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Blogging Driving Food Photography Travel

My Summer Vacation 2021 Road-Trip

It’s Part 7 of my multi-part Thursday blog series on my recent 77-hour / (4-day / 3-night) / 472-mile road-trip spanning Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, and Okeechobee Counties (in that order). It was my first extended visit ever along Florida’s Treasure Coast. While there I was always within about 5 miles of the Atlantic Ocean and the adjacent Indian River.

I awoke early on Day 4 – Saturday June 05TH 2021 – my 54TH birthday. In the weeks (even months) prior to this road-trip I had planned to enjoy a free birthday Grand Slam® breakfast at Denny’s, but they’ve actually changed things up over the past couple of years. Instead of simply walking-in to any Denny’s on the exact day of your birthday, telling them that it’s your birthday, showing them proof via your driver’s license, and then enjoying a free birthday Grand Slam® – now you have to be a part of their Rewards program, and receive a digital coupon for a free birthday Grand Slam® that you can utilize once anytime during your birthday month.

I decided to save my digital coupon from Denny’s for later in the month. Starbucks gave me a reward for any item on their menu free – good only on the exact day of my birthday – so it was off to Starbucks of Vero Beach for a quick small Breakfast.

After that it was a mostly uneventful drive home – down U.S. 1 – onto Florida State Roads 713 and 70, into Okeechobee County, around the eastern edge of the big lake, and then southward onto U.S. 27 and back into Miami-Dade County. I drove 180.2 miles home, and the total miles of the road-trip from start to finish was 471.8.

This was a fun yet well-planned road-trip. I planned it back in early-2018, and I scheduled it for the first week of June of 2018. I had to cancel it when a work-related road-trip to Georgia took precedence. Early this year I decided that this would be the year to take that road-trip, and so I scheduled it for the exact same 4-day / 3-night part of the first week of June. Most of the places that I visited were on my original 2018 itinerary. This was a road-trip where I wasn’t looking for potential part-time volunteer or employment opportunities post-retirement. I wasn’t driving around looking through potential future neighborhoods. I just wanted to visit new places that I’ve never been to before in my life, meet interesting people along the way, and enjoy some great food. I accomplished my mission.

Inside the Indian River Citrus Museum in downtown Vero Beach Florida

There are a lot of hidden treasures along Florida’s Treasure Coast – mostly along or within a few miles of the Atlantic coastline and the Indian River shoreline. I’ll definitely visit the area again to explore more. So far I’ve captioned and posted about 35 photos of this road-trip over on my Flickr site. I’ve got dozens more still to post, so I’ll be doing that for at least the next month. Check my Flickr often to see the newest photos.

And now it’s time to announce my next great Florida road-trip that begins in less than 100 days. It’s all planned-out. I’ll be driving up the spine of Florida along U.S. 27 up to Florida State Road 60, and then I’ll be heading westward into the Tampa area for one night. From there I’ll be heading southward along U.S. 41 (Tamiami Trail) into the Fort Myers area for one night. From there I’ll be heading southward and then eastward back into South Florida. I’ll be spending one night in Northwest Broward County before I return home on the afternoon of the 4TH day. It’ll be a nearly 650-mile road-trip from start to finish, and I’ll post all about it for many weeks after.

This concludes my 7-part series on “My Summer Vacation 2021 Road-Trip”. Actually it was an 8-part series, as I introduced it on the June 06TH 2021 edition of “Sunday Scripture”. You can utilize the calendar feature down at the bottom of this site to click on a previous Thursday if you missed any of the parts.

#TravelThursday continues next Thursday, as I plan to blog about Reykjavik Iceland.

