Category: Travel

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Blogging Driving Geography History Nature Travel Weather

Cedar Key Florida

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. 6½ years ago on Monday February 20TH 2017 (Presidents’ Day here in the U.S.A.) I visited Cedar Key Florida along the Nature Coast (the “Big Bend” region) for the first and only time.

Back then this blog was solely on Facebook. Here’s what I wrote about that visit a few weeks after:

We’re up to Day 6 now of my recent 1,226.5-mile “Spring Break Florida Road-Trip”. Coming out of Tallahassee at dawn on a Monday morning in February (Presidents’ Day in fact) I took U.S. 27 eastward (eventually joined by U.S. 98) into Perry, and then I continued on U.S. 98 through the Big Bend region. My first stop was my very first visit ever to the Cedar Keys. About 700 residents live on the main tiny island full-time, but the population swells to over a thousand during the winter “snowbird” season. I spent over an hour touring Cedar Key Museum State Park. It includes two museum buildings, a raw nature trail, and the rocky Gulf Of Mexico coastline. Oh yeah – and lots of biting bugs.

Fun Fact: Making a cameo appearance above is my very first Honda Civic – a 2015 LX. (I now own my 3RD Honda Civic.)

Cedar Key Museum State Park, the islands, and the surrounding area was recently devastated by the effects of Category-3 Hurricane Idalia. For the latest news and information regarding Cedar Key visit their Chamber Of Commerce home page.

Next #TravelThursday I’ll introduce you to “Pioneer Daze 2023”. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2023 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture Travel

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday September 10TH 2023, and this is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it. Let us celebrate this great new day of believing, following, trusting, loving, and being more like our Lord + Savior Jesus Christ. Let us love our neighbor as ourself.

This morning I’m back in Homestead Florida at my longtime home church of the past 8½ years. I’m also filling-in for my Pastor and preaching a full sermon this morning. It’ll be a full sermon that I have not yet written, and I won’t be writing. It’ll be a spontaneous spur-of-the-moment sermon – straight from my heart at that precise moment. Basically – I have no idea what I’ll be saying – until I actually say it. Well – I have a general idea. The title of my sermon is “Dreaming & Praying”, and it’s all about dreaming big dreams and then praying to God about them. It’ll be based on 9 verses of Scripture from two of Paul’s letters – Philippians 4:4-9 and 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

My sermon will lead-in to Communion, as I’ll lead our monthly observance and celebration of what Christ did for us on that cross on that day – and what He did for us on the 3RD day – and what He continues to do for us to this day.

Last Sunday morning I visited a new church in my new hometown of Sebring Florida. I loved every moment of it. The 2ND person I met used to live in Homestead, and we have mutual friends. She even knows my church in Homestead and my Pastor. She and her husband (who I also met) ran a company that once installed my front porch screen enclosure and door back in the late-’90s. What a small world we live in !

I introduced myself to the Pastor, and I enjoyed a short conversation with him prior to the service. He’s a very personable guy. The service itself was organized, and the Pastor’s sermon was relevant and powerful. He has a quirky sense of humor, but he surely glorified God in his message. Based on that first service last Sunday – I’ll definitely be back for a 2ND service next Sunday. I think God led me to the right church this time around.

And now here on #SundayScripture it’s the continuation of the refresh, renew, and reboot of my sermon on “Pray & Believe” – originally preached on Sunday June 16TH 2019. Here’s Part 7:

[CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK]

So the early church was praying for Peter in prison, and as the Bible says:

The night before Peter was to be placed on trial – he was asleep – fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate. Suddenly – there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick ! Get up !” And the chains fell off his wrists. (Acts 12:6-7)

Do you sense a miracle going on here ? Wait – it gets even better:

Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your coat, and follow me” – the angel ordered.

So Peter left the cell – following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening. They passed the first and second guard posts, and (they) came to the iron gate leading to the city (that’s Jerusalem), and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through (the gate), and (they) started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him.

Peter finally came to his senses. He said, “It’s really true !” The Lord has sent His angel and saved me from (King) Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me !”

When he realized this – he went to the home of Mary – the mother of John Mark – where many were gathered for prayer. (Acts 12:8-12)

And I’m gonna paraphrase the rest of the story. Peter knocked on Mary’s door at the gate just outside the house. A servant girl answered the door. Peter didn’t even have to say his name. The servant girl knew exactly who he was from his voice alone. She got so excited that she didn’t even open the door. She ran back into the house – back into the room where everyone was praying, and she told everyone in a loud and excited voice, “Peter is standing at the door !”

The prayer group didn’t believe her. They told her, “You’re out of your mind !” The servant girl insisted that it really was Peter.

They still didn’t believe her, so the entire group went to the door at the gate to check it out for themselves. They opened the door, and there he was – Peter. They were amazed. They were astonished. They were in shock. They were beside themselves. Peter calmed them all down, and he told them how the Lord had led him out of prison.

