Category: Travel

Driving In 2020

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date January 7, 2021

I drove a modest 6,395 miles during the unique leap year that was 2020. That’s an average of just shy of 17.5 miles per day. As it turns out December was a slightly above-average month – only the 5TH such month of 2020. I drove 562 miles in December – the most since June and July when I went on a 9-day / 1,690-mile road-trip between South Florida and South Alabama that straddled both months. December was in fact my first normal month of day-to-day local driving since February. I actually drove more miles in December (562) – than I did during the 97 days from March 20TH to June 24TH (547) !

My 5-year average from 2015 to 2019 was 10,237 miles per year. I expect 2021 to be closer to that total. I’m currently planning my road-trips for 2021. I’ll be visiting South Central and Southwest Florida in March, and possibly North Texas in November. More road-trips are still to be determined, and I usually share those with you here on this blog after they occur. Hopefully 2021 is a more normal year overall than 2020 was.

Finally – I filled-up with gas 19 times in 2020, and I paid an average of $2.169 per gallon. That’ll skyrocket in 2021. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw $3 per gallon gas prices again later this year.

Blogging Driving Military Nature Photography Travel Weather

A Cold Day In The Everglades

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date December 31, 2020

Back in November when I found out that The United States Secretary Of The Interior David Bernhardt made it free for life for U.S. Veterans to enter America’s National Parks, Wildlife Refuges, and other public federal lands – first of all I was extremely grateful. It’s probably the best gift that has ever been given to me as a Veteran. After all this is a gift that keeps on giving every single day – not just on Veterans’ Day.

I live between two U.S. National Parks – Biscayne National Park to the east – and Everglades National Park to the west. Both are about 10 miles away from my home. Biscayne does not charge an entry fee. It’s free for everyone. Everglades charges $30 per vehicle for a 7 consecutive day pass, or $55 for an annual pass. I no longer have to pay either fee. I’m free !

I actually got in to Everglades National Park for free during 2 consecutive winter seasons (2015-2016 and 2016-2017) when I worked out there as a volunteer (in uniform) giving tours at the NIKE Missile Site (HM-69). I worked 31 Saturdays out there showing hundreds of visitors from around the world a sampling of authentic military history from the mid-1960s to the late-1970s (when it was an active duty base out in the middle of the Park).

Back in November I said to myself that I would visit the Park on a cold day this winter season, and so last Saturday was that cold day. With temperatures in the upper-40s and lower-50s at dawn I entered the Park for the first time since my last Saturday working out there in March of 2017. It was like a homecoming for me. I actually drove the entire 38-mile main park road down to Flamingo on Florida Bay. It was my first visit there in nearly 7 years. I took a fun 90-minute organized boat tour up-and-down the waters north of Flamingo. I took the same tour almost 8 years ago.

After the boat tour I did a lot of walking all around Flamingo and then at a couple of stops along the way back up the main park road. I took a lot of pictures. I walked over 13,000 steps / 6 miles.

The Park was packed on that Saturday / day after Christmas. Everyone else had the same idea as me to visit during a rare cold South Florida day.

Now I need to figure out what my next fun cold day out will be here in my local area. Maybe Vizcaya ? (also free for life for U.S. Veterans)

Tags Everglades, Florida

1990s Blogging Driving Music Radio Travel

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 1990

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date December 18, 2020

Every Friday I post the Top 5 of one of my classic hit music charts based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay from either 15, 25, 30, or 35 years ago this weekend (rotating each week).

It’s the 3RD Friday of the month, so I go back 30 years ago. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday December 16TH 1990:

“You’re Amazing” – Robert Palmer
“Disappear” – INXS
“Love Will Never Do Without You” – Janet Jackson
“After The Rain” – Nelson
“Impulsive” – Wilson Phillips

What a solid Top 5 chart that was exactly 30 years ago this weekend !

Robert Palmer scored a # 1 smash with his very underrated single “You’re Amazing”. It’s my 2ND-favorite song from him – 2ND to “Simply Irresistible” – which this song sounds a lot like. I’d love to purchase it online, but it is a rarity apparently. It’s not even on iTunes.

INXS and Janet Jackson held down the # 2 and # 3 spots with my favorite songs from each artist. I still love to hear them today. Nelson’s “After The Rain” is currently in heavy rotation on my iPod Shuffles that I listen to at the workplace. I hear it almost every day.

30 years ago this past week I drove from Homestead AFB Florida (where I still work today) to McLean Virginia (my parents’ home at the time and my home as a teenager). I departed the airbase at 3:35 AM on Sunday December 16TH 1990, and I arrived at my pitstop for the night – South Of The Border (along the North / South Carolina border) – at 3:37 PM. I drove 724.7 miles that day – averaging 60.2 MPH. I departed South Of The Border the next morning at 4:58 AM on Monday December 17TH 1990. I arrived at my parents’ home at 11:17 AM. I drove 378.3 miles that day – averaging 59.9 MPH. My 1,103-mile trek up the U.S. East Coast was complete, and I spent 10 days at home with my Mom, Dad, Brother, and Cats.

Next Friday on RETRO I’ll go back 35 years ago to December 1985. It was my first Christmas away from home in a foreign land …

It’s halftime my friends. I’ll be back on Sunday and Monday with 2 more blog posts for this weekend. Enjoy your Saturday. Thanks for going RETRO with me !

Tags 1990, Music, Radio

Blogging Driving Travel

1,000 Miles

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date December 10, 2020

♫ But I would walk five hundred miles
And I would walk five hundred more
Just to be the man who walked a thousand miles
To fall down at your door ♫

No. I have not walked 1,000 miles this year. I’ve walked over 700 miles though. In 2019 (a “normal” year) I walked about 900 miles. Same for 2018.

This past Monday I hit 1,000 on my odometer of my new car – in my 116TH day of driving it. That’s an average of less than 9 miles per day. It was a tough 1,000 miles. I get the feeling that the next 1,000 miles won’t take another 116 days to do so. Looking back to earlier this year I actually drove 1,175 miles in June and 1,227 miles in July – mostly in a road-trip between South Florida and South Alabama. I don’t have any long road-trips like that one planned anytime soon; although, I am planning a trip over to Southwest Florida towards the end of March. By then I expect to be over 2,000 on my odometer.

Now that the weather is cooler, dryer, and nicer here in South Florida I plan to get out more, and drive around to various tourist attractions near me. I may even drive down U.S. 1 into the Florida Keys. The “18-Mile Stretch” is what we call the stretch of U.S. 1 between Florida City (mainland) and Key Largo (top of the Keys). I live about 3 miles from the north-end of the stretch.

I haven’t driven down to the Keys in about 6 years. (I was last in Key West not quite 3 years ago via cruise ship.)

I think that an ideal trip would be to drive southward into the Keys on a Monday or a Tuesday, spend a couple of nights in Marathon or Key West at a hotel, and then return northward on a Wednesday or a Thursday (avoiding all weekend traffic during this “high season”). Of course I’d have a list of fun places along the way that I’d want to visit.

Yeah let me get started on that list and that road-trip planning. I got excited just writing about it !