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Texas

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. 4 days ago – I returned home from Texas. Back in mid-July I got a really good deal on American Airlines for round-trip airfare from Sarasota-Bradenton (#SRQ) to Dallas-Fort Worth (#DFW) and back. It cost less than $225 – taxes and fees included. I flew out on Wednesday August 28TH, and I returned on Sunday September 01ST. (There’s only one flight daily between the two airports.)

Fun Fact: I sat in a window seat on the 32ND row out of #SRQ, and I sat in an aisle seat on the 33RD and last row out of #DFW. I guess when you pay the bottom-of-the-barrel cost for airfare – you’re placed at the very back of the aircraft. (I could have paid extra to sit closer to the front, but why bother ?)

The inbound flight on that Wednesday afternoon flew a bunch of circles off the Florida coast northwest of the Tampa Bay area, and then it was diverted over to Jacksonville (#JAX) due to heavy thunderstorms over Sarasota at the time. It refueled there, and then it continued its flight to Sarasota. I got in to #DFW about 2½ hours late. Better late than not at all.

Me and my brother packed a lot of activities into our 3 full days together.

On Thursday I experienced a couple of firsts. A bunch of outdoor scenes were filmed for an upcoming movie that I’ll be appearing in. I’ll be an extra with about 20 others, and I do have a speaking role. I’ll be appearing (with the others) as a protestor. (Dress code = all black.) More on that (perhaps) sometime next year when the movie premieres. Later that same day – I attended a high school football game for the first time in my life. My oldest niece is in high school now, and she’s a cheerleader for the junior varsity football team. We watched her, and we cheered on the Raiders. (They won.) #DUBEAST

On Friday we drove up to Wichita Falls to visit our Uncle and Cousin. At their home – a dog (Lacey) and a cat (Gracie) loved me dearly. We enjoyed reminiscing about our extended family, and we also enjoyed a nice Mexican buffet lunch at El Mejicano.

On Saturday we rested and stayed at home for much of the day, and we enjoyed WWE Bash In Berlin (LIVE from Germany). We also watched one of my favorite recent movies – Thelma.

On Sunday it was the return flight back to Florida. It departed early. It arrived early. Thunderstorms were approaching the Sarasota area from inland, so the pilot wanted to get up, get over, get down, and then get back up again before the storm clouds descended.

It was a fun 3 days and 4 nights in Texas with family. I’m looking forward to my next visit in a couple of months. I’ve already got my flights reserved.

#CountUp & #TravelThursday is on Facebook.

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll tell you all about a historic hotel in Avon Park Florida. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Blogging History Travel

Tasmania Florida

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I wrote about the historic Avon Park Depot Museum – operated by the Avon Park Historical Society. It’s located about 4½ miles from my neighborhood. On a recent visit a friendly docent greeted me, and we had a nice conversation about local history – not just of Avon Park, but also of the entirety of Highlands County and beyond. Truly I could have spent several hours in conversation with him.

He told me about Tasmania (Florida) and Fisheating Creek. That led me to do some historical research on the ghost town and the natural free-flowing stream that runs alongside it.

So Tasmania is actually located in western Glades County (our neighbor to the south). It’s about 10 miles west of the small community of Palmdale, and about 4 miles south of the Highlands County line. What remains of Tasmania are foundations and a few farm buildings along what is now Tasmania Road, or Glades County Road 731. (That zigzagging road also enters Highlands County.)

Tasmania was established during the late-1880s, and it got its name in 1916. The small settlement along Fisheating Creek (its original name) was mostly abandoned during the Great Depression of the 1930s when it was bypassed by the railroad to the east (along what is now U.S. 27).

Fisheating Creek begins in the hills of southwestern Highlands County, and it flows downhill for about 50 miles southward into Glades County and then eastward into Lake Okeechobee providing the big lake with about 9% of its water (the second-largest natural source of water after the Kissimmee River). There’s actually a gap in the 30-foot-high Herbert Hoover Dike that surrounds Lake Okeechobee where Fisheating Creek flows freely through to the lake on its west side. (The dike parallels the Creek at its mouth.)

I’m glad I had that conversation with that docent on that day in Avon Park. I got to learn all about Tasmania and Fisheating Creek. I’ve driven over the Creek about 60 times over the past 18 months via U.S. 27. Now when I drive over it – I’ll be thinking about everything that I’ve learned about it from source to mouth – from swampland past settlement to lake.

As a fellow historical museum docent – I’m encouraged to know that my visitors are learning about the local area from me, and then they are leaving and telling their family and friends about their experience. They may also be doing historical research of their own. That’s a great way to preserve, protect, and promote history around us.

Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation (FWC) Commission –
Fisheating Creek Wildlife Management Area

#CountUp & #TravelThursday is on Facebook.

Next #TravelThursday – we take a trip out west to Texas. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Blogging History Travel

Avon Park Depot Museum

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. 113 weeks ago I wrote all about my first visit (which was really my second visit) to the historic Avon Park Depot Museum – operated by the Avon Park Historical Society. It’s located about 4½ miles from my neighborhood. I visited the museum on a previous trip to the area in February 2021. I arrived at the museum. I took a couple of exterior photos. I walked-up to the front door, and it was locked shut. #COVID

What a disappointment. I immediately returned southward to Sebring. That disappointment actually led me to a big “reveal” with the Sebring Historical Society that began my relationship with them.

Meanwhile I’ve been visiting the Depot Museum in downtown Avon Park on a fairly regular basis. My friend Elaine is the Museum Curator, and she frequently updates the museum with new displays – both temporary and permanent. It’s a very nice museum to visit set in a historic train depot, and the trains keep on rolling by. (They just don’t stop.)

On some days you may even be able to get a bonus exclusive behind-the-scenes tour inside this railroad dining car (acquired in 1986) that last saw action as part of Amtrak’s Auto Train. It’s now used for special catered dining events by groups of 16 to 36 (by reservation only).

The museum is a traditional historical museum for the city of Avon Park. You can easily spend an hour or two checking it all out and allowing the docent and curator to share history with you. It’s currently open from 10 AM to 3 PM on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. It’s located at 3 North Museum Avenue right after the first set of railroad tracks if you’re driving east on Main Street from U.S. 27. Make a left at Museum Avenue, and you’ll see the museum and the dining car on the left-hand side.

The docent on duty at the museum during my visit last month told me all about Tasmania Florida and Fisheating Creek. That led me to do some historical research on the ghost town and the natural free-flowing stream that runs alongside it. I’ll share what I learned next – #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
1990s Blogging Travel

My First Caribbean Cruise

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. 33 years ago this weekend on the 18TH of August of 1991 – I stepped foot on a cruise ship for the first time ever. It was my Dad’s idea at the time to go on a family vacation at sea. He worked with a local travel agency in our hometown of McLean Virginia. He selected the Norwegian Seaward out of #PortMiami. It was a fairly new cruise ship at the time – about 3 years old.

I did not know what to expect prior to stepping foot in a brand-new world at sea. Remember there was no Internet 33 years ago – as least no Internet that normal people like You and I could use. But once I stepped foot on that cruise ship – it was love at first sight – starting with the first buffet meal.

I don’t remember much from that first cruise. It was 7 days and 7 nights – a Sunday afternoon to Sunday morning. There were several ports-of-call including Ocho Rios Jamaica and George Town Grand Cayman. I think we also visited The Bahamas and Cozumel Mexico. It was my first time in those 4 nations. In fact – I haven’t been to Jamaica since then.

We had our family portrait taken on formal night, and I actually wore my military service dress blues for that photo session.

I think I had determined during that first cruise that there would indeed be a 2ND cruise, and a 3RD cruise, and so forth and so on. That 2ND cruise occurred almost exactly 3 years later – on the exact same cruise ship. Just 8 months after that I was on my 3RD cruise – on another NCL ship out of Miami. In January 2023 I sailed on my 24TH cruise – and my 16TH on Carnival. (I sailed 6 times on NCL, once on Royal Carribean, and once on Disney.)

I’m fully retired now – only collecting a monthly pension. I don’t know what the future holds as far as cruising is concerned. That 24TH cruise was a great one on a great ship. Perhaps it was “The Grand Finale” – my last cruise – at least for a while. But I’ll never say never for a 25TH cruise.

I would really love to go on a 22-day Mississippi River Viking cruise, but I don’t have that kind of fun money. Can you imagine how many #TravelThursday blogs I could create based on that cruise ? !

I have been quietly checking out Carnival’s web site for short 4, 5, and 6-day cruises out of Tampa (the nearest cruise ship port to me now), but even those cost a bit more than I can afford right now.

Next #TravelThursday I’ll write about the Avon Park Depot Museum, and how my life today could’ve been a bit different if that museum had been open on a specific day in 2021. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp