Category: Travel

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The Major’s Weekend Blast-Off

WEEKEND GRAB BAG O’ THOUGHT:
25 years ago today a young 18-year-old version of me woke up bright and early a couple of hours before daybreak, checked-out of my dorm room, packed up my first car – a beige 1980 Chevy Citation – and embarked on the longest road-trip of my life (at that point). It was a 700+ mile trip eastbound along I-70 from Chanute AFB Illinois (next to Rantoul) through Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia to my destination – McLean Virginia. It was a long-awaited homecoming for me after being away for 4½ months at USAF Basic Training and Tech School. It was great to see my family (including my lovable cat Fluffy) after being away for such a long time for the first time in my entire life. I got to celebrate Halloween with my 10-year-old little brother at the time. I walked with him as he went trick-or-treating all throughout our neighbourhood – visiting many of my former customers from my newspaper carrier years. After 4½ months I was all grown up and in the Air Force. My military leave was short-lived though. 10 days later I was on my way overseas to my first permanent duty station in Great Britain. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year would all be celebrated in a foreign land away from home.

BEST LUNCH OF THE WEEK AWARD:
Longhorn Steakhouse wins this week’s award (yet again). I enjoyed another spectacular Lunch there today. Coming in 2ND place for the week is a brand new joint that me and some coworker friends discovered for the first time on Thursday. We enjoyed a nice Mexican Lunch at El Santo Coyote – located on U.S. 1 in Princeton at theoretical SW 261ST Street. They made their own homemade salsa right there at our table as we watched. I ordered one of their combination plates consisting of a taco, a burrito, and an enchilada with golden rice and refried beans. It was all delicious, but service was a bit on the slow side. I still recommend it though, and I’ll go back again when I’m not in a hurry to get back to work.

FORTUNE COOKIE MESSAGE OF THE WEEK CLUB:
– Plan a vacation with loved ones.

TAYLOR LESLEY DAY MEASUREMENTS OF THE MONTH CLUB:

My gorgeous niece turned 6-months-old last week. She now weighs in at over 17 pounds, and she’s 26 inches in length. I last saw her about 4 months ago, and I get to see her again in just 20 days !  She smiles a lot because she’s happy !  😀

THOSE SCARY SCARY CATS:

BLATANT PROMOTION:
Tomorrow night on the blog it’s another fresh new edition of my venerable ‘Saturday Night Retro’ as I flashback to Halloween nights of the past. I’ll also feature the Bobby ‘Boris’ Pickett classic from 48 years ago – “The Monster Mash”. Then on Sunday the treats continue with another new blog post – ‘Halloween Night Shenanigans’. Be sure to check that one out after you’re all done trick-or-treating. In-between all of the blogs it’s all of my tweets @majorhitwaves. Have a wonderful weekend my friends. Have fun. Be safe.

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Animals God Health History Home Life Music People Travel Weather

The Major’s Walk-A-Thon

Time: 6:44 AM – 7:26 AM
Sky: Mostly Clear
Temperature: 65°F
Dewpoint: 58°F
Relative Humidity: 78%
Winds: NW 5 MPH
Barometric Pressure: 30.01 Rising

Here are my walking thoughts in 15 words or less:

– It was a bit noisier outside yesterday morning compared with last week.
– My neighbours were driving away, returning home, and walking their dogs.
– When I say ‘neighbours’ I mean all 1,500 to 2,000 of them.
– I had one cat sighting, and she knew that I was her friend and not her foe.
– The air outside was clean, cool, crisp, and dry.
– During certain parts of my walk I could feel that 60°F wind chill.
– It felt really good after a long and hot and humid summer.
– I did not forget my iPod for this walk.
– I jammed to tunes from the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, ’00s, and today.
– One song in particular was rather ironic.
– It was Ferry Corsten’s “Rock Your Body, Rock”.
– 7 years ago I sweat by dancing to it late at night in a packed nightclub.
– On this morning I (not quite) sweat by walking to it early in the morning.
– I’m happy that I can look back at where I came from.
– I’m happy that God has placed me at this point here on this journey.
– This was a 2¼-mile walk, so that’s 4.4 miles towards my goal of a marathon.
– I’m lookin’ forward to the next 2+ mile walk – perhaps next Saturday AM !

