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Florida Homecoming

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I wrote about my trip to North Texas – where I spent 9 days and 9 nights with my family in Wylie – about 30 miles northeast of the center of Dallas Texas. I arrived during the early evening of Wednesday November 20TH 2024. I wrote about me and my brother’s visit on that Saturday to historic downtown McKinney Texas and the Collin County History Museum.

During the rest of my time with my brother we shopped, we ate, and we saw 3 movies – “Heretic”, “A Real Pain”, and “Red One”. I think that me and brother both liked “A Real Pain” the most. It’s a dramedy written, directed, and produced by Jesse Eisenberg. He and Kieran Culkin are the stars. It’s a good well-written story of two cousins visiting Poland on a tour to connect with their Jewish heritage.

As is tradition – my brother prepared a home-cooked Breakfast twice – on that Sunday morning and on Thanksgiving morning. We also opened all of the presents underneath the Christmas tree later on that same holiday morning, and then we watched football for the rest of the day while smelling (and eating) our traditional Thanksgiving dinner at around 3:30 PM.

Fun Fact: The weather in North Texas was all over the place – to include the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and even 80s. As an amateur weather forecaster – it was not unexpected. Thanksgiving Day was the coldest day (40s), and the next morning was the coldest morning (33°F / 1°C). I brought that cold air (modified) back home to Florida.

The next day – Friday November 29TH 2024 – my brother dropped me off at Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), and I flew to Charlotte Douglas (CLT) with a short layover before my connecting flight to Sarasota-Bradenton (SRQ). (My nonstop direct flight back to SRQ was cancelled about 3 months prior just for that afternoon, and I was automatically booked on the two replacement flights.) Both flights were packed, but they actually departed and arrived early !

Fun Fact: It was my first time in North Carolina since the last time I flew through CLT as a layover between Miami (MIA) and Salisbury-Ocean City (SBY). CLT was also a layover for the return flight between Reagan (DCA) and MIA. That was in July 2015.

I returned back home to Sebring (76 miles from SRQ) right at 9 PM on that Friday, and I was in my own bed less than an hour later. It was a long travel day, and I was exhausted.

The next day – Saturday November 30TH 2024 – I awoke knowing that it was on that date 37 years earlier that I left my family behind in Northern Virginia and flew to MIA en route to my new USAF duty assignment and home for the next 36+ years – Homestead Florida. I’ve now entered my 38TH year as a Florida resident. I’m a #FloridaMan forever.

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll write about my road-trip to and from Homestead. It’s my 32ND trip southward – and my 33RD trip northward – since relocating from Homestead to Sebring almost 2 years ago. Let’s keep traveling together.

#CountUp & #TravelThursday is on Facebook. I usually post there on Mondays and Thursdays.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Pioneer Daze 2024

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. As you may know – I’m an active member of the Sebring Historical Society. I’ve written about us many times on here. And here I go again.

This Saturday October 19TH 2024 it’s our big event in downtown Sebring Florida. It’s our biggest event of the year. It’s our 2ND Annual Pioneer Daze, and it should be a great fun day at the Alan Jay Arena (inside and outside) at the Highlands County Fairgrounds.

If you’re coming in off the Circle – then take South Commerce. Make a right on McClain, and then make a left on Magnolia. Free parking will be in the open field on your left.

If you’re coming in off Sebring Parkway – then turn onto South Commerce. Make the first left on McClain.

I’ll be outside in charge of the parking area. For those that need it – I believe that we will have a few golf carts with drivers to take you from your vehicle over to near the main entrance of our festival where you’ll find outside vendors, food trucks, and a large children’s area.

I hope to take a few opportunities to walk the event inside and check out all of our vendors and entertainment. That way – I’ll have something to write about – next – #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.

#CountUp & #TravelThursday is on Facebook. I also run the Sebring Historical Society Facebook page.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Fort Meade Florida

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. For the past 2 weeks I’ve written about Fort Meade Florida, and I’m doing it again for the 3RD week in a row. Last Thursday I actually visited and spent 2½ hours in Fort Meade – seeing and doing everything that I said I would see and do.

I arrived at and entered the historic house that is the Historical Society Of Fort Meade Florida Museum shortly after opening time at 10 AM, and I was immediately greeted by one of the docents on duty – Paulette. I signed-in at the guest book (which is a must-thing to do for every visitor at every museum – preferably at the beginning of the visit). I then introduced myself from the Sebring Historical Society as a fellow docent of a historic house that is also a museum.

Right after that – two guys entered the museum, and they proceeded to sign-in at the guest book. (They know and love museums too.) Paulette assumed that they were with me, but I corrected her and told her that I didn’t know them. It was a coincidence that we arrived at the same time. (I actually saw them taking photos of the exterior grounds of the museum, and I did a little bit of that too before I entered the museum.)

The two guys had bicycled from Maryland since the start of September, and in fact they live near Fort Meade Maryland in Severna Park. (You can’t make this stuff up.) They were intrigued to find out about and subsequently visit Fort Meade Florida, so they made sure that their bike route down the spine of Florida included a stop at the historical museum in Fort Meade. They had visited the Mulberry Phosphate Museum on the previous day, and now they were in Fort Meade – known for its phosphate mining. #FortMeadeMiners

They were actually bicycling all the way down to Key West – with a stop that night in Sebring. (Again – this is a totally true story.) In my mind – I’m starting to think that they are readers of my blog, and that they read about the two Fort Meades here on #TravelThursday over the past 2 weeks, but I didn’t ask them about it. I wasn’t there to reveal or promote my blog. (You generally don’t do that in a museum.)

So – the 3 of us together enjoyed an extensive tour of every room downstairs and upstairs. Paulette engaged in great conversation with us as she shared interesting stories behind the historical artifacts and photos. She was born, raised, and has lived her entire life of 78 years – right there in Fort Meade.

I will definitely return to the museum later this year or early next year. A very good docent always leads his or her museum tour so that you see a little bit of almost everything. But you always want the visitor(s) to want to see more on a future visit. Paulette did just that. I’m looking forward to seeing more next time !

After my museum visit – I enjoyed a nice big lunch at Kiki’s Egg House along Charleston Avenue (U.S. 17 through the city). It’s where the locals eat. Food is good. Service is good. ’70s music is good.

And then I went even further up the road to tour the exterior grounds of the Homeland Heritage Park – a Polk County Park. I even walked inside the historic church there.

And then I completed the triple-trifecta of museums by visiting my fellow docents, curators, and coordinators at The Depot Museum in Avon Park (our sister museum in Highlands County). We talked museum business.

What a fun day it was last Thursday. And finally – this completes my unexpected 3-part series on Fort Meade Florida. I’ll begin a 2-part series on our big annual event for the Sebring Historical Society – Pioneer Daze – next #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.

#CountUp & #TravelThursday is on Facebook. I also run the Sebring Historical Society Facebook page.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Blogging Driving Food Geography History Military Travel Weather

Fort Meade Florida

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I wrote all about Fort Meade – briefly mentioning the military post and town in Anne Arundel County Maryland that I grew up near in the 1970s. It’s named after U.S. Civil War Union Major General George Gordon Meade (1815-1872). And then I wrote about the other place that’s named after him – 30 miles away from my current home here in the Heartland of Florida.

Fort Meade Florida is a small historic city in rural southwestern Polk County. It’s the oldest city in the county – with origins dating back to 1849. I was planning to visit the city last Thursday, but that’s the day that Hurricane Helene passed us by a couple hundred miles out in the Gulf Of Mexico. (We enjoyed a partly sunny and windy day on that day – with maximum sustained winds of about 25 to 35 MPH and occasional wind gusts over 50 MPH. Very little rain (about a half-inch). Minimum barometric pressure – 998 MB.)

So guess what ? Fort Meade is on my schedule again for today. I hope to visit the Historical Society Of Fort Meade Florida Museum and talk with the docents of their historic house there as a fellow docent of a historic house. After that I hope to enjoy a nice big lunch at Kiki’s Egg House along Charleston Avenue (U.S. 17 through the city).

Fun Fact: Fort Meade is near the north-end of a series of historic cities, towns, and areas along rural U.S. 17 in the Heartland of Florida. The community of Homeland (once known as Bethel) is to the north of Fort Meade (and to the south of Bartow). Further south along U.S. 17 are Bowling Green, Wauchula, and Zolfo Springs in Hardee County, and Arcadia in DeSoto County. Both counties border Highlands County (my home) to the east.

Heading back eastward (and homeward) to the U.S. 27 corridor I may even make a stop at The Depot Museum in Avon Park before heading home. So – if all of that happens today – then this will become a 3-part series, and I’ll write all about it next#TravelThursday.

#CountUp & #TravelThursday is on Facebook. I also run the Sebring Historical Society Facebook page.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp