Category: Travel

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Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts

It’s the flagship weekly series of this blog, and it kicks-off a fresh new week.

I.  Longhorn Steakhouse / Olive Garden / Red Lobster – Just a few years ago who would have ever thought that all three of these fine dining establishments would be open for business right here in our historic city of Homestead Florida – and right next to each other !  Here’s a personal progress report of the trio thus far. Working backwards from last opened to first opened – I have not yet made it into Red Lobster. In fact I think it’s been at least 15 years since I’ve set foot in any Red Lobster. I know that I’ll love the food there, but I think that I’ll wait until after the crowds die down a bit. As far as Olive Garden is concerned I’ve been there perhaps a half a dozen times. In my own humble opinion the food is overrated, and the service is consistently subpar. I would rather eat Italian food at either Portofino or Mamma Mia – and I frequently do – far more so than Olive Garden. And that brings us to my new home away from home – Longhorn Steakhouse – where I’m a regular – and I’m welcomed back week after week after week. It’s my Lunchtime getaway. I think I’ve eaten there about 15 to 20 times since they’ve been open (not that I’m actually keeping track of it or anything like that). I’ve never walked away from there unhappy. The food has always been totally awesome dude, and the service has always been very good, excellent, or even outstanding. I ate Lunch there yesterday (Monday), and I’ll be back again next week. I’ll take the 8-ounce Renegade Top Sirloin !

II.  Health Care – I know next to nothing about the specifics of the health care debate and subsequent bill that was recently signed into law. I just didn’t really follow it or study it much, and apparently much of America didn’t either. I’d even venture to state that much of the U.S. Congress didn’t study it much as well. All of the Republicans said “NO” to it, and most of the Democrats said “YES” to it. That says a lot right there. I can’t form an opinion on it at this time. I’ll have to wait and see after-the-fact whether or not it was a good bill to sign or not based on how it personally affects me a few years from now. Here’s what I do know. I have excellent health care courtesy of my U.S. Government job. I pay a little over $80 for it every two weeks (about $2,100 per year). I have an active prescription for Lipitor. It costs $25.08 for a 30-day supply. My health care plan allegedly saves me $94.87, so without it I assume I would pay $119.95 for the Lipitor every month. My health care plan allegedly saves me about 79% off the total cost of the Lipitor. I dig that, but will all of those costs remain the same in the future, or will they go up ?  Someone has to pay for this trillion-dollar-plus health care bill, and that someone is me and you with jobs.

III.  Springfield Massachusetts – As part of my ‘Vacation Of The Month Club’ that I’ve ambitiously instituted – fresh and new for 2010 – I’m proud to announce that my June vacation will be to South Central Mass. I’ll actually be setting foot in two U.S. states for the first time ever – Massachusetts and Connecticut. (I’m flying in to the Hartford area.) But I must be 100% completely honest here. This proposed 5-day trip is work-related, as I will be visiting the operations at Westover Air Reserve Base there – one of our sister bases. It’ll be a lot of fun checking out the surrounding area – especially in June. (I know how cold it gets up there for 6 months out of the year.)

This concludes this weekly edition of the ‘Grab Bag’. “My Fantastic Journey” is making the big move from its longtime successful Wednesday night perch over to Sunday afternoons, so the next time I blog will be on Thursday night when I bring you about 40 ‘Mini Thoughts’. Until then my friends keep on keepin’ on – and – REMEMBER THIS !

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Animals Blogging Driving God Music Nature People Radio Travel

Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts

May a fascinating new week of blogging begin … NOW !