All rights reserved (c) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

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Astronomy Blogging Food History Internet Music Television Travel Weather

Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts

I. #Introduction – Surprise. I’ve brought back an old favorite of this blog, but just for a single return appearance. This won’t become a regular weekly feature again. This was once the flagship of this blog. It started in 2007 on Myspace – inspired by fellow bloggers of the era. It continued here on WordPress for 129 well-read editions. This is the first edition on WordPress in over 11 years. I brought it back briefly on Facebook after that. This is essentially my instant “brain dump” online. It’s what’s on my mind – right here – right now. I have no idea what I’ll write – until my fingers hit the keyboard. Once it’s done it gets posted immediately. I wanted to do something different to observe 2,000 blog posts here on WordPress, and this is what I came up with. #Blogging101

II. #Lunch – I’ve written about Longhorn Steakhouse, Olive Garden, and Red Lobster many times before here on my #GrabBag. Back in 2008 and 2009 they were being built and opened in my city right next to each other just 3 miles away from my home. Longhorn and Olive Garden continue to thrive with delicious food, great service, and an abundance of customers all day every day. Red Lobster is struggling. I don’t go there very often anymore, and when I do there aren’t that many people there – both customers and employees. They appear to be poorly managed at this time. As a church group we’ve dropped the place from our regular rotation due to poor service. I went back today solo on a reconnaissance mission to see if they have improved. They failed. They were closed 18 minutes after they were supposed to be open at 11 AM. I went back to Longhorn – the place that I’ve been to more than any other restaurant in my city. My favorite waitress served me. She was fantastic, and my meal was delicious. #CaseClosed

III. #ManOnTheMoon – 52 years ago today on July 20TH 1969 (a Sunday) man walked on the moon for the first time ever. It was one small step for man – one giant leap for mankind. I actually remember watching it as a 2-year-old toddler in our cozy Greenbelt Maryland apartment on our giant (25-inch) living room TV set that was essentially heavy furniture that weighed several hundred pounds. I smiled when R.E.M.‘s “Man On The Moon” played on my iPod Shuffle at my desk at work this morning. #Appropriate

IV. #WeatherOnTheFours – Today we had a lot of quick-moving heavy showers around the area, but we also had a lot of hot sunshine. Sometimes the sun was shining bright while the rain was pouring down. Sounds like a typical “rainy season” day. We started-off this morning right around 78°F / 26°C, and we managed to reach 90°F / 32°C. Slightly drier and hotter days are headed this way – along with some Saharan dust. #Gesundheit

V. #FamilyPhotoOn5 – I stumbled across this photo recently. It’s from a long time ago – the Summer of 1977 (I believe). It could be ’78. I’m 10 (or 11). My little brother is 2 (or 3). We’re definitely in Ocean City Maryland with our neighbor friends. I went fishing for the first time ever in my life, and look what I caught !  Please excuse my outfit. I didn’t dress myself back then. #CutenessOverload

This concludes another weekend of blog posts. I’ll do it again this upcoming weekend (which starts very soon) – with 4 new entries on Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and Monday. I don’t blog on Saturdays. That’s my day of rest.

Your likes, follows, and comments are always appreciated. Thank You for being part of my online ministry to share God’s Good News and win souls for Christ through His music. I’m also on Twitter and Flickr.

Be blessed my friends !  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

All rights reserved (c) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

Categories
Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 231

Every Monday I post my all-new Top 10 Christian hit music chart based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay from the previous week. It’s the continuation of a weekly hobby that goes back 40+ years. Here’s this week’s chart:

COUNTUP MINISTRIES FOR THE WEEK ENDING SUNDAY JULY 18TH 2021 WEEK 231
TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 1 8 Be Alright
[2ND week @ # 1]		 Evan Craft X Danny Gokey X Redimi2
2 2 11 Yes He Can Cain
3 5 8 When We Fall Apart Ryan Stevenson Ft. Vince Gill & Amy Grant
4 4 7 Until Grace Tauren Wells Ft. Gary LeVox of Rascal Flatts
5 3 26 Fires Jordan St. Cyr
6 6 15 Gospel Song Rhett Walker
7 – 1 Into The Wild Josh Baldwin
8 – 1 What If Matthew West
9 10 2 My Jesus Anne Wilson
10 9 3 Sunday Morning Feeling Apollo LTD Ft. Ryan Stevenson

# 1 This Week In:
2020 – “No Impossible With You” – I AM THEY
2019 – “Prize Worth Fighting For” – Jamie Kimmett
2018 – “Grace Got You” – MercyMe
2017 – “Wonder” – Hillsong United

STILL AT # 1 – Evan Craft remains at the top of my chart this week, as “Be Alright” continues to gain momentum at U.S. Christian Radio. This past week it was the most added song, and it registered the most increased plays at big market stations. It’s approaching the Top 10 from coast to coast.