Romans 10:13 – For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

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Saturday Night Retro

Saturday October 16TH 2010
Volume 3 / Number 6 / Edition 103

11 years ago back in October and November of 1999:
– The Shops At Sunset Place was the hottest new joint to hang out.
– AOL released Version 5.0, and the entire free nation celebrated.
– Moviegoers were blown away by “American Beauty”.
– The population of the world reached 6 billion.
– The Yankees swept the Braves 4 games to 0 to win the World Series again.
– EgyptAir Flight 990 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean killing all 217 on board.
– “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” skyrocketed to the top of the TV ratings.
– Exxon and Mobil combined to become ExxonMobil.
– The world prepared for the upcoming uncertainty that was Y2K.

1999 was certainly a party year as we ushered the end of a year, a decade, a century, and even a millennium. Even Prince made a big deal out of 1999 some 17 years earlier. He knew that it was gonna be big – and memorable. A lot of great party music came out in 1999. It was certainly a year to get up and dance !

Here’s the 1999 techno dance remix of the classic 1968 Steppenwolf track “Magic Carpet Ride”:

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Animals Blogging Driving Food God Health History Holidays Humor Life Music Nature Radio Travel Weather

The Major’s Weekend Blast-Off

Happy Columbus Day Weekend !  Let’s BLAST-OFF this weekend !

WEEKEND GRAB BAG O’ THOUGHT:
Well the cooler temperatures and the lower humidity arrived with a vengeance just as soon as October arrived a week ago, and it’s been no fluke. The South Florida dry season has officially begun – a few weeks earlier than normal. Lately we’ve been struggling to get in to the 80s in the afternoons, and we’re dropping well into the 60s early in the mornings with wind chills into the 50s at times. It’s our coolest weather in about 6 months, and it feels so good !  I must get out and enjoy this scrumptious Chamber Of Commerce weather. Last weekend I quietly kicked-off my ‘Cultural, Historical, & Economical Stimulus Tour’ for the Winter of 2011 with visits to Homestead Bayfront Park and Biscayne National Park. This weekend my fun-in-the-sun plans include the upper Florida Keys and Monkey Jungle. Between now and next April I’ll also plan to spend some quality time at Zoo Miami, Jungle Island, Miami Beach, West Palm Beach, Jupiter, Stuart, Naples, Fort Myers, Sanibel Island, Jacksonville, Panama City Beach, much of the NW Florida panhandle, Dallas Texas, The Bahamas, The U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Have fun will travel !

BEST LUNCH OF THE WEEK AWARD:
Chili’s – For the 2ND time in 6 weeks the Quesadilla Explosion Salad wins the coveted award. If you’ve got a hearty appetitite for nutritious vegetable goodness then check out this masterpiece. It’s got grilled chicken with cheese, corn relish, cilantro, tortilla strips, and citrus-balsamic dressing – served with cheese quesadillas. I dig.

5 CHRISTIAN TRACKS THAT ROCK MY FACE OFF:
– Break Down – A Rotterdam November
– Dear X, You Don’t Own Me – Disciple
– Driving Nails – Demon Hunter
– Therapy – Relient K
– You Know (Sixteen) – Please Promise
– – – – –
CALL-FM ROCKS !

THOSE CRAZY CRAZY CATS:
Some day – maybe 5 or 10 or 15 years from now – I may be a cat owner again. It’s because of these lovable shenanigans from my feline friends:

BLATANT PROMOTION:
Tomorrow night on my ‘Saturday Night Retro’ I’m flashing back 23½ years ago to the Spring of 1987 – back when I was a young resident of the British Isles. I’ll take a glimpse at what I was doing back then during my final memorable months as a teenager. After that I’m bring blogging back to Sundays !  That’s right – it’s the 4TH season premiere of ‘The Major’s Walk-A-Thon’. This year I’ve set a reasonable goal to walk a marathon – not all at once – but combined between now and April. I’m looking to walk 26.2 miles above and beyond my normal everyday walking. That’s an average of about 3.75 miles per month from October to April. In the fine tradition that is ‘The Major’s Walk-A-Thon’ I’ll blog about my walking adventures, and I’ll track my progress towards the goal. Don’t forget that you can follow me on Twitter in-between all of the weekend blog posts. Have yourself a safe and fun holiday weekend my friends.