I.  House Of Heroes / Skillet / Toby Mac – Last Friday night I saw my first rock concert in a major sports arena (non church setting) in over 3 years. This was over at the 7,000+ seat Germain Arena in Estero Florida (halfway between Fort Myers and Naples right alongside I-75). I’ve been to a lot of rock concerts over the past 25 years, and this was probably the first one ever in which there was no drinking, smoking, or drug use occurring during the show. It was a fairly young crowd. At nearly 43 I was surely at the upper tier of the demographics observed. Of course just becuase I’m approaching 43 doesn’t mean that I have to act like I’m so. I stood and sang and danced for virtually the entire show – and so did everyone around me. I had to blend in with the young and energetic crowd. House Of Heroes performed 4 songs during their short 15-minute set including two of their big hits from 2008 “Lose Control” and “In The Valley Of The Dying Sun”. Surprisingly they didn’t perform their last two hits “Code Name: Raven” or “Field Of Daggers”. Skillet were up next, and based on the crowd attendance and reaction they were the unofficial headlining act of the show. Their explosive set lasted for a little over an hour, and they churned through over a decade of hard rockin’ hits. Their music was awesomely loud, and their pyrotechnics was impressively bright. The pyro was bigger than your typical WWE show on television !  It was definitely a vivid spectacle that was so fun to experience. Toby Mac was all over the arena for his 1 hour and 20 minute show. There was no pyro for his show – just powerful lyrics, kool melodies, and lots of singing, rapping, and dancing to God Almighty. I knew most of his material – but not all of it – particularly the older stuff. He did however perform “Jesus Freak” from 15 years ago. I knew that dc Talk rocker because of Chasing Victory‘s cover version of it from a few years ago. It was a great 4-hour experience at the arena from start to finish. It was a pleasure to spend it with all of those around me who love Jesus Christ and His hard rockin’ jamz !

II.  Naples Florida – After a relaxing night in a nice and peaceful and quiet Estero hotel I spent the next morning into the afternoon playing the role of tourist / future resident in and around Naples. I visited the Naples Pier (and the adjacent beach), the Naples Zoo At Caribbean Gardens, and the Collier County Museum in East Naples. I was particularly impressed with my first ever visit to the museum, as it was far more expansive than I ever imagined. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to visit another Collier County Museum branch right after that – the Museum Of The Everglades – in secluded Everglades City. I had tried to visit that particular museum on a previous visit to Everglades City last October, but it was allegedly closed at the time. This time it was open and nearly packed. It’s always good to see lots of people getting a historical education at the museum. While I took I-75 over to the Naples area on Friday afternoon (to get over there quicker) I took U.S. 41 on the return trip back home on Saturday afternoon. Both coast-to-coast routes have their obvious advantages and disadvantages, and I shall continue to utilize them both on many future visits to the Southwest Florida area.

III.  Next Stop – Lake Okeechobee & Florida’s Treasure Coast – In about 3½ weeks I embark on a brand new road trip adventure of a lifetime. I’ve got a detailed itinerary already planned out for bright and early on a Saturday morning through real late on a Sunday night. My trek will take me up to rural Palm Beach County – and all along the entire eastern perimeter of Lake Okeechobee. I don’t believe that I have ever seen the Big Lake ‘O’ before in my lifetime (aside from up above in an airplane). After spending the night at an undisclosed location in Fort Pierce (where Florida’s Turnpike and I-95 come together) I’ll be taking a nice and slow and scenic drive back southbound along the A1A and the U.S. 1 (for the most part) with scheduled pit stops at various tourist attractions in Stuart, Jupiter, and Palm Beach before I attend a LIVE concert at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood. It should be a lot of fun visiting a slice of Florida that I’ve never really seen before up close.

Well my friends those are my ‘Grab Bag O’ Thoughts’ on this Tuesday night. I’m headed to Toastmasters in just a little while, so I need to go and get ready for the fun there. Be sure to check out my ‘Thursday Night Mini Thoughts’ in just about 48 hours. Until I blog again (tomorrow night) – REMEMBER THIS !