SURPRISE AT # 7 – This was unexpected. Bethel Music Pastor, Singer, & Songwriter Josh Baldwin is back with his 4TH hit on my chart – following-up “Stand In Your Love” (2018), “Let The Redeemed” (2020), and “Evidence” (2020). “Into The Wild” is his new song, and it’s from his “Evidence” album. “Into The Wild” is about letting go and leaving your past behind, following Christ’s heart, trusting Him for who He is, and dreaming like a child again – “Into The Wild”.

Check out the official music video for “Into The Wild”:

This blog is # 45 worldwide on the Top 60 Christian Music Blogs and Websites in 2021 chart. Thank You for including us Feedspot !

It may be Monday, but my weekend of blogging is not yet complete. I’ve got one more post for you tomorrow – Tuesday, and it will be posted late in the day – even early Wednesday for those of you reading in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. If you’re a longtime fan of my blog then tomorrow night’s blog will be extra special, as it will be a trip down memory lane. I hope that you’ll check back in again to read it.

All rights reserved (c) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

Categories
Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

I’m closing-in on the 15TH anniversary of the start of my salvation. I’m 5 weeks away from observing that unexpected moment when my life changed forever.

This fantastic journey is well-documented in public. I’ve been writing about it online for over 14 years – first on Myspace, then here on WordPress, then on Twitter, then on Facebook, and then back here on WordPress. I’ve been testifying about it offline (in-person) for those same 14 years. I’ve been preaching full sermons about it for almost 5 years now. The Bible says “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth – I will also acknowledge before My Father in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32)

During my first 20 months as a member of my first church family I kept a running journal of my weekly events via Excel spreadsheet. It’s fun to look back on, and remember those early couple of years of my journey with Christ. I wish I had kept it going. I don’t remember why I stopped doing it 20 months in.

According to that spreadsheet – 14 years ago on this 3RD Sunday of July of 2007 – Bible Class (before service) was canceled because the leader was on vacation that Sunday. The message on that Sunday was the first of a 5-part message series titled “Hot Sauce” – “Clash On Cash: God On Money”. It was obviously a money-related message. I’ve never been a fan of Pastors teaching or preaching about money – whether it be making it, giving it, saving it, or spending it. I may be a bit biased since I’m in the “money business” in my professional career. I know that I’ll probably never preach about money or finances. It may be something to discuss in a more informal Bible Class, but not in a sermon. I’m actually trying to build the foundation of a Bible Class with my current church family right now. I think we need one to supplement the weekly sermons and enhance the overall Sunday morning experience. I’ve been praying about it a lot lately.

After the service at the movie theatre 14 years ago today we had a picnic at a nearby neighborhood park to welcome the arrival of our brand new Executive Pastor at the time. We had hot dogs ! (That’s all my notes on the spreadsheet say.)

Those were some fun times back then in July of 2007. I was part of that first church family for exactly 6 months at that time. Those first 2 years – 2007 and 2008 – in their entirety – were great and glorious years with my new brothers and sisters. It was a season of ecstasy and euphoria. My growth and momentum began to plateau shortly after (starting in 2009) with less hills and more valleys. Despite increased roles and responsibilities within the church the hills would never quite reach the peaks of those of 2007 and 2008. The valleys grew deeper. I remained with my first church family for 8 years until 2015.

I guess I don’t really need to keep an Excel spreadsheet of my weekly events along this journey since this blog acts as my public journal nowadays. It’s brutally honest. I don’t hold much back. I use this blog on Sundays and Mondays to proclaim and teach – to preach – to the world what God has done for me.

“Go back to your family, and tell them everything God has done for you.” (Luke 8:39a)

Thank you for reading my blog for this day, and may:

The LORD bless you, and keep you.
The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you.
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.

All rights reserved (c) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries