Category: Driving

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 1991

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date March 19, 2021

Every Friday I post the Top 5 of one of my classic hit music charts based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay from either 15, 25, 30, or 35 years ago this weekend (rotating each week).

It’s the 3RD Friday of the month, so I go back 30 years ago. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday March 17TH 1991:

“One More Try” – Timmy T
“Waiting For That Day” – George Michael
“Joyride” – Roxette
“Baby Baby” – Amy Grant
“More Than Ever” – Nelson

Exactly 30 years ago this weekend I was at home – my teenage childhood home in McLean Virginia (just outside of Washington D.C.)

On the weekend prior I departed the pink desert sands of Al Kharj AB Saudi Arabia with some of my fellow Operations Desert Shield / Desert Storm airmen. We lifted-off from the runway in Saudi at 0326L on Saturday March 09TH 1991. After 7 hours and 7 minutes in the air we landed at Torrejon AB Spain (near Madrid). It was a longer-than-expected nearly 5½-hour stop before we took-off again for our stateside destination at Dover AFB Delaware. We touched-down there at 1656L (21½ hours after leaving Saudi). A bus transported us to Philadelphia where we spent the night at a hotel near the airport. We flew out (commercial) the next morning – Sunday March 10TH 1991 – arriving back in Miami at 1001L.

We returned to Homestead AFB with no fanfare at all, and the next morning I was back at my workplace office. I met my new supervisor. He replaced my previous supervisor who was “reassigned”. He told me to take up to 30 days of “R & R” (rest and recuperation) as a returning war veteran. That Wednesday March 13TH 1991 I was on-the-road northward heading towards the Washington D.C. area. I spent the night in South Carolina, and the next afternoon I arrived at my childhood home 1,096 miles from the base. I stayed there for the next 2 weeks enjoying family time.

I was sent to war as punishment by my supervisor at the time (end of 1990). I didn’t do anything wrong. She just hated me. She had issues with guys that looked like me. An investigation occurred while I was at war, and she was relieved of her duties. The war (and post-war) was the start of the best (and final) 26 months of my entire Active Duty Air Force career.

(I still work for the USAF today as a Federal Civilian – at now Homestead ARB.)

Next Friday on RETRO I’ll go back 35 years ago to March 1986 – towards the end of my first year working for the USAF.

It’s halftime my friends. I’ll be back on Sunday and Monday with 2 more blog posts for this weekend. Enjoy your Saturday. Thanks for going RETRO with me !

Tags 1991, Music, Radio

Blogging Driving History Nature Photography Travel

My Spring Break 2021 Road-Trip

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date March 18, 2021

4 weeks ago (4 Thursdays ago) I returned home from my Spring Break 2021 Road-Trip. It was a fun 5-day adventure traversing 624 miles through the 10 South and Central Florida counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, Okeechobee, Highlands, Hardee, Glades, Hendry, and Collier. I also barely touched Monroe County, and I saw its many islands.

Last Thursday I wrote on Day 4 – my final day in Highlands County (where I plan to retire) in South Central Florida. The story continues now:

On Day 5 I departed Highlands County shortly after sunrise. My first stop (at 9 AM) was in the small historic community of Immokalee in far-northern Collier County – a first-time-ever visit. I visited the Immokalee Pioneer Museum At Roberts Ranch – a branch of the Collier County museum system. I visited the Visitor’s Center (off the parking lot) thinking that was all there was to see there. Nearly a month later (as I’m writing this), and I find out that it was merely one of a whole bunch of historic buildings and exhibits on a sprawling 13-acre site. I wish I had known that while I was there. I wish I had a tour guide to tell me about the place – inside and outside. I would’ve gone “out back” to check it out. I guess I have a good reason to return there on a future road-trip.

After my short (and obviously incomplete) visit there I ventured due south to Everglades City – the first and former county seat of Collier County on the south coast of the mainland of Florida. It was supposed to be a major port city on the coast, but that never materialized. Nowadays a little over 400 residents call it home. I visited the Museum Of The Everglades there – another Collier County museum. I received excellent customer service there, and the museum was thriving for a Thursday morning in mid-February.

I’m intrigued about the history of Everglades City. I think on my next visit to Collier County I need to check-out that museum again – and then venture northward for a “do-over” at their museum in Immokalee.

My final stop was the end of the road – as far south as you can go in this area – Chokoloskee. I had never been beyond Everglades City before, so this was quite a discovery. I visited the historic Smallwood Store (which is actually a museum with a $5 admission). It’s actually worth it. There’s a lot of history to see inside that old building !

After my visit to the end of the road I headed back – all the way back home again. My 624-mile road-trip ended about 100½ hours after it began. It was full of fun and adventure from start to finish. I can’t wait to get back on the road again !

And I will get back on the road again soon for another road-trip. In fact next Thursday here on my blog I’ll reveal where my next road-trip will take me. (I’ve already got it all planned-out.)

Animals Blogging Driving Nature Photography Travel

My Spring Break 2021 Road-Trip

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date March 11, 2021

3 weeks ago (3 Thursdays ago) I returned home from my Spring Break 2021 Road-Trip. It was a fun 5-day adventure traversing 624 miles through the 10 South and Central Florida counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, Okeechobee, Highlands, Hardee, Glades, Hendry, and Collier. I also barely touched Monroe County, and I saw its many islands.

Last Thursday I wrote on Day 3 – my next 116 miles through the countryside of Highlands and Hardee Counties. The story continues now:

On Day 4 I started the morning in downtown Lake Placid with a hearty breakfast. I then checked-out the Lake Wales Ridge Wildlife & Environmental Area: Lake Placid Scrub Unit a few miles to the south. It’s a large sandy wooded area abutting the southwestern shore of the actual 3,400-acre Lake Placid. Hundreds of thousands of years ago when sea levels were about 150 feet higher than they are today it was beachfront property, and the abundant sand is left over from that era. I didn’t stay very long there, as it is “Bear Country”, and I’m scared of bears.

I headed northward to Avon Park at the far-northwest corner of Highlands County. I excitedly arrived at the Avon Park Depot Museum – only to be instantly dismayed when I found it CLOSED. Nevertheless I took this picture of a 1948 passenger car that was used by Western Pacific during the 1950s and 1960s, and then later by Auto Train (from Virginia to Florida) in the 1970s. It was actually a buffet dining car as part of Auto Train, and 50 years later it sits here – as a buffet dining car that the museum hosts.

So my trip to Avon Park was a total bust, as that was my only scheduled stop there. But not so fast. I just spent more time writing about it above than the amount of time that I was physically there, so all was not lost. I’ll make it back there in the future.

I headed back southward to the downtown district of Sebring (my likely retirement town in a few years). I headed for Lake Jackson – the 3,212-acre lake that Sebring surrounds. After spending a few minutes on the pier that extends onto the lake I decided on a spontaneous spur-of-the-moment visit to the Sebring Historical Society (facing the pier and lake). Unfortunately it was CLOSED when it was supposed to be open. Well this morning is going just wonderful thus far !

I wasn’t about to give up so quickly. I actually drove around the building, parked my car again, and noticed an entrance on the 2ND floor of that same building (from the parking lot on the hill). I walked-in, and within about 10 seconds I realized that I had walked-in to the Sebring Public Library. #LOL

I looked around the library for a little while – pretending I was interested in what I was looking at. (I wasn’t.) After a few minutes of that I walked up to the front counter, and I inquired about the museum downstairs. They actually called downstairs for me to find out if (or when) they were open. I didn’t hear the other end of the conversation, but after the librarian got off the phone she told me that YES – they were open – but head for the “yellow house” (across the parking lot) instead, and walk-in. I thanked the librarian for going out of her way in doing that, and I headed for the “yellow house”.

A nice older woman greeted me at the front door as I walked-in, and she gave me an extensive guided tour of the historic house that less than 2 months earlier became a public museum after restoration. I loved every minute of her tour. The tour took perhaps 45 minutes (if that). For the next 45 minutes we just chatted back-and-forth as if we knew each other for years. She lived much of her life in Miami-Dade County, and then she retired to Sebring where she is now a docent for the Sebring Historical Society. Sounds like an interesting plan. Sounds like a potential vision for my future. She urged me to return to that first place that I tried to enter earlier but encountered a locked door. She said that I should talk to the guy that’s in there right now. He’s a Director at the Sebring Historical Society. I did just that, and we talked for almost 90 minutes. (I also got to tour the premises which serves as a library of historical archives for the city and region.)

The rest of my day in Sebring was fairly uneventful. I felt rejuvenated after that unexpected 3-hour experience with the Sebring Historical Society. It was the highlight of my entire road-trip vacation.

Looks like I went over 3 minutes with this blog post. (My goal is to write blog posts that take less than 3 minutes to read.)

I’ll share Day 5 of my 5-day road-trip next Thursday here on my blog. It was not my normal “last day of a road-trip”. I took a detour, and I visited a few places that I had never been to before.

Miles Driven on Days 1, 2, 3, & 4 = 422

Animals Blogging Driving Nature Travel

My Spring Break 2021 Road-Trip

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date March 4, 2021

2 weeks ago (2 Thursdays ago) I returned home from my Spring Break 2021 Road-Trip. It was a fun 5-day adventure traversing 624 miles through the 10 South and Central Florida counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, Okeechobee, Highlands, Hardee, Glades, Hendry, and Collier. I also barely touched Monroe County, and I saw its many islands.

Last Thursday I wrote on Days 1 and 2 – my first 229 miles. The story continues now:

On Day 3 on a rather chilly (for South Central Florida standards) and rainy Tuesday morning I headed northward and then westward from Lake Placid into Hardee County. My first stop was the small town of Zolfo Springs. I visited Pioneer Park – a sprawling county park straddling the Peace River. I tried to visit the Cracker Trail Museum at the park, but it was unexpectedly closed. I did enjoy some time at the Hardee County Wildlife Refuge (also at the park).

My next stop in Hardee County was Solomon’s Castle. I spent over 2½ hours there taking a couple of fun and pun-filled guided tours. I also enjoyed Lunch there. It was my 2ND visit to this quirky place out in the middle of nowhere (essentially swamplands). My 1ST visit was almost 5 years to the date earlier. I need to get back to this place again sooner than 5 years from now.

My final stop of Day 3 was another weird and wacky place back in Lake Placid in the downtown district – the American Clown Museum & School. I think they are the only clown museum and school in the U.S.A. I’m guessing that if you’re a clown – a professional one that is – then you may have gone to school there. They were actually getting ready for a new class in a few days. I spent about a half-hour checking-out their clown memorabilia. (They also have a small gift shop.)

In my intentional goal to stretch-out my Spring Break 2021 Road-Trip recap for as long as I can, and milk-it for all it’s worth – I’ll close for now. I’ll share Day 4 of 5 next Thursday here on my blog. It’ll include my very short visit to Avon Park, and an unscheduled spontaneous experience in downtown Sebring that could be a vision of what I may be doing about 3 years from now.

Miles Driven on Days 1, 2, & 3 = 344