See the believers – Peter’s friends – had been praying very earnestly for him. God answered their prayers. God actually brought Peter back to his friends. That’s what they were praying for !

[TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK]

If you wish to learn more about the God I know then stay tuned to #SundayScripture. The best is yet to come !

Thank you for reading my blog for this day, and may:

The LORD bless you, and keep you.
The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you.
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.

All rights reserved (c) 2023 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Blogging Driving Geography History Television Travel

Weeki Wachee Springs

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. You know I’ve written a lot about my new home near Sebring Florida over the past 7 months. This week I look elsewhere, and I write about a place that I actually have never been to before, but I’d like to visit.

There’s a local TV show that a couple of our Tampa Bay area PBS stations airs called “Central Florida Road Trip” (also just “Florida Road Trip“). I love these shows. I’m discovering them now for the first time. On a recent episode they did a segment on Weeki Wachee Springs. I’ve heard of it before, but I didn’t really know much of anything about it until they featured it on their show.

Weeki Wachee Springs is a historic roadside tourist attraction located right along U.S. 19 about 50 miles north of Tampa.

Fun Fact: U.S. 19 extends over 1,400 miles from near the shores of Lake Erie in Pennsylvania to near the shores of the Gulf Of Mexico in St. Petersburg Florida. It traverses West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia in-between. U.S. 19 between I-10 and Crystal River Florida is a frequent route for me to and from the Panhandle.

Weeki Wachee Springs has been open since 1947, and it was recently added to the U.S. National Register Of Historic Places. Various TV shows and movies have filmed on-location there attracting big stars. It was one of the most popular roadside tourist attractions in the region during the late-1950s and throughout the 1960s. Everyone wanted to drive there to see the mermaids in action. Its popularity began waning during the 1970s as nearby Walt Disney World arrived on the scene. It became a Florida State Park late in 2008. The mermaids are still performing there 2 or 3 times daily.

Check out the Weeki Wachee Springs Facebook page for the most current news and information.

I definitely want to visit this place in the months to come. It’s about 116 miles from my new home (less than 3 hours away). This may be part of my upcoming 3,000+ mile post-retirement road-trip.

Next #TravelThursday I’ll look back at my visit on Cedar Key Florida – a place that was recent devastated by Hurricane Idalia. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2023 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
1990s Blogging Career Driving Geography Home Military Travel Weather

From Melbourne To MacDill

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. In last week’s edition I wrote about my hectic 6-months right after Hurricane Andrew destroyed Homestead Florida. That’s when I was driving back-and-forth between Fairfax County Virginia and Prince Georges County Maryland (Andrews AFB) along the Capital Beltway and also through Washington D.C. I put a lot of miles on my red 1989 Geo Spectrum sedan back then, but I was not yet done.

I drove / moved to Melbourne Florida in March 1993 – just a few days before “The Storm Of The Century” swept through the U.S. Eastern Seaboard bringing hurricane-force winds, sub-freezing temperatures, and even snow to North and Central Florida.

5 months later in August 1993 I was offered a job on the opposite coast over in Tampa at MacDill AFB. I accepted, but I kept my home in Melbourne. I ended-up living in a hotel (paid for by the USAF) in Tampa, working on-base during the week, and taking I-4 and U.S. 192 back to Melbourne on most Friday afternoons – returning back to Tampa on Sunday afternoons.

That was about a 140-mile drive in each direction, and it took anywhere from 2½ to 3 hours. That was also back when I freely drove on Interstates and high-speed expressways. (I don’t do that anymore.) That was also when far less people lived along the U.S. 192 corridor from Melbourne through St. Cloud and Kissimmee to Walt Disney World. Back in 1993 into 1994 St. Cloud had a population of about 15,000. Now it’s over 65,000. Kissimmee is up from about 35,000 to over 80,000. That’s a lot of traffic along U.S. 192 these days. It wasn’t too bad back in 1993.

That back-and-forth commute between Melbourne and MacDill lasted about 7 months until March 1994 – when I moved back to Homestead Florida. For a short period of time I thought that I would live in Melbourne for the rest of my life. But then when I got the job at MacDill AFB I thought that I would eventually move to Tampa full-time and live there for the rest of my life. Then I moved back to Homestead for the next 29 years.

Now I have my longtime Homestead home – and my new Sebring home. And I have a commute of about 185 miles that I do several times per month. I haven’t gotten tired of it yet. I enjoy the scenic and mostly rural drive. I enjoy seeing my church family and even some of my coworkers at my longtime workplace in Homestead. But I especially look forward to the return trip back north again to my new home and pre-retirement life and times in Sebring. I plan to live there for the rest of my life – less than 2 hours away from both Melbourne and Tampa.

Next #TravelThursday we’ll check-out Weeki Wachee Springs. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2023 Christopher M. Day, CountUp