Category: Travel

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Blogging Driving God History Holidays Life Television Travel

Bedtime Stories

As I begin writing this blog entry tonight there are just about 115 minutes remaining in 2008. I’ll probably be in bed asleep as 2009 officially arrives, but I’ll catch it fairly new – about 6 or 7 hours – once I awake in the morning.

2008 was the greatest year of my entire Life, and I expect 2009 to surpass it – just as 2008 surpassed 2007 – and 2007 surpassed 2006. It just keeps on getting brighter and more glorious on God’s fantastic journey for me. He constantly amazes me with His miracles.

If you wish to see why 2008 was so glorious for me then simply read any of the 613 blog entries that I posted – at least one per day – every single day from January 01ST through December 31ST.

Thank You Everyone for spending just a small portion of your Life with me via this blog and-or LIVE and in-person. Let’s keep on doing it into 2009. I’m ready. You ?

Until we hang out again in 2009 I wish you a very Happy New Year, and REMEMBER THIS !  It’s a Chevrolet commercial in living technicolor from nearly 60 years ago that plays more like a Chamber Of Commerce promo for the Miami Florida area – the way that it was back in 1950 !

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Driving Holidays Music Travel

Saturday Night Retro

December 25TH 1996 – It was the first Christmas with my Mom, Dad, Brother, and Cats up in Jacksonville Florida. They had just moved there after about 28 years up in the Washington D.C. area. That was 2 homes ago (for my parents) and 3 cars ago (for me). I was still in my 20s (!), and my brother was 21. It seems so long ago. It was just a dozen years ago.

Today I drove back home to Homestead from the Jacksonville area, and so another chapter in our lives has now ended. This was our last Christmas in Jacksonville. My parents are getting ready to move (for the final time) to the Dallas Texas area. I’ve got a lot of great memories from the past dozen Christmases (and years) up there, but the good times and great memories shall continue infinitely with my family over in North Texas.

Going back to 1996 I present to you for your ‘Retro’ review this MASSIVESMASH from The Smashing Pumpkins. It’s one of my favourite hit songs of all-time. It’s a 1996 smash that’s all about “1979”. It’s the biggest pop and rock smash of their entire career, and it was Grammy-nominated and certified gold. It’s a hot track that spent 10 months in heavy rotation on TOP 40 radio stations nationwide. Here’s the 1996 MTV Video Music Award winner for ‘Best Alternative Video’.

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Animals Driving Food Travel

Christmas Morning Stocking Full O’ Thoughts

Here’s what I’m thinkin’ ’bout on this Glorious Christmas Day Morning:

1.  I left work at exactly 9 AM yesterday (Christmas Eve) morning, and I arrived at my parents’ home at exactly 3:30 PM. It was a rather uneventful 6½-hour drive from Homestead to here. That included about a 30-minute stop-over in Fort Pierce along world-renown State Road 70 for Gas and Lunch.

2.  I’m currently in historic Clay County Florida – about halfway between the historic river cities of Orange Park and Green Cove Springs (the county seat) along historic U.S. 17. F.Y.I. – U.S. 17 extends from the foothills of Northern Virginia to the Gulf Coast of Southwest Florida.

3.  My last visit up here to the First Coast of Florida was during the Labor Day Weekend at the end of August 2008. I’ve been coming up here once or twice per year for the past 12 years to visit my parents (and my brother when he lived up here). 2009 will probably be my parents’ final year here. They’ll be moving to the north of Dallas Texas in a few months. They’ll be living just a few miles away from my brother and his wife.

4.  Of all of the cats that have been in our family over the past quarter of a century my parents’ current cat – Pumpkin – has the most beautiful fur ever !  She’s brown and black with hints of orange and tan – perhaps even a bit of burnt sienna. One time when Pumpkin was a kitten she was totally terrified of me, and she nearly tried to end her own life by jumping at least 20 feet to the ground below when she was absolutely frightened by an unintentional sudden movement of mine. Now she adores me and comes running to me whenever I spot my petting hand. Pumpkin loves me so much now that she even licks me at times. Even she has realized that cats all over the land adore me.

5.  Last night we enjoyed a MASSIVE Dinner at the local Longhorn Steak House. This afternoon we’ll be enjoying a traditional (also MASSIVE) Christmas Day Dinner. Don’t you know that I like totally dig that dudes and dudettes ?  SHYEAHZZZ !

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE !

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Driving Food History Movies Television Travel Weather

Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts

Every Tuesday night the world listens to me. Hear me now:

1.  Aside from the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida the entire rest of the free nation from coast-to-coast and from border-to-border is shivering in a deep icy freeze. Even much of California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas is socked-in to a deep freeze. Here in Homestead we’ve got fast-moving tropical showers moving in from the Caribbean. It’s December in Paradise !

2.  The 17TH season of “Survivor” held in Gabon Africa is now done and over with, and it was quite the entertaining season finale this past Sunday night on CBS-TV. I’ve seen every single episode ever made since it became an overnight sensation back during the Summer of 2000. The 18TH season has already wrapped-up its filming up in the Brazilian Highlands. It premieres in February 2009.

3.  Yesterday I was on a portion of Campbell Drive that is off-limits to most vehicular traffic. It’s located on a secluded portion of Homestead Air Reserve Base east of the South Dade Labor Camp neighbourhood. The original road surface of Campbell Drive still exists. It’s not in very good shape though. Once upon a time the main gate to the base was right there at the intersection of Campbell Drive and Tallahassee Road (now Speedway Boulevard). Today’s Labor Camp was once part of Base Housing.

4.  Gas prices just keep on dropping. It’s in the $1.40s and $1.50s across much of the free nation. There are actually some analysts out there who state that gas prices could actually drop below $1 per gallon in 2009. These are the same analysts that forecasted gas to reach $10 per gallon earlier this year.

5.  I’m eating at the Outback Steak House this Friday night for the first time in recent memory (many years). I’m totally looking forward to that. Afterwards I’m heading off to see a movie – “Yes Man“. It sounds like someone is dating again !