at the adjacent shopping center for free, and walk over to the arena.)

Departing an arena parking lot post-event can be aggravating, but that’s usually not the case with Hertz Arena. Traffic generally flows reasonably well out the parking lot and onto the main highway (Ben Hill Griffin Parkway) thanks to strategically positioned orange cones and police officers directing traffic. We had a sold-out show, so a few thousand vehicles all leaving at roughly the same time was no problem at all. It was much tougher getting out of the South Florida State College parking lot following the Three Dog Night concert on the previous weekend.

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll write about my drive to and from the Hertz Arena through Lehigh Acres. Let’s keep traveling together.

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

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Florida Medal Of Honor Memorial

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This week I’m writing about my first-time visit a little over 3 weeks ago to our newest museum right here in my hometown of Sebring Florida. It’s the Florida Medal Of Honor Memorial.

Their Mission is “to honor and preserve the legacy of Florida Medal of Honor recipients through education, leadership, and inspiring displays, ensuring their courage and sacrifice are never forgotten.”

24 Medal of Honor recipients are Floridians – including our very own Major Thomas “Mickey” McGuire Jr. (1920-1945; Sebring High School Class of 1938). Check out his displays inside the Visitors Center.

What a wonderful Memorial (outside) and a beautiful Visitors Center (inside). It’s a fantastic addition to downtown Sebring, and as a Director of a neighboring historical museum – I welcome them to the family. I went home that night, and the next day I wrote them a check to cover a 5-year membership for myself. I want to be part of their growth and evolution. I want to support them in any way that I can.

Fun Fact: Surrounding the museum and the memorial are mostly (90%) native Florida plants – over 650 of them – including over 40 species. The plants were selected based on their colors, textures, and interactions with wildlife – attracting and supporting local butterflies, birds, and beneficial insects.

They are located at the corner of South Commerce and South Eucalyptus in downtown Sebring – 0.4 miles from our Circle – right next to the Highlands County Government Center. They are open 5 days a week – Tuesdays to Saturdays – from 10 AM to 4 PM. In addition to their official web site (hyperlinked above) – you can check them out on both Facebook and X.

Mama Told Me Not To Come, but The Show Must Go On, so we’ll Shambala An Old Fashioned Love Song Out In The Country – at least this One time, so that there is Joy To The World for the Black And White – next – #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.

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

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Blogging Commerce Driving Food Geography History Home Shopping Travel

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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Blogging Driving Food Geography History Home Travel

Arcadia Florida

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. I finally made it to Arcadia Florida last Thursday. I left home – up in the Poconos of Florida – (more on that in a future edition) – and I arrived 43 miles and less than hour later in the historic district known formally as “Arcadia Main Street“.

I parked my car in one of their many public parking lots, and I walked a block down Hickory Street (Florida State Road 70 westbound) through lots of road construction over to residential Monroe Avenue – straight to the John Morgan Ingraham House Museum of the DeSoto County Historical Society.

I greeted the docent on duty – Kathy Bryce – and then she greeted me. She gave me a nice guided tour of the historic “Florida Cracker” house from the late-19TH Century. John Morgan Ingraham – a Florida Congressman – lived in the house from 1919 to 1980. (He lived 97 years.) The house is included on a 3,400-acre parcel of land that is on the National Register Of Historic Places.

The house includes original equipment, furniture, and artifacts. Nearly everything is identified and labeled uniformly. I took-in many mental notes during my walk-through. I also met and enjoyed a brief conversation with one of their Directors – Carol Mahler. She knew a few of our leaders at the Sebring Historical Society. I left their Museum with lots of great ideas for our own similar historic house Museum.

They are open 6 or 7 days a month on Thursdays and the 2ND & 4TH Saturdays of the month from 9 AM to 1 PM. They close for 3 months each Summer. I hope to visit the Museum again before they close for the Summer to walk around on my own and talk more with Kathy and Carol. They are doing a lot of good things over there with lots of events. I’m looking forward to hearing more about them. They are preparing for their upcoming annual celebration known as “Pioneer Day”.

After my visit to the Museum I walked over to The Yellow Deli to enjoy an early Lunch. Their official web site lists 33 locations worldwide in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Their Arcadia location is one of the highest-rated online in the city. Several reviewers stated that they enjoyed “the best Reuben ever”. Since the Reuben is one of my favorite sandwiches I decided to give it a try. It was good, but not the greatest ever. I prefer my Reuben to be between well-toasted rye bread. The bread was not toasted at all, but surprisingly it wasn’t too soggy. I’d actually order it again. It came with potato chips and a nice-sized dill pickle.

Time to walk off my Lunch, but I think I’ll continue my Arcadia Main Street adventure – next – #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.

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