Category: Travel

Florida State Road 29

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date April 13, 2023

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. There’s a road that runs in a general north-south direction in inland Southwest Florida between U.S. 27 at the north-end and U.S. 41 at the south-end. It’s a rural historic intercounty state highway that I’ll be driving a short 14-mile stretch of frequently in the future – including tomorrow morning. It’s how I’ll get to and from the Fort Myers area to and from my new home in the Sebring area.

At the base of this 14-mile stretch of Florida State Road 29 is the historic city of LaBelle – just inside Hendry County from Glades County (to the north). It’s the county seat of Hendry County and its 2ND-largest city (after Clewiston). LaBelle has a population of right around 5,000. Its origins go back to the late-1880s along the banks of the Caloosahatchee River. LaBelle has a couple of nicknames – “The Belle Of The Caloosahatchee”, and “The City Under The Oaks”.

I’ve only driven through LaBelle a handful of times over the past few years. I’ve never actually gotten out of my car to walk around and explore the historic downtown district along the river. I’d like to do that during a future drive-through.

The remainder of the 14-mile stretch of Florida State Road 29 traverses Glades County farmland and raw unspoiled nature. It’s a beautiful scenic drive en route to and from U.S. 27.

I’ll be enjoying that beauty early tomorrow morning as I head home from the Fort Myers area. What am I doing there today and tonight ? Stay tuned. I’ll reveal that this #SundayScripture.

Next #TravelThursday I’ll share a couple of beautiful photos of the lake in my new neighborhood. Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Caloosahatchee, Florida, LaBelle

Blogging Church Commerce Driving Food Geography Home Travel

Sebring Florida

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date April 6, 2023

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This past Monday morning I returned southward back to my longtime home. It was bittersweet, as I enjoyed 4½ days / 5 nights in my new home, new neighborhood, and new region of Florida. I didn’t want to leave, and I wasn’t really excited about returning to my old home. But I’ve got some good stuff planned for this upcoming stretch down here in South Miami-Dade. I’ve got the annual Good Friday Prayer Breakfast to look forward to tomorrow. I also get to observe and celebrate Resurrection Sunday with my church family – followed by Lunch after that. It’s going to be a good time here.

It’s actually 184 miles from home to home. All along I’ve been touting 186 miles, as that’s what Google Maps states. I guess it’s off by a couple of miles (probably due to rounding). I drove up 184 miles. I drove down 184 miles. In-between I drove 43 miles all around town – discovering roads to get around, stores, restaurants, and my new church. I even found my new barber shop !

I surpassed the 19,000-mile mark on my car odometer in West Broward driving southward this past Monday morning. That’s just 19 days after I hit the 18,000-mile mark. And the 18,000-mile mark came 37 days after I hit the 17,000-mile mark. I drove over 1,000 miles in consecutive months (February and March) for the first time since 2020. That may not happen this month. It could be real close though.

I took an impromptu photo of the main entrance of my new neighborhood, and I actually posted it on Facebook within our private group. Surprisingly it received more likes and comments than any post that I wrote publicly when I was active on Facebook for almost 5 years. I captioned the photo – What a great place to live ! #Home

Here’s that photo:

Next #TravelThursday I’m heading back to Sebring – by way of Fort Myers. Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Chicken, Maryland

1970s Blogging Food Geography Home Travel

Maryland Fried Chicken

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date March 30, 2023

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. As I continue to settle into my new region of Florida here in Highlands County – I’ll keep on finding interesting places to see – and eat. After all – eating is an integral part of any travel experience. Eating is one of my favorite hobbies !

If you know me personally, or if you’ve been reading my blog for awhile – then you may know that I’m originally from Maryland – Prince Georges County Maryland to be specific. (It borders Washington D.C.) For 11+ years (1969-1980) as a kid I lived in Greenbelt, Bowie, and Lanham. I had some great childhood memories back then, and some not-so-great ones as well. My grandparents, and nearly all of my uncles, aunts, and cousins lived within a few miles of each other back then.

During my entire time as a kid growing up in Maryland (and also adjacent Fairfax County Virginia) I’d never heard of Maryland Fried Chicken – either the restaurant or the mere concept. Chesapeake Bay Crabs – definitely. Scrapple – of course. Fried Chicken – negative. Fried Chicken comes from Kentucky. Everyone knows that.

Looks like there are 14 locations of Maryland Friend Chicken in Florida, Georgia, and 1 in South Carolina. Most of them (9) are concentrated across Central Florida – including 2 within a few miles of my new home. They don’t have a presence on social media; although, a few of the local locations have their own web sites. There’s actually a WordPress-created web page at marylandfriedchicken.net that reveals its 60+ year history and origins in the Orlando Florida area.

My local Sebring location has their own web site at marylandfriedchickenofsebring.com.

I went to my local neighborhood Maryland Fried Chicken for Lunch on St. Patrick’s Day. I was greeted by two friendly workers. One took my order, and I struck up a conversation with both of them. I told them that it was my very first visit there. They asked me where I was from. I told them “Maryland !”. I added that I’d never heard of Maryland Fried Chicken, and that I’m looking forward to enjoying it.

I ordered the 2-piece chicken dinner (all breast). That comes with 2 sides. I got it with fries and homemade macaroni salad. I took it home and I enjoyed it. It was very good. The fried chicken has a distinctive flavor to it that kind of reminds me of my childhood, and that’s really strange because the only fried chicken that we ate when I was a kid came from #KFC. My elementary school cafeteria may have served fried chicken every so often, so maybe it brought back memories of that taste. It’s hard to explain its unique flavor – perhaps very juicy ?

I’ll obviously have to go back again this weekend to pick-up some more Maryland Fried Chicken.

One Maryland Fried Chicken location in Winter Garden Florida is going out-of-business after 57 years. Read that article here.

Next #TravelThursday I’ll write about my new neighborhood, and I’ll even share a picture or two. Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Chicken, Maryland

Blogging Driving Geography Home Humor Television Travel

Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date March 23, 2023

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I wrote about the main campus of South Florida State College (#SFSC) near Avon Park – home of the 1,460-seat Alan Jay Wildstein Center For The Performing Arts. I got to see my first 2 concerts there last month. It’s just 2 miles away from my new home.

This week I’m about 100 miles away at a longtime favorite – the 1,874-seat Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall at Florida SouthWestern State College (#FSW) in Fort Myers. I’ve seen 8 shows / concerts there since 2011 including Chicago (the legendary band), Jay Leno, Brian Regan, and Frank Caliendo. I would’ve seen more shows there if I lived nearby, as it’s 3 hours away from my Homestead home – and 2 hours away from my now Sebring home. It’s my favorite small performing arts venue to see shows. A show at the #BBMANNPAH means a stay at a local hotel for the night – because – frankly – I don’t like driving long distances late at night. Scary things happen on the road in the dark.

Last Thursday night – after final closing of my new home 100 miles away – I saw Michael Carbonaro: Lies On Stage there. It was a great show. I’m glad I attended and experienced it. (I had thought about skipping the show and staying in my new home, but I decided to continue with my plans.)

Michael put on a fun comedy and magic show with lots of audience interaction. I was a big fan of his 2014-2020 truTV show The Carbonaro Effect. I saw every episode of it over the course of its 5 seasons. He essentially brought that show to our LIVE audience, and it was fun to see.

The show was actually postponed from an earlier date in mid-October – 2½ weeks after the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian. (The venue suffered some roof damage, but shows resumed about a month after the storm.)

Next #TravelThursday I’ll write about some delicious fried chicken I found close to my new home. Let’s keep traveling together.