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Blogging Driving History Life Music Radio Travel

Saturday Night Retro

EXACTLY 9 YEARS AGO TODAY on the 27TH of March of 2001 I sent an E-Mail to my travel agent at the time. She worked on Marco Island, and I was inquiring about the area. Here’s an actual paragraph from that original E-Mail:

I am in the process of planning a two-day vacation for myself over in Naples for the final weekend of April, and I pretty much know what I am going to see and do while over there, but I also want to spend some time (maybe three or four hours at the most) in Marco Island on the day that I drive back from Naples to the Miami area.

It seems that the more things change – the more things stay the same. Back then I was planning a two-day / two-night visit over in the Naples area – my first visit over there in about a decade (since before Hurricane Andrew).

TODAY – 9 YEARS LATER – I drove right by the hotel that I stayed at back then – and I drove right by Marco Island as well. I did visit Everglades City again on this visit – my 2ND visit to the area in about 5½-months. I’ll be visiting the area again later on this year, and perhaps I’ll even make a pit stop on Marco Island.

BACK TO 9 YEARS AGO during the Spring of 2001 when a younger Y-100-listening Chris M. Day was driving around in his brand new gold 2001 Saturn SC2 with this jam cranked-up as loud as can be on the FM stereo:

This concludes another week of blogging for me. I’ll return LIVE on Tuesday night with my weekly ‘Grab Bag O’ Thoughts’ and a totally complete synopsis of my short stay over in the Naples area. Until then my friends have yourself a wonderful weekend, and be sure to follow me on Twitter. See you there.

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Animals Blogging Driving Food God History Home Internet Music Travel

Thursday Night Mini Thoughts

– Let’s get spontaneous.
– Let’s not hold nothin’ back.
– Can we talk here ?
– Be reasonable – do it my way.
– Be radical – do it Jesus’s way.
– For the 2ND Thursday in a row I ate Lunch at the Longhorn Steakhouse.
– It’s my newest (and coolest) weekly tradition.
– It’s my secret hideaway for one hour away from coworkers.
– When I walk in the joint some of the hosts and wait staff welcome me back.
– They identify me as a regular attender.
– I dig that notion !
– My favourite Tweeter is Jesse Santoyo, so you should follow him.
– Come to think of it he’s my favourite blogger too.
– At least someone out there is still kickin’ it old school.
– I’m gearing up for my short weekend trip over to the Naples FL area.
– I’ll be driving over there tomorrow (Friday) afternoon after work.
– I’ll be rocking my face off tomorrow night at the Germain Arena.
– Toby Mac, Skillet, and House Of Heroes are going to raise the roof !
– I used to go to rock concerts on a fairly regular basis before I was saved.
– It’s been a long time since my last one in a major arena (non-church setting).
– In fact it’s been over 3 years – since a Huey Lewis And The News show.
– On Saturday morning I have a few pit stops to make over in Naples.
– I’ve got to visit my animal buds over at Naples Zoo.
– I’ve also got to check out the Collier County Museum.
– I’ll also be glancing over at various neighbourhoods as I drive by them.
– I just have this feeling that I’m a future resident of the Naples area.
– I may even catch Lunch on Saturday at Sonic.
– That’s the closest Sonic to my home – 110 miles away !
– Rumours suggest that we may get our very own Sonic here in Homestead.
– Longtimers may remember when we used to have two Sonics on U.S. 1.
– One was in the Naranja area near SW 264TH Street.
– The other one was in Homestead south of SW 320TH Street.
– That was before Hurricane Andrew destroyed everything in its path.
– I’ll be at Life Pointe Church bright and early on Sunday morning.
– I’ve got to be there, as I’m hosting the 9 AM service.
– Grab your crew and check out that first service.
– That would help to free up seats for the second service.
– This Saturday night here on the blog it’s an all-new ‘Retro’.
– I’ll be flashing back 9 years ago to 2001.
– There is no ‘Disco Party’ tomorrow night, and no new blog post.
– Until I blog again on Saturday night my friends take care of yourselves.
– Spread Love – it’s contagious !