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Highlands Hammock State Park Or Bust

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. If you’re familiar with my social media work for the Sebring Historical Society – then you may remember a recent #HistoryTuesday Facebook post where I wrote about one of our true gems here in the Sebring Florida area – the 9,000+ acre Highlands Hammock State Park – established during the 1930s by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). I promoted their upcoming (at the time) 8TH Annual Earth Day Festival. Due to another scheduled event on the same day at the same time – I was unable to attend the Festival. It looked like a fun day out there at the park with some very interesting special guest speakers.

The following day on the Sebring Historical Society Facebook page I wrote about the historic CCC Museum inside Highlands Hammock State Park, and I included a photo of the building that I took on my last visit in February 2023. I visited the museum 4 times as a tourist – in 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2023. During those 3 earlier visits I had envisioned myself serving at the CCC Museum as a docent. By 2023 – I had already committed to serving with the Sebring Historical Society in the same capacity. I don’t regret my decision at all.

Earlier that same week my Pastor took his family to Highlands Hammock State Park, and he posted some nice photos on his Facebook page. A couple of days later one of our members at the Sebring Historical Society told us all about her fun trip to the park with her husband and their daughter visiting from up north. They took the tram tour, and they had a wonderful time on it.

And that got me wondering. Why have I not even visited the park once since I’ve lived here over the past 3 years and 1 month ?

Well the answer is quite simple. The Sebring Historical Society keeps me busy. As does my home church. As does my home and neighborhood.

Anyway I got excited about visiting Highlands Hammock State Park for the first time as a local. (The park attracts up to 200,000 visitors annually, and I’m guessing that more than half are tourists from outside of the local area.)

I planned my day at the park. I’d leave home by 9 AM, arrive at the park 20 minutes later, pay my $4 admission at the gate, head straight for the Camp Store, buy my $15 ticket for the 11 AM tram tour, and then head over to the CCC Museum to check it out for a good solid hour until about 15 minutes before the start of the tram tour. After the approximately 1-hour and 15-minute tram tour I’d drive the 3-mile-plus / one-way Loop Drive through the park and stop at one of the trails that I’m not sure I’ve previously been on.

That was the plan alright. Let’s go !

So I went on a Friday 4 weeks ago. I arrived at the empty parking lot of the Camp Store, and (luckily) it was open. I walked in, and I asked about the 11 AM tram tour. I figured that the guy behind the counter would tell me that I was the first person to sign-up for it, and if he didn’t get a minimum of (whatever number) to sign-up for it then it would be cancelled. That’s not what he told me. He told me that it was sold out !

I’m silently thinking – how can it be sold out when I’m the only visitor within eyesight ? From what I understood – you can’t sign-up for the tram tour until the same day. (I later discovered that you can sign-up one day prior. Had I known that then I would’ve signed-up one day prior !)

He said that he’d be adding an additional 1 PM tram tour, but I declined. I couldn’t see myself being at the park until 1 PM. I looked around the Camp Store for a few minutes. They actually have some very nice souvenirs there. I actually wish that we sold some of those souvenirs in our own gift shop at the Sebring Historical Society. #MentalNotes

I went out to my car to plot my next move – since the CCC Museum was still closed until 10 AM. (They had recently switched from their 9 AM to 5 PM winter “peak season” hours to their 10 AM to 2 PM weekends-only – including Fridays – “low season” hours.)

My next move is revealed – next – #TravelThursday. And speaking of moves – what was that wild creature that ran right in front of me ? Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2026 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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The Road To Clewiston

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This is Part 4 of my look back at my recent trip back to South Florida – my former home of 35+ years. It was my first trip back in nearly 9 months (38 weeks to be exact) – since the end of June 2025 – when I closed on the sale of my 30-year home.

Last week I wrote about my Wednesday with my brother – starting at Sawgrass Mills Mall in Sunrise – continuing at Fuddruckers in Pembroke Pines – and finishing at Tate’s Comics + Toys + More in Lauderhill.

Early on Thursday March 26TH 2026 – me and my brother wished each other safe travels. He was headed to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (#FLL) for his return flight back to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (#DFW).

I was headed south along Hiatus Road, and then west along Oakland Park Boulevard, and then south along Flamingo Road, and then west and south along Panther Parkway / NW 136TH Avenue, and then west along Florida State Road 84, and then onto a tiny piece of I-75, and then finally north onto U.S. 27.

I arrived in “America’s Sweetest Town” – Clewiston – at around 9:20 AM, and I headed straight for the Clewiston Museum – right along U.S. 27. (Its right side faces the highway, and its front side faces Central Avenue.)

This was my 2ND visit to their museum. My 1ST visit occurred on October 21ST 2021 while I was driving through on my way from Homestead to Tampa to attend a concert. The 40-year-old museum was closed for several weeks of renovations in August and September 2024, and I’ve wanted to check it out again ever since then. They are open 5 days a week – Mondays to Fridays – from 9 AM to 4 PM. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors (50+), and $5 for children and students. Upon entry I had a very nice conversation with Rosie at the front desk. She was going to do me a favor and give me the senior discount, and then I informed her that I’m 59 anyway. She was astonished. She said I looked like I was in my “mid-40s”. I’ll look for Rosie again on my next visit. I’ll also hope to meet the Director of the museum to share ideas with each other.

Next stop – Arby’s at Love’s near Moore Haven – my favorite rest stop about 1 hour and 15 minutes from home. I watched this truck stop / gas station / convenience store / restaurant being built as I drove by 4 times in September and October 2016 and February 2017. I knew back then that I would be a future customer of their fuel, food, and bathrooms. They opened in March 2017, and I’ve been a regular customer almost every time I’ve driven through the area. From my former home to my current home (northward) it’s at almost exactly the two-thirds point of that drive.

I returned home at 12:36 PM EDT on that Thursday March 26TH 2026, and my 420-mile road-trip was complete. It was my longest stay in South Florida since the week I retired 25 months earlier. It was my first multi-night stay in Homestead / Florida City since December 2024.

I figured I would write 2 parts for this #TravelThursday series, but once I got going writing it – I wanted to include more material. It expanded to 3 parts, and then (of course) 4 parts. I enjoyed writing this series, but even more important – I loved being able to hang out with members of my former home church family, former coworker friends, and definitely my brother of 51 years in West Broward.

This was a great road-trip that I’ll remember for years to come – especially since I’ve documented much of it here over the past 4 weeks.

Next #TravelThursday – I’m going on a cruise. I’ll reveal where I’m going. It’s not where you may think. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2026 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Flamingo Gardens

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This is Part 2 of my look back at my recent trip back to South Florida – my former home of 35+ years. It was my first trip back in nearly 9 months (38 weeks to be exact) – since the end of June 2025 – when I closed on the sale of my 30-year home.

I wrote about my Sunday and Monday in and near Homestead and Florida City in last week’s edition. This week – it’s Tuesday in West Broward (the western portion of Broward County).

But before we leave Homestead – it’s a milestone in my car. I hit 9,000 miles driving to Breakfast. It took 95 days to drive the next 1,000 miles from 8,000 to 9,000. That’s an average of about 10½ miles per day since the middle of December. My trek to 10,000 on the odometer will clearly come sooner than 95 days due simply to this road-trip alone.

It was a good 48 hours in Homestead and Florida City. After Breakfast at the local family-owned Flagler Restaurant in Homestead I hit Krome Avenue (State Road 997), and then onto U.S. 27 just shy of the Miami-Dade / Broward County line.

I made it to Flamingo Gardens along historic Flamingo Road in Davie. It was my 6TH visit since 2012 – and my 1ST visit in just over 4 years. It’s my favorite place in Broward County. If I had decided to leave Homestead and move up to Broward in retirement (very hypothetical) – then I’d very likely be volunteering or working there today. It’s part botanical gardens, part wildlife sanctuary, and part historic house museum. It covers about 60 acres, and it was established 99 years ago as a family homestead and citrus grove at the edge of the Everglades (back then).

