Category: Driving

Destination: Saudi Arabia

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date January 5, 2023

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. For this first edition of 2023 – I look back at how my year started 32 years ago in 1991.

Just 5 days after returning home to Homestead Florida after driving for 18 hours and 43 minutes and 1,103 miles from McLean Virginia (on Christmas vacation with my family) – I was on my way to Syracuse New York with a small group of airmen from Homestead AFB. Once on the ground at Hancock Field we joined-up with airmen of the New York Air National Guard, as we awaited our flight over to the Saudi Arabian desert. We were delayed by a blizzard for a few days – January 02ND and 03RD.

We finally took off late on January 04TH, and we touched down on the runway at Al Kharj AB Saudi Arabia at 1204 local time (0404 U.S. East Coast time) on January 05TH 1991 – exactly 32 years ago this morning.

I was assigned my tent at “Tent City” – W-23 – and I quickly made 9 new friends who would also be my tentmates in war (Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm).

I traveled a lot during the 10 days from December 27TH 1990 to January 05TH 1991. From Northern Virginia to South Florida by car – from South Florida to Central New York by plane – and from Central New York to near Riyadh Saudi Arabia by cargo plane. One thing was certain – I wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon. Everything else – was uncertain.

Next #TravelThursday let’s take a trip to PortMiami. Let’s keep traveling together.

Blogging Driving Travel

My Least-Driven Year Ever

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date December 29, 2022

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. For this final edition of 2022 – I look back at my year of driving. It defied all expectations. It turned out to be my least-driven year ever.

Last Wednesday December 21ST – I drove my 6,000TH mile of 2022. I’ll finish the year with a little over 6,100 miles. Back in 2020 during the onset and peak of COVID – I drove 6,395 miles, and that was a new record low for me. I thought that would never happen again – to drive as few miles as that in a single calendar year. Last year – 2021 – I drove 8,672 miles – a nice improvement over 2020, but still a bit below my typical driving in a year.

Fun Fact: My 1989-2022 average is a little over 10,600 miles per year. That’s over 360,000 miles of driving over the past 34 years.

Are you impressed that I’ve kept such extensive records ?

In 2022 I drove more than 500 miles in just 4 months – March, June, July, and October. March was my most-driven month at a little over 1,000 miles. That’s when I went on a fun 6-day / 626-mile road-trip with my family visiting from Texas. It was my longest road-trip of the year, and I blogged all about it here on 4 consecutive editions of #TravelThursday during the month of March.

Looking ahead to 2023 – it should be a completely different story, and it could be one of my most-driven years ever. I’ll be purchasing my new home in a couple of months 186 miles away, and I’ll be driving 186 miles twice per week – usually on Sunday mornings (southward) and Wednesday afternoons (northward). With each new trip northward to my new home I’ll be transporting more stuff. I’ll probably average about 450 to 500 miles per week from mid-February through probably the rest of the year. That’s up to 2,000 miles per month. I could very well approach or even exceed 20,000 miles of driving in 2023. I’ll be documenting a lot of those miles here on #TravelThursday.

Next #TravelThursday I’ll revisit Saudi Arabia. Let’s keep traveling together.

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Target

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date December 22, 2022

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. I was going to write about something different this week, but then I decided to wait until next week to write about that. Such is life as a blogger. Those of you who blog know what I mean. It’s always best to write about what is fresh on your mind in the moment rather than what you were planning to write about.

So last Thursday morning I did a Target run here in my hometown for the first time ever. That’s because we actually have a Target store here in Homestead Florida for the first time ever. It’s the southernmost Target in the contiguous 48 states. It just opened last month.

The next nearest Target is over 30 minutes away in normal traffic. It’s physically located in an awkward location. It’s a regular-sized Target of 124,794 square feet (not a Super Target) – built 25 years ago.

Our brand-new Target is just 3 miles away from my home. It’s also physically located in an awkward location, and people unfamiliar with our local area may have a difficult time trying to find it.

We got a smaller Target. At 72,301 square feet it’s about half the size of a typical Target. When you walk in – it’s noticeable small. You can easily see all 4 walls of the building. Many people are complaining about that in online reviews of the store. Target is actually building more smaller stores than larger ones. In fact – they even build stores that are half the size of the one that we got !

To me our store seems packed merchandise-wise, but it’s laid-out in a weird way – particularly with the smaller grocery and toiletry area. I believe that a major flaw with that area is the signage that’s hanging from the ceiling and facing the wrong way. You actually can’t read any of it if you’re looking down the aisles to see what’s there, as the signs don’t face outward. You actually have to go to the middle of an adjacent aisle to read what’s on the signs on either of the next aisles !

Nevertheless – I’m glad that we finally got a Target here in my hometown – even if it’s a half-Target. It’s also got a little Starbucks inside of it. That makes it even better. I’ll be visiting both on a fairly-regular basis – now that I’m in the Target Circle !

Next #TravelThursday I’ll go the distance. At least that’s what I’m planning to write about. That’s subject to change. Such is life as a blogger. Let’s keep traveling together.

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Stateside

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date November 17, 2022

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I wrote about my arrival in the south of England 37 years ago to the date (November 10TH 1985). Today is the 35TH anniversary to the date (November 17TH 1987) that I left England behind and arrived back home stateside.

I actually don’t remember much about that day. My memories are quite vivid from the Sunday morning 2 years and 1 week earlier when I arrived in England, but when I left England – not so much.

A friend of mine drove me from our (military) dormitory over to Billeting / Lodging at dawn, and there I got on a shuttle that I think took me all the way to the airport. I don’t think I did the whole British Rail trek going to London (like I had when I arrived). I got on my flight at Heathrow, and I was back in the Washington D.C. area a few hours later that afternoon. (I got those 5 hours back that I lost 2 years and 1 week earlier.)

My Dad picked me up at the airport, and we went home, and my cat – Fluffy – went ballistic with joy and happiness. It was a wonderful stateside homecoming.

I got to hang out with my family – dad, mom, brother, and cat – for almost 2 weeks through the Thanksgiving holiday week. Again – I don’t remember much from those 13 days, but I know that it was a good time because I was back home with my family again.

I’m with my family right now – mom, brother, sister-in-law, nieces, and dog. We’re continuing our annual November tradition that goes back almost 20 years – #ThanksChristmasGiving – or #Thanksmas. It’s where we celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas combined in a single week. The Christmas tree and decorations have been up for a couple of weeks, and we are actively engaging in Christmas shopping and gift-wrapping. We’ll open all of the presents by the Christmas tree on Thanksgiving morning. Shortly after that the entire house will be filled with the aroma of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

Next #TravelThursday is in 2 weeks – when I celebrate my 35TH anniversary here in Homestead Florida. Let’s keep traveling together.