Category: Military

Casey Key, Siesta Key, Sarasota Florida

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date July 24, 2025

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I wrote about my Tuesday afternoon and evening in June in Venice and Laurel / Nokomis Florida. And the trek continues the next morning.

I started my Wednesday morning by driving the final mile westward to the Gulf Beaches along Albee Road. I made a right onto Casey Key Road – which Google Maps did not want me to do (based on my eventual destination). Was Casey Key Road a private road ? Was it damaged and impassible somewhere along the way ? I would soon find out on this exploration trek.

I drove for a little over 4 miles along narrow and winding Casey Key Road. It’s essentially a sandy neighborhood road past quite expensive multi-million-dollar houses surfside. Many of the houses suffered damage from last year’s hurricanes (Helene and Milton), and they were being repaired or rebuilt.

After that slow (15 to 25 MPH) neighborhood drive-thru I headed inland (eastward) along Blackburn Point Road to U.S. 41 (Tamiami Trail).

Heading northward on U.S. 41 – I made a left (westward) onto Sarasota County Road 72 – which is the far-western extension of Florida State Road 72. (I’ll write more about the State Road next week.)

At the end of the road – I made a right onto Midnight Pass Road (unique name with a unique history – see next paragraph) – and I was officially on Siesta Key for the first time ever. I continued onto Beach Road, and I parked my car at the main parking lot at Siesta Beach.

Fun Fact: Casey Key (to the south) and Siesta Key (to the north) are actually connected to each other, but you can’t drive between the two keys (barrier islands). You can walk though. Where the two keys meet is a very narrow strip of land that disappears sometimes due to hurricanes and tropical storms that move through the region. When the sea overtakes the land – it creates a new inlet called Midnight Pass – and sometimes that inlet is in a different place than previously. (It migrates back-and-forth.) From my understanding – developers want it closed (no pass). Locals want it open (pass). Ultimately – Mother Nature decides when and where Midnight Pass appears.

I walked across the street, and I waited at the trolley stop for a few minutes for the free trolley to arrive. This was a carefully and extensively researched and studied initiative for several weeks beforehand to take the Breeze Siesta Islander (Route 77) trolley from Siesta Key to and from downtown Sarasota. The trolley is extremely popular with visitors during the peak Fall, Winter, and Spring tourist seasons. In the summertime – the locals mostly use it. The trolley ride to downtown Sarasota was uneventful. It wasn’t narrated, as it’s not a sightseeing trolley. It’s Sarasota County (Government) transportation.

I took the trolley to Bayfront Park. It was my 2ND visit ever. (My first was in February 2014.) I did a lot of walking and photographing there. It’s very picturesque in every direction.

I then walked down the street (Bayfront Drive) to Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. I was last there the same day in February 2014 that I last visited Bayfront Park. Again – lots of great pictures were captured during my approximate 90-minute visit amidst nature’s beauty.

I picked-up the free trolley right in front of the Botanical Gardens, and I took it back to my car in front of Siesta Beach. I then walked over to the beach to check it out. I was unimpressed by all of the hype that I’ve heard over the years regarding Siesta Beach. The beach was packed like sardines with thousands of (I’m guessing) locals under umbrellas, tents, and other coverings. You couldn’t even see the Gulf due to the sheer number of people and obstructions from end to end. So I essentially turned around and went away – away to a nicer less crowded beach.

Next #TravelThursday I’ll write about that beach, as well as my final dinner on this trip. I’ll also write about my trip back home. Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Casey Key, Florida, Sarasota, Siesta Key

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Venice + Nokomis Florida

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date July 17, 2025

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I wrote about my morning drive from Sebring to downtown Arcadia, and then from there down to the end of U.S. 17 in Punta Gorda to visit the Military Heritage Museum. And the trek continues on that Tuesday in June.

I headed north via Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41) out of Punta Gorda, across Charlotte Harbor, through Port Charlotte, out of Charlotte County, and into Sarasota County.

My next stop was the Venice Museum, and it was a second-time visit. My first visit was 6 years earlier in May 2019. This time I actually talked museum business with the friendly docent at the front desk. I revealed myself as a fellow museum volunteer, Social Media Director, and on the Board Of Directors. We had a good discussion about things that are working, and things that are not working. They have a modern museum there with lots of fun bells and whistles. Like my museum – they are open 3 days a week – Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays – from 10 AM to 4 PM. During the busier Fall, Winter, and Spring seasons they are also open on the 1ST and 3RD Saturdays of the month from 11 AM to 3 PM. They are owned and operated by the city of Venice Florida.

My next stop was my hotel for the next 2 nights in Laurel Florida – an unincorporated census-designated place (UCDP) adjacent to Nokomis – another such UCDP. My hotel and the hotel across the street both had Nokomis street addresses and Nokomis in their name, so for the purposes of this blog – I spent 2 nights near Nokomis. (Both Laurel and Nokomis have rich histories that date back to settlers in the late-19TH Century.)

For dinner I headed a couple of miles south back into Venice to Darrell’s Restaurant – which I also ate at 6 years earlier in May 2019. The place was busy and getting busier. The service was good. The food was great. I ordered a sweet tea with the “Pulled Piggy” – a half-pound of hand-pulled pork with two sides of my choice. I chose mashed potatoes and gravy and collard greens. Cornbread completed the meal. And it was a hearty meal, but not too big that I couldn’t handle; although, it took some time to enjoy it all. Any future trip to Venice will include another visit to Darrell’s.

After dinner I headed west to the beach – where I spent a lot of time when I vacationed across the street from the beach 6 years earlier. I thought to myself while walking on the beach that it was perhaps my favorite beach in the world. (It used to Fort Myers Beach.)

Sunset was at 8:28 PM that night (the latest of the year), but there was little to no chance that a visible sunset would actually appear on the horizon due to leftover thunderstorm clouds in the sky. I spent 35 minutes on the beach, and then I headed back to my hotel near Nokomis. After all – “America’s Got Talent” would start at 8 PM.

Next #TravelThursday I’ll write about Casey Key, Siesta Key, and Sarasota – including my fascinating ride on the trolley. Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Arcadia, Florida, Punta Gorda

Blogging Driving Food Geography Military Travel

Arcadia + Punta Gorda Florida

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date July 10, 2025

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. For 6 weeks in May into June I wrote a 6-part blog series on my 5-day visit to Texas – and my brother’s 5-day visit to Florida during an unusual span of 10 out of 19 days together. That blog series was so much fun to write, as I essentially got to look back and electronically reenact it all. It actually inspired me to plan another vacation, so that I could write about it in another multi-blog series. I looked to the Atlantic beaches, and I thought about Vero Beach. I was last there on vacation 4 years ago in June 2021. I decided to look west instead of east – over to the Gulf beaches.

I knew that I wanted this vacation to include a lot of new places, and so it began a couple of weeks ago on a Tuesday morning. From my neighborhood I headed north on U.S. 27 – and then west on Florida State Road 64 – and then south on U.S. 17.

My first stop was the historic district of downtown Arcadia – a revisit from 3½ months earlier. On my stroll along historic Oak Street back in early-March 2025 – I walked by the Oak Street Deli (after enjoying lunch at a different place around the block). I thought to myself that on my next visit I’d eat there, and so I did for an early lunch. I ordered one of their specials – a grilled Reuben (my favorite sandwich) with a side of my choice (potato salad) and a brownie and sweet tea to drink. The Reuben was pretty good; although, it should’ve stayed on the grill for perhaps a couple of minutes longer. The bread was actually grilled nicely. It did not turn soggy like many Reuben sandwiches do from many restaurants (unfortunately). The potato salad was plentiful and definitely homemade. So was the brownie. And so was the sweet tea. The short return visit / pitstop in downtown Arcadia was definitely worth it.

After that nice meal I continued my trek southward along U.S. 17. I’m not so sure that I had ever previously driven along that southernmost 25-mile stretch of U.S. 17 between Arcadia and Punta Gorda. I actually reached and kept on going past the southern terminus of U.S. 17.

Fun Fact: U.S. 17 runs for 1,206 miles through 5 states from Winchester Virginia to Punta Gorda Florida. Both ends are at other major U.S. routes (U.S. 11 in Winchester and U.S. 41 in Punta Gorda).

My 2ND stop was in Punta Gorda at the Military Heritage Museum for the first time ever. I had been following them via their Facebook page for awhile, and I’ve always wanted to check them out. Their two-story museum is quite extensive and very modern. I spent about an hour and fifteen minutes there looking at all of the exhibits and talking to a few of the volunteers. They were fairly busy for a Tuesday afternoon in June. I can imagine that they are hectic on weekends and especially during the fall, winter, and spring seasons.

I did talk a little bit of museum business with the main lobby volunteers, but I did not reveal myself as a fellow museum volunteer / board member. They were actually busy with a steady flow of new visitors at the time.

Time to head north out of Punta Gorda and Charlotte County and into Sarasota County via Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41). Next #TravelThursday I’ll write about Venice (including Venice Beach) and Nokomis. Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Arcadia, Florida, Punta Gorda

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Happy 249TH Birthday U.S.A. !

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date July 4, 2025

On this 4TH Of July holiday we celebrate this great nation of ours – this free nation that we call The United States Of America. We are free today because of our Founding Fathers – great Americans like John Hancock, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson. Let us never forget all of those great Americans who fought – and who continue to fight to this day – for the independence and the freedom that we continue to enjoy today.