Fun Facts: As an 8, 9, and 10-year-old in suburban Lanham Maryland (just outside of Washington D.C.) me and my friends would bring rakes into the woods on a fairly regular basis. We did so to rake the leaves on the ground, clear a path, and create trails and rest stops along the way – essentially creating our very own neighboring nature parks. On the left side of the creek that ran through the woods – I created “Chris Day Valley” (named after myself). On the right side of the creek – two of my friends (brothers) created “Wolf Pack State” (possibly named after misheard lyrics of a popular Gordon Lightfoot song at the time). After my friends on the right side of the creek lost interest in their unique park – I went over to the next street over and joined other friends who had already started working on their park. They gladly welcomed me. We even had a flag handmade of our park. (One of the moms did that for us.) It was so much fun while it lasted.

So why did I bring all of that up ? It’s because Flamingo Gardens looks like a grown-up version of those childhood parks that we created in the woods. It reminds me of those fun days outside 50 years ago.

After a fun 3 hours and 15 minutes at Flamingo Gardens – I headed north to Tamarac where I met my brother (visiting from Texas) at a hotel. (His 3 days of work was done at the Broward County Convention Center.)

We went to a noisy Yard House at The Oasis at Sawgrass Mills Mall for dinner, and then we walked across Panther Parkway over to the Amerant Bank Arena to see our Florida Panthers take on the Seattle Kraken. (The Panthers won 5-4 in overtime after a shootout.)

Next #TravelThursday – we’ll head back to Sawgrass Mills Mall for extensive shopping, and we’ll take an impromptu tour of West Broward County and many of its suburbs. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2026 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Homestead / Florida City

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. A couple of Sunday mornings ago I departed for my former home of 35+ years – Homestead Florida (at the south-end of Miami-Dade County). It was my first trip back in nearly 9 months (38 weeks to be exact) – since the end of June 2025 – when I closed on the sale of my 30-year home.

I departed my current home about 50 minutes before sunrise, and I arrived at my former home church in Homestead about an hour before the start of the 11 AM service. (It was a typical 3-hour and 20-minute drive.)

It was a great Sunday morning service – with wonderful Praise + Worship music and a relevant sermon from the Lead Pastor. And it was great to see everyone again. (I wrote about this church a couple of weeks ago on #SundayScripture. You can link to it here.)

I enjoyed ministering at the church from 2015 to 2024, and I learned a lot from the Lead Pastor. But nowadays it’s great sitting in the back row with friends as a guest observer and worshiper.

A small group of us went to Texas Roadhouse for lunch (my choice). I had a gift card from last year, and there is no Texas Roadhouse back home. Fellowship, food, and service were all great. I got to catch-up with everyone. I plan to visit again perhaps in 6 months. We have some birthdays to celebrate in September.

I checked-in to my hotel for 2 nights, and I settled in until the next day.

Day 2 was Monday, and after filling up with gas and shopping at Kohl’s – I met two former coworkers / bosses (also retired like me) at Longhorn Steakhouse. We enjoyed lunch together and reminisced, and we’ll probably meet again in 6 months.

After lunch I headed to the tiny mainland portion of Biscayne National Park (at the western edge of Biscayne Bay) for the 3RD time in the past 15½ years. I previously visited in October 2010 and May 2016. In April 2019 I actually took a fun boat tour of the 95% of the Park that is water. (Embarkation of that tour was actually about 10 miles up the coast at the Deering Estate.)

Biscayne National Park was stunningly packed when I arrived at 12:40 PM on Monday. There were only a few empty parking spaces remaining in their relatively large parking lot. I couldn’t believe it. Why were all of those people there ? Oh – Spring Break continued. I stayed there for about 2 hours, and by the time I left there were more empty parking spaces.

A lot of people were fishing at the Park. I have some unpopular opinions about that, but I’ll keep them to myself (as a non-fisherman). I didn’t appreciate how portions of the narrow bridge / walkway were essentially blocked by groups of people fishing (and not particularly watching who was walking behind them or in-between them). It was kind of a safety hazard. But who I am to raise a concern ? I’m just a tourist now. It may be another 10 years before my next visit.

Back in Homestead I hit some stores, and Starbucks, and Outback Steakhouse where I enjoyed dinner with a former coworker friend. And then it was back to my hotel for the 2ND of 2 nights.

The Homestead / Florida City half of my trip to South Florida was planned and implemented perfectly. I’m looking forward to my next visit later this year.

I’m headed to West Broward County for the next 2 days to hang out with my brother visiting from the Dallas Texas area. I’ll write about it – next – #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2026 Christopher M. Day, CountUp