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Texas Brother

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This is a continuation of my post from last week when I wrote about my final day in North Texas – Saturday May 03RD 2025 – my brother’s 50TH birthday !

I flew back home to Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (#SRQ) that afternoon, and I returned to my dream home in my dream neighborhood in my dream part of Florida.

Fast forward 10 days later, and early on a Tuesday morning I drove 65 miles up to Walt Disney World to meet my family who had arrived 4 days earlier. But first I walked around their hotel complex – Disney’s Coronado Springs. It was built in the mid-1990s, and I’ve probably driven by it more than a dozen times. I took a bunch of pictures – some of which will eventually make their way onto my Flickr site. I met up with my brother, sister-in-law, and two nieces inside “El Centro” – the main entrance and lobby area. “Las chicas” took an Uber to Orlando International Airport (#MCO), and my brother came with me to my car with all of his luggage. He’d spend the next 5 days with me.

Our first stop was Disney Springs – the MASSIVE shopping, dining, and entertainment complex that was once known as Downtown Disney – West Side, Pleasure Island, and Marketplace. Me and my brother actually discovered Pleasure Island (and West Side) over 30 years ago on a family vacation with our parents, and we loved it so much that we kept going back there at least a few times a year for the next 10 years. I was actually an annual pass holder at Pleasure Island for many of those years, so I went back more often – all the way from South Florida 4½ hours away. The former Pleasure Island is barely recognizable nowadays. As we walked up and down the island we tried to figure out where various nightclubs used to be located at.

We ate lunch at Guy Fieri’s Chicken Guy ! at the request of my brother. YES – it was yet another chicken sandwich for me – along with fries and an amazing Banana Pudding Shake. I know. I know.

My brother did a lot of shopping, and I did a lot of browsing – and following my brother around. I’m not much of a shopper – unless it’s shopping for food – like at Publix – where shopping is a pleasure.

That afternoon we drove down to my home near Sebring. That evening we went to Wawa – which is the nearest business to my neighborhood. But I’ve never been there before. I’ve only passed by it almost every day for the past 2 years and 2 months. My brother showed me how to order food via the kiosk, pay for it at the checkout counter, and then pick it up when it’s ready. I think I’ve got it down now. I’ll probably be visiting Wawa on a regular basis from this point forth. I should probably create an account with them, download their app, and start collecting rewards.

So that’s Day 1 of me and my brother’s excellent Highlands County Florida adventure. I’ll recap Days 2 to 5 – next #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Texas Concert

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This is a continuation of my post from last week when I drove 76 miles from Sebring to Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (#SRQ), and then I flew nonstop direct to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (#DFW). Last week I wrote about Jollibee, Starwood Cafe, and Texas Theatre.

This week – the adventure continues. We’re up to the day after Night 2 – Thursday – and this was really the only day that we were forecasted to receive nice weather. In fact – it was supposed to be sunny, clear, and warm on that day with a high in the mid-80s. Yeah – that didn’t happen. It was cloudy (even a bit foggy at times) and chilly with the 60s and the 70s. I think the sun finally emerged for an hour or so during the early-evening hours. North Texas weather can be difficult to forecast during the Spring and Fall months.

Me and my brother went to Barnes & Noble to check out books, magazines, and music. Remember all of the great bookstores that used to exist back in the ’80s and ’90s ? I’m thinking B. Dalton Bookseller, Waldenbooks, Borders, and even Crown Books up in Maryland and Virginia. Those were fun places to hang out at – those and record stores. Most of the bookstores had records, and most of the record stores had books. I’m glad that Barnes & Noble still exists as the last of all of them.

For lunch me and my brother went to Scotty P’s – a local fast-food restaurant. I had the chicken sandwich with fries. (I see a trend developing here.)

For dinner my brother picked-up Whataburger meals for our family. I requested a cheeseburger, fries, and fried apple pie. I got the fries and apple pie, but no cheeseburger. When my sister-in-law handed out all of the burgers – there was none left for me. My brother was either shortchanged, or he ordered incorrectly. (I suspect the former.) I watched everyone else eat their burger as I went without. I kept quiet about it. No need to dwell on it; although, let me just add that Whataburger does make a pretty good fast-food burger. Maybe next time I’ll get to enjoy one. Maybe in November.

OK – here’s the reason for the title of this blog post. Our family attended a circus-themed choral concert performed by a few hundred 5TH, 6TH, 7TH, and 8TH graders from two different schools – inside the auditorium of one of the local high schools. I think it was my first such school concert ever, and it was the first time that I’ve been inside of a high school in 40 years – since I was a graduate of the Class Of 1985. My youngest niece was a performer at the concert. She showed off her gymnastics skills. The concert was actually better than expected – a lot of fun. It was also a bit long – 90 minutes !

So that was my Thursday earlier this month in North Texas. Next #TravelThursday – it’s Part 3 of my fun with family, as me and my brother see a movie and I eat more chicken. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Cutler Bay Florida

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. A couple of Sunday mornings ago (early on Palm Sunday) I drove 3½ hours southward from Sebring to Homestead Florida. It took a little bit longer than normal for the trek on that particular Sunday morning due to a bicycling event that I wasn’t expecting until I reached Florida State Road 997 (Krome Avenue) in Miami-Dade County.

