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The Major’s Weekend Blast-Off

WEEKEND GRAB BAG O’ THOUGHT:
November has arrived. Winter has arrived here in South Florida. The cool and dry weather is finally here. It will actually be a cold Saturday with wind chills starting out near 40°F at sunrise. We’ll be stuck in the 60s all day long with wind chills in the 50s at times. This brief cold snap will stick around until about 12 noon on Monday, and then a rapid warm-up begins. 80°F temperatures return on Tuesday afternoon. This is also the weekend in which we ‘fall back’ an hour, as we say ‘good-bye’, ‘so long’, ‘adios’, and ‘get out of here’ to Daylight Saving Time. It’s done and over with at 2 AM on Sunday morning as we return to Standard Time. That’s my favourite time of the year – the real time zone. Everything just seems right when the Sun rises before 7 AM and sets before 6 PM. That’s just the way it’s supposed to be. I wish we stayed on Standard Time all year long. In a perfect world Daylight Saving Time would be abolished !

BEST LUNCH OF THE WEEK AWARD:
This past Wednesday I enjoyed Lunch at Red Lobster, and it was all over after that. I was cheerfully greeted at the front door by my regular greeter, and I was enthusiastically served at my regular table by my regular waitress. It’s like a home away from home for me. I belong. The food was hot and delicious as usual. I enjoyed a Caesar salad, the Crunch-Fried Fish, the Fried Bay Scallops, and a couple of melt-in-my-mouth Cheddar Bay Biscuits. I’ll be back for more sometime next week !

PUMPKIN DAY PHOTO OPPORTUNITY OF THE MONTH CLUB:
This picture was taken this afternoon by my brother in Fairview Texas.

Pumpkin - The Day Family Feline

THOSE CRAZY CRAZY CATS:

BLATANT PROMOTION:
25 years ago this weekend I flew from Northern Virginia to London England to begin 2 years of my young life in a foreign country. Tomorrow on my ‘Saturday Night Retro’ I’ll look back at that first month of living in the U.K., and I’ll feature the music video of one of my favourite rock songs of that month (and year). During the day tomorrow (Saturday) I’ll be out and about on Miami Beach enjoying the South Florida International Auto Show. I’m also planning to spend some quality time with the animals over at Jungle Island. It’s gonna be a great weekend here in South Florida to take advantage of the great outdoors, so let’s get to it. Be safe. Be smart. Love all.

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Animals Blogging Career Driving Food History Holidays Home Humor Life Music People Philosophy Travel

The Major’s Weekend Blast-Off

WEEKEND GRAB BAG O’ THOUGHT:
25 years ago today a young 18-year-old version of me woke up bright and early a couple of hours before daybreak, checked-out of my dorm room, packed up my first car – a beige 1980 Chevy Citation – and embarked on the longest road-trip of my life (at that point). It was a 700+ mile trip eastbound along I-70 from Chanute AFB Illinois (next to Rantoul) through Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia to my destination – McLean Virginia. It was a long-awaited homecoming for me after being away for 4½ months at USAF Basic Training and Tech School. It was great to see my family (including my lovable cat Fluffy) after being away for such a long time for the first time in my entire life. I got to celebrate Halloween with my 10-year-old little brother at the time. I walked with him as he went trick-or-treating all throughout our neighbourhood – visiting many of my former customers from my newspaper carrier years. After 4½ months I was all grown up and in the Air Force. My military leave was short-lived though. 10 days later I was on my way overseas to my first permanent duty station in Great Britain. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year would all be celebrated in a foreign land away from home.

BEST LUNCH OF THE WEEK AWARD:
Longhorn Steakhouse wins this week’s award (yet again). I enjoyed another spectacular Lunch there today. Coming in 2ND place for the week is a brand new joint that me and some coworker friends discovered for the first time on Thursday. We enjoyed a nice Mexican Lunch at El Santo Coyote – located on U.S. 1 in Princeton at theoretical SW 261ST Street. They made their own homemade salsa right there at our table as we watched. I ordered one of their combination plates consisting of a taco, a burrito, and an enchilada with golden rice and refried beans. It was all delicious, but service was a bit on the slow side. I still recommend it though, and I’ll go back again when I’m not in a hurry to get back to work.

FORTUNE COOKIE MESSAGE OF THE WEEK CLUB:
– Plan a vacation with loved ones.

TAYLOR LESLEY DAY MEASUREMENTS OF THE MONTH CLUB:

My gorgeous niece turned 6-months-old last week. She now weighs in at over 17 pounds, and she’s 26 inches in length. I last saw her about 4 months ago, and I get to see her again in just 20 days !  She smiles a lot because she’s happy !  😀

THOSE SCARY SCARY CATS:

BLATANT PROMOTION:
Tomorrow night on the blog it’s another fresh new edition of my venerable ‘Saturday Night Retro’ as I flashback to Halloween nights of the past. I’ll also feature the Bobby ‘Boris’ Pickett classic from 48 years ago – “The Monster Mash”. Then on Sunday the treats continue with another new blog post – ‘Halloween Night Shenanigans’. Be sure to check that one out after you’re all done trick-or-treating. In-between all of the blogs it’s all of my tweets @majorhitwaves. Have a wonderful weekend my friends. Have fun. Be safe.

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Animals Blogging Driving Food History Weather

The Major’s Weekend Blast-Off

WEEKEND GRAB BAG O’ THOUGHT:
It was a warm and muggy and wet week here in this subtropical paradise that I call Home(stead). But now we’re on the other side of several strong cold fronts that have swept through the region (destroying Hurricane Paula), and Autumn is here for the weekend. Tomorrow (Saturday) morning should be our coolest morning since April with minimum temperatures bottoming out in the mid-60s with wind chills dipping down into the upper-50s !  I’m planning another refreshing 2-mile walk at dawn in that comfy chill !  It should be a rather nice and seasonal next 7 to 10 days with little to no rain and an abundance of gorgeous wall-to-wall sunshine. THAT’S why I live aqui en el Sur de Florida !

BEST LUNCH OF THE WEEK AWARD:
It’s the 15TH edition of ‘The Major’s Weekend Blast-Off’ as well as this ‘Best Lunch Of The Week Award’, so let’s recap the previous 14 award winners:
June – Red Lobster
July – Longhorn Steakhouse, Longhorn, Chili’s, Longhorn
August – Longhorn Steakhouse, Longhorn, Shiver’s BBQ, P.F. Chang’s
September – Chili’s, Longhorn Steakhouse, White Lion Cafe
October – Shiver’s BBQ, Chili’s
This week’s award winner is a new one – Broadway Subs. They’ve got two locations conveniently located to serve you with delicious subs and sandwiches (hot and cold). They are still on Campbell Drive (between Lowe’s and Chili’s), and now they have a new location on U.S. 1 just south of SW 288TH Street. They make an awesome hot Cuban sub, but my fave is their hot BBQ pork sub (12-inch of course). I get it with melted swiss cheese and their special BBQ sauce drizzled all over. It’s messy. It’s sloppy. It’s scrumptious. It’s what’s for Lunch.

RETWEET:
pastortrav
@majorhitwaves I’ve met that guy…right after I met, “I can’t decide how fast I want to go man.” They’re an interesting couple.
majorhitwaves
Tonight on the ‘U.S. 1 Stretch’ (Key Largo – FL City) I was trapped behind ‘Can’t Go More Than 15 Seconds Without Tapping His Brake Man’. 😦

THOSE CRAZY CRAZY CATS:
It’s time for the ‘Feline Night Smackdown’. Let’s get ready to rumble !

BLATANT PROMOTION:
TOMORROW on my ‘Saturday Night Retro’ I’m gonna take a “Magic Carpet Ride” back 11 years to 1999 and the end of the 20TH Century. Then on Sunday it’s another edition of ‘The Major’s Walk-A-Thon’. It’s blogging all weekend long and tweets in-between. Have yourself a safe, peaceful, and relaxing weekend my friends. Make it memorable. Make it a new ‘Retro’ for the future.

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Animals Blogging Driving Food God Health History Holidays Humor Life Music Nature Radio Travel Weather

The Major’s Weekend Blast-Off

Happy Columbus Day Weekend !  Let’s BLAST-OFF this weekend !

WEEKEND GRAB BAG O’ THOUGHT:
Well the cooler temperatures and the lower humidity arrived with a vengeance just as soon as October arrived a week ago, and it’s been no fluke. The South Florida dry season has officially begun – a few weeks earlier than normal. Lately we’ve been struggling to get in to the 80s in the afternoons, and we’re dropping well into the 60s early in the mornings with wind chills into the 50s at times. It’s our coolest weather in about 6 months, and it feels so good !  I must get out and enjoy this scrumptious Chamber Of Commerce weather. Last weekend I quietly kicked-off my ‘Cultural, Historical, & Economical Stimulus Tour’ for the Winter of 2011 with visits to Homestead Bayfront Park and Biscayne National Park. This weekend my fun-in-the-sun plans include the upper Florida Keys and Monkey Jungle. Between now and next April I’ll also plan to spend some quality time at Zoo Miami, Jungle Island, Miami Beach, West Palm Beach, Jupiter, Stuart, Naples, Fort Myers, Sanibel Island, Jacksonville, Panama City Beach, much of the NW Florida panhandle, Dallas Texas, The Bahamas, The U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Have fun will travel !

BEST LUNCH OF THE WEEK AWARD:
Chili’s – For the 2ND time in 6 weeks the Quesadilla Explosion Salad wins the coveted award. If you’ve got a hearty appetitite for nutritious vegetable goodness then check out this masterpiece. It’s got grilled chicken with cheese, corn relish, cilantro, tortilla strips, and citrus-balsamic dressing – served with cheese quesadillas. I dig.

5 CHRISTIAN TRACKS THAT ROCK MY FACE OFF:
– Break Down – A Rotterdam November
– Dear X, You Don’t Own Me – Disciple
– Driving Nails – Demon Hunter
– Therapy – Relient K
– You Know (Sixteen) – Please Promise
– – – – –
CALL-FM ROCKS !

THOSE CRAZY CRAZY CATS:
Some day – maybe 5 or 10 or 15 years from now – I may be a cat owner again. It’s because of these lovable shenanigans from my feline friends:

BLATANT PROMOTION:
Tomorrow night on my ‘Saturday Night Retro’ I’m flashing back 23½ years ago to the Spring of 1987 – back when I was a young resident of the British Isles. I’ll take a glimpse at what I was doing back then during my final memorable months as a teenager. After that I’m bring blogging back to Sundays !  That’s right – it’s the 4TH season premiere of ‘The Major’s Walk-A-Thon’. This year I’ve set a reasonable goal to walk a marathon – not all at once – but combined between now and April. I’m looking to walk 26.2 miles above and beyond my normal everyday walking. That’s an average of about 3.75 miles per month from October to April. In the fine tradition that is ‘The Major’s Walk-A-Thon’ I’ll blog about my walking adventures, and I’ll track my progress towards the goal. Don’t forget that you can follow me on Twitter in-between all of the weekend blog posts. Have yourself a safe and fun holiday weekend my friends.