Category: Travel

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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

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Blogging Commerce Driving Food Geography History Nature Shopping Travel

Frostproof Florida

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. 6 weeks ago I embarked on a short road-trip up into the neighboring county to my north – Polk County Florida. (I live about 8 miles from the Highlands / Polk County Line.)

I went to the Eagle Ridge Mall – 31 miles north in Lake Wales. While we have a “dead mall” here in my county (just a few miles south of my neighborhood) – I think that Eagle Ridge Mall is perhaps just a “half-dead mall”. While it’s far from its late-1990s peak – there’s actually life in this mall with lots of little family-owned stores and a surprisingly large and vibrant food court. There are also many different entertainment options open including a Regal Cinemas, a bowling alley, and an arcade. It sure looks like management knows what they are doing to keep the mall open for business – particularly small businesses – during these tumultuous times for shopping malls nationwide.

From the mall I took Chalet Suzanne Road over to Florida State Road 17. (Chalet Suzanne was a popular French restaurant in the area for over 80 years from 1931 to 2014. Famous movie stars dined there. The building is on the U.S. National Register Of Historic Places.)

Florida State Road 17 is also known as Florida Scenic Highway 17 (or The Ridge Scenic Byway) in this area. I enjoyed the ride and its view southward with 24 miles of scenery up and down the rolling hills and around the curves alongside the orange groves, natural lakes, and historic communities. Elevations exceed 300 feet above sea level at its highest point south of the small town of Hillcrest Heights.

The Byway runs parallel to U.S. 27 the entire way, and it was once known as Alternate U.S. 27. It serves as a local bypass to U.S. 27 in both Polk County as well as Highlands County (my home county).

I entered (from the north) – and drove through – Frostproof Florida – for the first time ever. It’s the southeasternmost municipality in Polk County. It was settled during the middle part of the 19TH Century, and it was incorporated in 1921. Previously known as Fort Clinch, Keystone City, and Lakemont – not quite 3,000 residents call Frostproof home. Its population has remained fairly steady since the 1950s.

Frostproof is sandwiched between two natural freshwater lakes – Lake Clinch (1,219 acres) on the west side – and Reedy Lake (3,504 acres) on the east side. It’s low land, and parts of the scenic highway drop to nearly 100 feet above sea level.

I enjoyed lunch at a popular restaurant on the north side of Frostproof called Frostbite. They serve your typical fast-food items as well as every ice cream dessert imaginable. It’s highly-rated by reviewers on Google. They are open every day from 11 AM to 9 PM. Just find a table, be seated, look over the menus (already on each table), and a member of the wait staff will come to you for your order. I had a wonderful cheeseburger (made to order) and a side of fries to go along with my sweet tea. #Yum

U.S. 27 is really a nice drive between Sebring / Avon Park and Lake Wales and points north and west. I fell in love with the Heartland of Florida because of U.S. 27 and its own unique scenery and history. But Florida Scenic Highway 17 is also a nice drive through a part of the region that seems to be stuck in time from an era long gone by. It’s unspoiled Florida at its most beautiful !

Next #TravelThursday – Will I ever reach my 25TH cruise ? Let’s keep traveling together.

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

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Blogging Commerce Driving Food Geography History Home Shopping Travel

St. Johns River Cruise

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last Thursday me and 42 of my Sebring Historical Society friends met at our Charles Frederick Weigle House Museum early in the morning, and we boarded a chartered bus – courtesy of Small World. We departed for historic downtown Sanford Florida – 108 miles north of Sebring.

We arrived 2½ hours later, and we immediately boarded the 105-foot Rivership Barbara-Lee – courtesy of the St. Johns Rivership Co. We were treated to an interactive comedy wedding complete with singalongs and dancing on the dancefloor. The show essentially started as soon as we got off the bus, and it kept on going intermittently until the ship returned to its dock 3½ hours later.

