Category: Travel

Sebring Strong

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date January 24, 2019

moon over sebring

Yesterday afternoon after I got home from work I sat down at my computer to begin my normal routine. I brought up Twitter to catch-up on the latest tweets, and I glanced over to see what was trending. I saw Sebring over there. For a second I thought it was trending simply because I’ve tweeted a lot recently about Sebring. But then I saw why Sebring was trending. There was a mass shooting at a bank during the busy lunch hour in Sebring where 5 innocent lives were lost. This bank is about a half-mile (within eyesight) from the hotel I stayed at for 3 nights this past Christmas.

I then Googled Sebring Florida to read and see all of the shocking and horrific details of the day. I shed tears, and I lifted-up Sebring Florida in prayer to my Lord & Comforter Jesus Christ.

Sadly the entire nation has now heard of Sebring Florida, and they’ve seen a map of the state to see where it’s located at, as well as photos and videos and live reports of the deadly scene.

I had never heard of Sebring Florida up until just a few years ago. Then I started driving through it over and over again to and from North Florida and beyond. The more I drove through Sebring – the more I admired it from my car. Sebring intrigued me. It piqued my interest. I decided that I needed an extended visit in Sebring to discover and explore the area. That time was this past Christmas. My suspicions were confirmed. I fell in love with the city, its places, and its people. I confirmed that I want to retire there in a few years, and I want to live the rest of my life there. I think I already know where exactly (the specific neighborhood) I wish to live. I also think I know where I wish to work part-time and volunteer (two separate places) – to keep me busy. On my next visit I hope to find a church family there. I can’t wait to get back up there. I’m looking forward to taking-in the sights and sounds of Sebring.

The peaceful and quiet “forgotten” town of Sebring Florida – nowhere near any Interstate highway or expressway – just experienced perhaps its deadliest and most violent day in its 107-year history. I am in deep sorrow alongside my future neighbors – from 180 miles away.

God blesses those who mourn – for they will be comforted. (Matthew 5:4 NLT)

#SebringStrong #HighlandsStrong

Travel Weather

Another Cold Morning !

It’s another cold morning here in America’s Riviera – mid-50s with wind chills in the low-50s. We dropped down to 51°F on Wednesday morning, and 56°F on Tuesday morning. Now you may think that temperatures at dawn in the 50s is a heatwave for you, but here at sea level at 25.5° north latitude (near the Tropic Of Cancer) that makes for a cold morning. Our average minimum temperature for the entire year (right now – mid-January) is right at 60°F, so once we drop below normal – it’s cold outside !

When we drop into the 40s – now that’s downright frigid. That’s “severe weather” for us. We’ve had two such mornings so far – one in late-November and one in mid-December. Last winter we had 12 such mornings in the 40s. The last time we hit the 30s ? February 20TH 2015. Most of us hibernated that day.

South Floridians don’t dress like everyone else in North America. When we hit the 50s in the morning we’re all bundled up as if there’s a raging blizzard out there. When we reach the 40s we start calling in sick (cold) from work.

YES – This is the exciting time of the year where our weather changes rapidly based on approaching and passing cold fronts from the northwest. Once our rainy season gets started in mid-May – well then we pretty much know what to expect for the next 5 months after that. We can expect everything – except for cold temperatures. During the rainy season we’ll be stuck in a narrow 20°F range from 73°F to 93°F day and night.

Uh-oh. We just dropped another degree as I wrote this blog post. It’s 54°F at 6 AM.

Christian God Ministry Music Travel

Winter Jam 2019

wj_2019_500x500

I’m headed to Tampa Florida (5 hours north of my home) for the first time in a little over 12 years. I’ll be over there for just a couple of days, and the main event of this short visit will be this 5+ hour experience at the Amalie Arena with thousands of my brothers and sisters in Christ, as we praise and worship Him led by about a dozen artists. There will be singing, dancing, hand-clapping, and arm-raising as the Holy Spirit inundates the arena.

I’ll review the big show later this weekend on “Sunday Scripture”, but first it’s my normal Friday night blog post tomorrow night. I’m going #Retro back to Sunday January 15TH 1989. It’s the weekend that I began doing something for the first time ever here in South Florida – and I’ve been doing it almost every day since that weekend exactly 30 years ago. Find out what it is on my next blog post.

Nature Travel

My Flickr Photostream

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date December 20, 2018

All of my photos online are located at one central location – Flickr. It’s been around for almost 15 years, and I’ve been on there for almost 8 years. A lot of longtime Flickr users are now disgruntled ex-Flickr users because the new owners of Flickr recently imposed a new limit of 1,000 free photos (from unlimited). I’m beyond that. I’m approaching 2,700 photos. I’ve been a paid customer for many of these past 8 years, and they recently imposed a substantial increase for annual paid subscriptions. I don’t think the cost is outrageous (about 10 cents per day), and I don’t feel like starting over with storing all of my photos online elsewhere. I’ll be on Flickr indefinitely.

Check out my Flickr Photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/cmday6567. I’ve added 27 new photos so far in December – all from my recent vacation with family in North Texas. My goal is to add an average of one new photo per day / 30 per month to my collection. I’ll make that a New Year’s Resolution for 2019.

You can also keep track of my latest photos on the web site edition of this blog along the right-hand panel. You’ll see the last 5 photos added there.

You can have your Facebook and Instagram. I’m rockin’ the Interwebs with WordPress and Flickr !