And actually when I went to plot my trek on Google Maps a few minutes prior to leaving home – it warned me that my route was partially closed – the northernmost 18 miles of Krome Avenue from U.S. 27 southward. I figured that it was due to wildfires adjacent to the road, as that’s sometimes a problem at this time of the year (the end of dry season). It was actually due to the annual GFNY (Gran Fondo New York) Miami endurance competition – a 35-mile loop for bicyclists (70 miles if you do it twice). The left-hand lane of both directions of Krome Avenue was orange coned off and reserved for the bicyclists, as regular vehicular traffic continued in the right-hand lane.

That was pretty unique to be driving alongside an active bicycle event. We rarely reached the speed limit of 55 MPH, and actually traffic slowed down quite a bit as we drove by bicyclists.

I arrived at my Sunday morning destination – my longtime home church from 2015 to 2024. I got to see my Homestead Pastor preach LIVE for the first time since December. (I previously filled-in for him for a couple of Sundays in January and February.)

From downtown Homestead I drove around the outside of the airbase for the first time since I retired almost 14 months ago. There has been rapid development adjacent to the main entry of the airbase since I was last there. A MASSIVE Miami Dade County Transit Operations Center for electric buses is currently under construction on 20 acres of land that was previously undeveloped for 30+ years ever since Hurricane Andrew destroyed what used to be the base housing area of the original airbase.

I proceeded northward and eastward over to Cutler Bay Florida – picking-up a longtime friend along the way. We went to Applebee’s for lunch. I was not impressed with my meal – or the service. Both were slightly below average. I remember Applebee’s being a bit better than that; although, it had been almost 3 years since we last ate there.

From Applebee’s we drove around the Southland Mall – which was unbelievably packed (at least on one side of the mall – facing U.S. 1). That was my neighborhood mall (sort of) during my 36 years of living down the road in Homestead. Southland Mall redevelopment has begun, and the former Sears building of 48 years (1972-2020) is no longer there. About 5,000 residential apartments (via high-rises) will be built to create a new live, work, and play community experience, and the legacy mall itself will be supplemented with new “town center” stores individually accessible directly from the exterior.

Finally – we made it to The Dennis C. Moss Cultural Arts Center (across the street from the mall) to attend a concert – The 13TH Army Band of the Florida National Guard. Tickets were free, but they had to be reserved in advance. The Army band was large, and they mostly performed patriotic and military songs. This was the 2ND such concert that I’ve seen at this nice modern entertainment venue since it opened in 2011.

Next #TravelThursday – My Miami-Dade County Florida adventure continues with more nostalgia on the Monday after – including a visit to the first church that I called home for 8 years. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Arcadia Florida

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. It’s Equinox Day – the Spring Equinox here in the Northern Hemisphere and the Autumnal Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere. It occurs at 0501 U.S. East Coast Time / 0901 UTC. The Sun crosses the Equator at that precise moment on its trek northward to the Tropic Of Cancer.

Last week I wrote about my fun trip over to Arcadia Florida – 43 miles away from home. I visited the historic John Morgan Ingraham House Museum of the DeSoto County Historical Society. I also enjoyed a wonderful lunch at the cozy and quaint The Yellow Deli.

And this is where the story continues. After lunch I took a stroll down historic Oak Street, and I visited numerous antique stores. The historic district known formally as “Arcadia Main Street” is mostly antique stores, and they all appear to be thriving. Some stores even have multiple locations. Arcadia is informally known as “The Antique Capital Of Florida”. I don’t buy antiques, but I actually enjoy visiting antique stores just to see the 20TH Century memorabilia on display and for sale. Antique stores are like mini museums. On many visits to the Wichita Falls Texas area to hang out with my family there we often went on short road trips around the region to visit antique stores.

There were a lot of cowboys and cowgirls walking along Oak Street, as well as full tour buses unloading near The Tree Of Knowledge (a small downtown park with an old oak tree as its centerpiece). It didn’t take me very long to figure out that this was a special event weekend in Arcadia. In fact – it was Rodeo Weekend. Specifically – it was the start of the 4-day “97TH Annual Arcadia All-Florida Championship Rodeo“. My timing is impeccable. I picked the perfect day to be amongst hundreds of tourists along Oak Street. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. Historic Downtown Arcadia was vibrant with life on that Thursday morning !

This was my first visit to Arcadia. I had driven through a few times previously along U.S. 17 and Florida State Road 70. Both roads actually split into one-way roads through downtown Arcadia. It’s a nice small town with a fun historic pedestrian-friendly Main Street. I’ll be sure to visit again and again in the future. The coffee smelled really good as I walked by The Florida Farmhouse Coffee. Next time I won’t be walking by. I’ll be stepping in.

It’s back home to Sebring – and a first-time visit to our newest museum – next – #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp