Category: Travel

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 1991

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date January 15, 2021

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. That would be for the week ending Sunday January 13TH 1991, but on that week I was serving my country in Saudi Arabia in support of Operations Desert Shield & Storm. It was the start of my 2ND week in the desert.

Life was very different in “Tent City” in the middle of the desert. We had limited access to hit music on the radio. We only had a few stations to listen to via AFRTS (American Forces Radio & Television Service). “Eagle Radio 103 / 105 / 107” was picked-up out of Riyadh – about 65 miles away.

At our BX (Base Exchange) – think small military department store – they sold cassettes. Most of them could be considered as “bootleg” off the local economy, but I bought a bunch of them for a couple of dollars each despite diminished quality. I also bought myself a Walkman (or equivalent) so that I could listen to them in my tent and not disturb anyone.

Don Henley’s “The End Of The Innocence” was one of those cassettes – the album not the title-track alone. Songs like the title-track, “The Heart Of The Matter”, “How Bad Do You Want It ?”, “The Last Worthless Evening”, and “New York Minute” represent the soundtrack of my war experience. I wore-out that cassette over there.

One of my tentmates loved “Hard To Handle” from The Black Crowes. I mean he really loved it, and he loved to play it often – many times per day – loud and proud. I ended-up liking the song as well (since I heard it so many times).

Next Friday on RETRO I’ll go back 35 years ago to January 1986.

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 1991, Music, Radio

Blogging Christian God Music Travel

Welcome To My Blog

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date January 14, 2021

I haven’t done this in awhile, so let me tell you about my blog here. I’ve been doing this for almost 14 years now – first on Myspace – then on WordPress – then on Facebook – and now on WordPress again. Over these past 14 years I’ve posted over 2,400 blogs – 310+ on Myspace, 220 on Facebook, and 1,880+ here on WordPress.

I’m a consistent blogger. I post new blogs at 3 AM U.S. East Coast time every Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and Monday. A few times per year I’ll post a special bonus blog on a Tuesday. Last year (2020) I posted exactly 200 blogs. That was up from 191 in 2019, 167 in 2018, 93 in 2017, 79 in 2016, and 48 in 2015. (I’m obviously trending upward.)

My blog posts are music-based on Fridays and Mondays. They are Christ-centered on Sundays and Mondays. My Thursday blogs essentially kickoff each new weekend, and they can be about anything and everything (such as this one). So this is a music blog. It’s a Christian blog. It’s also a travel blog. One thing it’s not – it’s not a political blog. I will never discuss politics on here (or anywhere online). I generally don’t discuss politics in public.

We all have a short attention span online. I certainly do. There’s a lot to check-out on the interwebs and on the social medias. My blogs are quick and easy reads. You should be able to read any one of my blog posts in less than 3 minutes. Even my Sunday blogs are that way when I put on my preacher hat and evangelize God’s Good News. Sometimes I’ll go long, but it’s the exception rather than the rule.

You know I love to write. I write for this blog 4 times per week. I write sermons when I’m not writing this blog. I probably enjoy writing blog posts more now than I ever have over the course of the past 14 years. So I’ll keep on doing it as long as I keep on enjoying it. I’ll keep it at 4 days per week. Back in the early years I was blogging every day – often multiple times per day. I got burnt out on it after a few years, and I ended-up abandoning WordPress for about 7 years. I tried blogging for about 3 years over at Facebook, but my friends over there didn’t understand it, didn’t appreciate it, and pretty much ignored it.

I hope you like what you read on here. If so then keep on coming back, and keep on liking and following. I’ll keep on writing for you – and for me – and for my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.

Blogging Driving 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