Category: Geography

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Blogging Driving Geography History Travel

Retirement Road-Trip

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. During the first 3 weeks of April – I’ll be on a retirement road-trip – so-called because I’ll be enjoying the open road as a newly minted American retiree with lots of free time on my hands. It’s a road-trip that I’ve been imagining in my mind for many years now. It’s a road-trip that I’ve been practicing for the past 35 years.

I was originally going to embark on this road-trip not knowing what I would see, who I would see, and where I would go with each new day. But the more I thought about it – the more I worried that it would be a bit chaotic. I did not want chaos to be a part of this adventure, so recently I determined a departure date from home, an arrival date in North Texas (where family lives), a departure date from North Texas, and an approximate end date of my road-trip. I’ve also created pitstops along the way, so I know about how many hours and miles I plan to drive each day on the road, and which towns I plan to spend the night in.

Night 1 will be spent in Gadsden County Florida near Quincy – a western suburb of Tallahassee. Night 2 will be spent in Mobile Alabama. I’ll be leaving Quincy fairly early in the morning so that I can pull-in to Mobile later that same morning and maximize my time sightseeing around town. My first stop will likely be the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park. I’ve driven by it so many times, and I’ve always wanted to check it out. I also hope to visit the historic (built in 1855) Bragg-Mitchell Mansion. Finally – time and weather-permitting – I hope to check out the Mobile Botanical Gardens. If I don’t make it to the Gardens on this day – then it’ll be on my list of places to visit the next time I’m in town. I really like the Mobile area. There’s so much history to see all around, and I have friends who live in the area who are part of my personal history in Homestead Florida.

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll write all about the Tampa Bay History Center. Let’s keep traveling together.

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

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Bible Blogging Christian Church Driving Geography God Ministry Scripture Travel

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday February 18TH 2024, and this is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it. Let us celebrate this great new day of believing, following, trusting, loving, and being more like our Lord + Savior Jesus Christ. Let us love our neighbor as ourself.

I enjoy looking back at my old blog posts – whether they are on Facebook (2013-2017), or right here on WordPress before and after those 4 years. It seems that I’m often on vacation during the Presidents’ Day Weekend here in the U.S.A. That’s when I discovered my new home here in the Heartland of Florida. I also bought my new home last year during this long holiday weekend.

On a previous Presidents’ Day Weekend – 16 years ago in 2008 – I wrote about a road-trip vacation over to Southwest Florida’s Gulf Coast (Fort Myers, Estero, and Naples. That was actually where I thought I wanted to retire back then. In fact – here’s what I wrote back then:

“I think it’s official now. The Orlando area is not where I wish to live when I retire in about 15 to 20 years. I think you’ll find me living peacefully and happily ever after over in the Fort Myers / Estero / Naples area sometime in the future.”

(My mind changed about the area about 7 years later.)

Before I drove over there – I attended a Sunday morning church service up in Weston that was actually a church plant of my home church at the time. Here’s how I described that experience exactly 16 years ago:

“After a short intermission Pastor Nathan got up on stage and began his teaching. It was all about ‘The Power Of Light & Love’. All of the lights went out. Darkness. A flashlight came on. Light at the end of the tunnel. Let there be light. All of the lights came back on. There is no more darkness, for we have been saved. We are chasing daylight. The secrets and the sins that we committed in the dark are in our past. This is a new Life for us. A life of light. Ephesians 5:8 (NLT, 2ND Ed.) illustrates the contrast between our past problems and our present privileges: ‘For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light !’ Ephesians 5:13 identifies the need to bring light to darkness: ‘But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them.’”

“From start to finish it was about an hour and 45-minute service. Pastor Nathan’s message was powerful. He inspired and encouraged us to continue moving further away from the darkness and forward into the light.”

    That was a good message for this young Christian in his 2ND year of salvation in Christ.

    My testimony is featured each week here on #SundayScripture whether it’s part of a sermon, or just me writing about the events of the past week. Hopefully it encourages you and inspires you to seek the Lord, and get closer to Him with each new day.

    If you wish to learn more about the God I know then stay tuned to #SundayScripture. The best is yet to come !

    Thank you for reading my blog for this day, and may:

    The LORD bless you, and keep you.
    The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you.
    The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

    In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.

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

    Categories
    Blogging Driving Geography Home Travel

    Home Is Where The Heartland Is

    Welcome back to #TravelThursday. It’s an anniversary week for me. It was exactly one year ago that I bought my current home here in the Heartland of Florida near Sebring. I bought my dream home in my dream neighborhood in my dream part of Florida. It’s my forever home. I expect to live here and enjoy retirement life here for the rest of my physical life here on Earth.

    This is the place that I drove through many times and eventually spent vacation time in for about 8 years – including several Presidents’ Day Weekends here in the U.S.A. I fell in love with the region. I decided that I wanted to move here after I retire. I narrowed it down from Lake Wales to Lake Placid (about 55 miles apart). I eventually settled on Sebring (right in the middle). I had my eyes on my current 55+ neighborhood when I was still 54. I waited until 2 days after my 55TH birthday to physically tour my likely new neighborhood with my Real Estate Agent. I bought my new home last Presidents’ Day Weekend.

    I still love everything about my new neighborhood and home county that I loved a year ago and during those 8 years of vacations. I’ve also become actively involved in my new neighborhood and community – something I never really did during my 36 years in South Florida. My footprint is all over Sebring, Avon Park, and the surrounding Highlands County region. I’m looking forward to contributing more time to make this an even greater place to live and visit and enjoy.

    Next #TravelThursday – I’ll reveal the first 2 stops on my upcoming retirement road-trip. One is in the Florida Panhandle, and the other is now the second-largest city in “The Yellowhammer State”. Let’s keep traveling together.

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

    Categories
    Blogging Driving Food Geography Nature Travel

    Lorida Florida

    Welcome back to #TravelThursday. There’s a place in the eastern part of my home county here in the Heartland of Florida – Highlands – that is actually in the lowlands – some 100 or more feet lower in elevation than the more populated U.S. 27 corridor in the western part of the county. That place is named Lorida, and it does not rhyme with Florida. It’s pronounced “Lor-EE-da”. It was formerly named “Cow House”, and “Istokpoga”. Lorida got its name in 1938.

    It’s not an incorporated city, town, or village. It’s a broad census-designated place right along U.S. 98 along the northern shore of Lake Istokpoga – one of the largest lakes in Florida. The lake is about 5 miles wide and 10 miles long. It’s very shallow with an average depth of about 4 feet. Boating and fishing are popular at this lake.

    About 1,700 to 1,900 residents call Lorida home.

    There’s a restaurant approaching Lorida (from Sebring) called Gator Shack. I’ve been there twice now. I went there last June late on a Sunday morning after church service for their highly-rated Fried Chicken lunch. It was spectacular, and I vowed to return for more of some of the best fried chicken I’ve ever tasted. I actually returned late last Wednesday morning, as they also offer their fried chicken on Wednesdays. Unfortunately – I found out after sitting down that it’s not available until after 4:30 PM on Wednesdays, so I got their big burger with swiss cheese and hand-cut fries. Both were delicious !

    Some day in the near future I’ll venture back there on a Sunday after church to enjoy their fried chicken again. And I’ll explore more of Lorida and Lake Istokpoga including the Highlands County Park on the lake.

    Next #TravelThursday – I’ll celebrate my first anniversary of selecting and purchasing my new home here in Highlands County. Let’s keep traveling together.

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