Category: Geography

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. A couple of weeks ago I shared with you how we speak Sebring, and I also introduced to you “The Birds Of Sebring” – the names that make up “The Bird Streets”. This is a continuation of that fascinating post.

“I’m on the Parkway” means that I’m on the Sebring Parkway. That’s our main highway that serves as a bypass of U.S. 27 on the other (mostly east) side of Lake Jackson. Both ends of the Parkway are on U.S. 27 about 5½ miles apart. The Parkway itself is about 6½ miles long, and it skirts the northern edge of the 1920s historic downtown district at North Ridgewood Drive. The Sebring Train Station (which celebrates its 100TH birthday in 2024) is right along the Parkway. (I wrote about it here on #TravelThursday back in July.)

I frequently take the Parkway from my neighborhood in North Sebring into downtown Sebring. From 2017 to 2019 a new parkway – Panther Parkway – added a 4½-mile stretch from the original Sebring Parkway to the southern portions of neighboring Avon Park (to the north). So you can now easily drive between the two cities without ever getting on U.S. 27.

Along U.S. 27 (or “Highway 27”, or simply “27”) you either have a U.S. Highway 27 N. (as in North) address, or a U.S. Highway 27 S. (as in South) address. The unassuming border – or “zero address” line – is the start of Lakeview Drive as it juts off of northbound U.S. 27. Lakeview Drive is the closest road to Lake Jackson (“The Big Lake”), and it not quite circles the lake from about an 8:00 position – clockwise – to about a 5:00 position.

OK – so here are “The Car Streets” of Sebring just off U.S. Highway 27 N:

Abarth, Alpine, Arnolt, Aston Martin, Austin, Bentley, Benz, Bolide, Bristol, Camaro, Citroen, Comet, Cooper, Corvair, Corvette, Cougar, Dauphine, Falcon, Ferrari, Fiat, Grand Prix, Hawk, Healey, Hillman, Jaguar, Lancia, Lark, Lemans, Lexus, Lister, Lola, Lotus, Maserati, Mercedes, Osca, Peugeot, Porsche, Renault, Replica, Riley, Romeo, Scarab, Shamrock, Simca, Singer, Sprite, Sunbeam, Talbot, Thunderbird, Triumph, Valiant, Vanwall, Volvo.

You can find all of those streets “behind Walmart”. That’s more Sebring speak there. And if you’re like me – I actually Googled some of those names to see if they are really names of cars. YES – they are !

Next #TravelThursday – We’re going to the dump. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2023 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. I’ve been a resident of Sebring Florida for a few days shy of 7 months. Actually – the main entrance to my neighborhood is about a mile north of the city limits of Sebring, but that’s close enough. I’m not quite a full-timer yet – more like a 75%-timer, but that’s close enough.

As a new resident of Sebring – I’ve learned how to speak Sebring. Those of us who live here year-round are known as “survivors” or “warriors” – because we’ve survived the long hot summer and any tropical systems that came this way. Everyone else is a “snowbird” – whether they are here for a couple of months, or up to 6 months out of the year. (We’ve already had some snowbirds return from the great white north. The license plate colors are changing.)

U.S. 27 (or “Highway 27”, or simply “27”) is our main thoroughfare through the commercial (western) part of the city. The survivors believe that the snowbirds cause all of the accidents along 27, but the fact of the matter is that we have accidents every day of every month – even in the dead of summer. If anything – the snowbirds actually slow down the speeding traffic up and down 27. As a speed limit obeyer – I appreciate them.

So far – no day here in Sebring have I encountered traffic as heavy as any day down south in Homestead. The survivors frequently complain about the traffic on 27. I don’t know what they are complaining about.

So we have some unique neighborhoods here in Sebring. If one says that they live in “The Fish Streets” – then they live in the neighborhood right behind my neighborhood up in North Sebring. All of the streets are named after types of fish. We also have “The Indian Streets”, “The Tree Streets”, “The Irish Streets”, “The African Streets”, and “The A Streets”. Two of the largest neighborhoods are adjacent to each other west of 27 – “The Car Streets”, and “The Bird Streets”. Everyone in Sebring knows what you mean when you say – “I live in the bird streets.”

These are the birds of Sebring (in alphabetical order): Barn Owl, Brant, Cardinal, Caspian Tern, Chickadee, Condor, Crane, Darter, Dove, Duckling, Dunlin, Eagle, Egret, Grosbeak, Heron, Hummingbird, Ibis, Jay, Kite, Lark, Limpkin, Loon, Macaw, Meadowlark, Mockingbird, Nightingale, Oriole, Parakeet, Parrot, Partridge, Peacock, Pelican, Pheasant, Pigeon, Puffin, Quail, Rail, Raven, Road Runner, Robin, Sandpiper, Scrub Jay, Sparrow, Spotted Owl, Starling, Sunbird, Swallow, Swift, Tanager, Tern, Thrush, Vireo, Woodpecker, Wren

Those are “The Bird Streets” – collectively known as Sebring Hills. The elevation of this neighborhood ranges between 160 and 170 feet above sea level – higher than much of the rest of Sebring to the east.

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll tell you all about the cars of Sebring. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2023 Christopher M. Day, CountUp