Category: Travel

Categories
Blogging Driving History Home Life Music People Radio Travel

Saturday Night Retro

37 years ago at the end of 1972 I was a 5-year-old Kindergarten student at Magnolia Elementary School in Lanham Maryland.

Magnolia Elementary School, Lanham Maryland

The school was located about a mile away from my grandparents’ house. On most school half-days my Granddad would drop me off at school just after 12 noon and then pick me back up again 3 hours later. That was back in the days when you could attend any school that you wanted to no matter where you lived. I actually lived about 20 to 30 minutes away in Bowie Maryland. Later in the afternoon after getting off of work in NW Washington D.C. my Dad would pick me up from his parents’ house in this car:

Late in the afternoon as we drove southeastward from Lanham to Bowie along U.S. Route 50 (John Hanson Highway) we’d listen to WWDC AM-1260 as the TOP 40 hits were cranked out one after another. This was one of the top hits at the time at the end of 1972. It’s legendary British singer-songwriter Albert Hammond. He’s currently celebrating his 50TH anniversary in music, but back then he was enjoying a successful career as an International performance artist. Here’s “It Never Rains In Southern California” – his biggest hit as a singer ever – and one of the greatest pop radio tunes of my early childhood !

That’s ‘Saturday Night Retro’ for this week, and we’ll go back in time again – from the late-1990s – next Saturday night.

This concludes an awesome week of blogging. I’m taking Sundays and Mondays off from now on, so be sure to check back here on Tuesday night as we kick-off an all-new week of all of your favourite blog series. See ya then !

Categories
Sports Television Travel Weather

Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts

I.  So we’ve got the Indianapolis Colts versus the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV in just XII days on the VII day of February. Have you ever wondered why the Super Bowl is identified in Roman numerals ?  Has anyone noticed that – new for 2010 – all of the ‘Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts’ are Roman numeral numbered ?  Anyway back to the big game. It’s at Sun Life Stadium up near the Miami-Dade / Broward County line. You may remember Sun Life Stadium from one of these former names since 1987 – Land Shark Stadium, Dolphin Stadium, Dolphins Stadium, Pro Player Stadium, Pro Player Park, and the original name – Joe Robbie Stadium. Oh by the way – Let’s Go Saints !

II.  Crystal clear deep blue skies, cooler temperatures, lower humidity, and a nice subtle breeze out of the north – what more could you possibly ask for on the final week of January here in America’s Riviera ?  I forecasted a minimum early-morning low temperature of 52°F with wind chills in the upper-40s. We actually dropped down to 49°F (officially at the air base) at 7 AM with wind chills in the mid-40s. So I was a little bit off there. It appears as if it could be a couple of degrees colder tomorrow morning, so I’m going with 47°F at 7 AM with wind chills in the mid-40s. Wear layers.

III.  I am now less than 18 days away from embarking on my next big Carnival cruise vacation. It’s an 8-day cruise that I booked last September just a little more than a week following the conclusion of my last big Carnival cruise vacation. I imagine that I’ll probably plan yet another Carnival cruise vacation for later this year once I return back to reality following this upcoming cruise. Nothing beats that overwhelming feeling that I get when I’m out at sea – free from radio, television, computers, the Internet, telephones (especially so), and all of the other daily routines of life. It’s really cool to be able to look in every single direction and see nothing but water all the way to the horizon and know that there are no crimes being committed out there. It’s surely a different world, and I like to visit it a couple of times per year. I couldn’t live out there all year long, as that would get old real fast. It’s just fun to be able to go out and experience it and know that it will always be there – even when I’m not.

Have a great Tuesday night my friends. Make it a memorable one !

Categories
Astronomy Bugs Nature Travel Weather

The Major’s Walk-A-Thon: Special On-Location Edition – Everglades National Park

YESTERDAY I visited Everglades National Park to spend the day outside with nature. Here are my takeaways in 15 words or less:

– Me and a buddy arrived out there shortly after 9 AM while it was still foggy.
– I knew that it would eventually be a sunny and hot day – and it was.
– We took a cool 1 hour and 45 minute tour of the former Nike Missile Site.
– It’s a small abandoned military base that was active from 1964 to 1979.
– It’s remnants are now owned and operated by The National Park Service.
– They started giving (limited) guided tours of it just last year.
– Our tour guide – Ryan – was thorough and knowledgeable.
– Check out this article for more information on the site.
– After the tour and a quick Lunch in the car we went hiking on some trails.
– We took on a couple of easy trails at first – less than a mile combined.
– And then we went for the gusto.
– We went on a 6.0-mile hike through muck and mosquitoes.
– We walked the entire 2.6-mile length of the Rowdy Bend trail eastbound.
– Then we took the Snake Bight trail 0.3-miles south to Florida Bay.
– Then we walked the entire 3.0-miles all the way back to our car.
– I smothered myself with Off / Deet before the hike, but it wasn’t enough.
– The trails were totally infested with swarming and biting mosquitoes.
– They were drinking the Off / Deet, and biting through my shirt !
– In addition to the hundreds of mosquito bites I also got a facial sunburn.
– If I go out into the woods without sunscreen then I might just be a redneck.
– I was totally shocked as to the abundance of mosquitoes on the trails.
– They froze to death during the recent freeze, but then new ones took over.
– It’s been a very wet dry season, so it didn’t take long for new skeeters to be.
– They are totally hungry and thirsty for human blood, and so we were Lunch.
– After the 6.0-mile hike we ventured down to Flamingo on the Bay.
– We took a really nice 1 hour and 45 minute boat tour of Florida Bay.
– We went westward adjacent to the south coast and towards the sunset.
– The sun set at precisely 5:59 PM, as that’s when the disc touched the horizon.
– The sun hit the horizon and then took a mere 3 minutes to drop below it.
– It was one of the most perfect sunsets I have seen in my entire Life !
– There were no clouds in the way obscuring it in any way.
– As our sun was setting it was rising simultaneously in Shanghai China.
– It was a nice tour of the bay, and quite refreshing after a hot and sweaty day.
– Water temperatures on the bay have slowly recovered back to the upper-60s.
– It was recently much colder than that, and thousands of fish died.
– It didn’t smell very nice at the shore with all of the dead fish floating.
– It may take a couple of years for a normal fish population to return.
– I really enjoyed my day out with nature despite the bites and burns.
– I hope to do it again sometime before the end of the current dry season.
– Thank You God for all of your Glorious Creations !

Categories
Blogging Food Health History Music People Sports Television Travel Weather

Thursday Night Mini Thoughts

– Let’s get spontaneous.
– Can we talk here ?
– I’m currently fasting for about 16 hours.
– I have to give blood at my Doctor’s office tomorrow morning.
– After that I’m gearing up for a GINORMOUS Breakfast at the Cracker Barrel.
– And then it’s off to work to conclude this weird work week.
– I’m looking forward to this upcoming weekend.
– I plan to make the most of it.
– I’m going outside to play on Saturday.
– I’m taking my ‘Walk-A-Thon’ on the road – and deep into the Everglades.
– I want to see how everything looks out there after the big freeze.
– It’s gonna be a nice and warm and dry weekend.
– 80°F+ weather has a tight grip on America’s Riviera.
– If you like it then have fun for the next 4 days through Monday.
– We’ll have a brief cooldown for a couple of days next week.
– Only 23 more days until my upcoming Carnival cruise vacation.
– I’m getting really excited about it.
– Not only am I preparing for it, but I’ve already got my luggage out !
– This blog will go on a scheduled 8-day hiatus during February.
– When the blog returns LIVE I may transition to a 5 or 6 day a week schedule.
– I’ve been thinking about it for awhile – taking a day or two off per week.
– Sundays and Mondays would be the two days that I’d consider not blogging.
– This Saturday night on the ‘Retro’ I’m bringing back some 2003 Trance.
– But before that it’s the ‘Disco Party’ tomorrow night with Thelma Houston.
– Thank You so much for supporting ‘Moldie Oldie Music Weekends’.
– I also thank you for your requests, so keep them coming.
– This Sunday it’s the Vikings-Saints and the Jets-Colts.
– I’m rooting for a high-scoring offensive blitz in the Bayou.
– Light up that scoreboard Favre and Brees !
– I’m also rooting for the high-flying Jets to show the Colts how to get it done.
– Jets-Saints OR Jets-Vikings would work for me in the Super Bowl.
– Maybe if Favre wins the big game he’ll retire for real ?
– Or maybe not.
– Well those are my ‘Mini Thoughts’ on this Thursday night.
– Your time is valuable, and so I Thank You for it.
– Until I blog again (tomorrow) – REMEMBER THIS !