Our multi-course lunch was pretty good. Nothing spectacular, but better than a typical lunch for me. I had the Prime Rib (cooked perfectly medium-well) served with mashed potatoes and green beans. A side salad and rolls were served beforehand, and delicious dessert (red velvet cake) was served afterward.

Our trek along the St. Johns River actually started dockside on the south shore of 9,406-acre Lake Monroe. We continued WNW – past the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens – off the lake and onto the river proper – underneath both I-4 and U.S. 17 / U.S. 92.

Crossing-over from Seminole County into Volusia County – we went about 7 miles up the river, and then we went around an island and came back southward. It was a nice slow cruise up and down the lazy river on a mostly sunny and hot afternoon; although, it felt cooler (with a nice refreshing breeze) outside – especially on the upper decks of the rivership.

On our way to and from the dock – we caught a glimpse of the vibrant historic downtown district of Sanford. I’d like to walk around and check it out on my own on a future daytrip to (or through) the area. I definitely want to visit the Zoo. I think this field trip was my very first visit ever to the area northeast of Orlando. There’s a lot to see and visit up there !

Fun Facts: We avoided I-4 between Kissimmee and Sanford by taking the “Eastern Beltway” (Florida State Road 417) northward and the “Western Beltway” (Florida State Road 429) southward. Both routes combined form a 108-mile ring around Orlando. On this field trip we traversed 7 counties – Highlands, Polk, Osceola, Orange, Seminole, Volusia, and Lake.

As we returned to our museum in Sebring – our Director announced our next field trip in a little over 3 months to Clewiston to visit an Indian Museum and to Okeechobee for a big Lunch. I’m looking forward to it !

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll tell you all about Frostproof Florida. Let’s keep traveling together.

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

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Holidays Military Travel

National Aunt & Uncle Day

Greetings my friends. It is Friday July 26TH 2024, and today is a very special day. As the headline states – it is National Aunt & Uncle Day. You say you never heard of it before ? You are not alone. Most Americans have never heard of it before. In fact – I’m the only one I know who is aware of the holiday. It’s a fairly new holiday. It’s only been around since perhaps 1997. I’m not sure that even the greeting card companies know about it; otherwise, they would be selling cards in the stores for it.

Unlike Mother’s Day (2ND Sunday every May) and Father’s Day (3RD Sunday every June) – Aunt & Uncle Day is always celebrated on July 26TH – no matter what day of the week it is. Maybe it would be recognized more if it were celebrated on the 4TH Sunday every July. That way we don’t have to remember a specific date, but rather a particular Sunday in July.

I’m closest to my Aunt Ida and Uncle Mac in the Wichita Falls Texas area. They’ve been married for almost 68 years. They’ve lived in the same area for the past 55 years. My Uncle retired from the U.S. Military in Wichita Falls (Sheppard AFB), and he decided to live the rest of his life there with his wife and two children.

I’ve been visiting my Aunt, Uncle, and Cousins almost annually for the past 10 years – usually right around their wedding anniversary in late-September. I’ve driven there and I’ve flown there. It’s always a fun visit with reminiscing about the past as well as creating new memories with mini-road-trips around the region.

I don’t need an annual holiday every July 26TH to remember and commemorate my Aunt and Uncle. I love them so much. I’ve gotten close to them over the past 10 years – ever since the passing of my Dad (one of my Aunt’s younger brothers). It’s what my Dad wanted me to do after he left this world. I wish I had been close to them before these past 10 years.

After a lifetime with various church families – they are no longer physically part of one – mostly due to health and mobility issues. I am essentially their Pastor now. I pray for them daily. I text them weekly early every Sunday morning.

I wrote all of the above at the start of July. My Aunt Ida sadly passed-on to Heaven early on the morning of Thursday July 11TH 2024. She was admitted to hospice care just the night before. She’s reunited now with her Creator, as well as her parents and all but one surviving brother. I love you Aunt Ida always and forever. 1936-2024.

#SundayScripture is up next in less than 48 hours. I hope that you’ll check it out sometime during the day this Sunday. Until then – tell your Aunt and Uncle how much you love them.

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