Tag: Broward

Sawgrass Mills Mall

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This is Part 3 of my look back at my recent trip back to South Florida – my former home of 35+ years. It was my first trip back in nearly 9 months (38 weeks to be exact) – since the end of June 2025 – when I closed on the sale of my 30-year home.

Last week I wrote about my Tuesday – starting in Homestead and ending in West Broward. This week – it’s my Wednesday – Day 4 of my trip.

We went to Sawgrass Mills Mall – one of the top tourist attractions in Broward County (after the beaches). The mall attracts locals and visitors regionally, nationally, and globally – perhaps up to 25 million annually. We got there before they opened, so we entered through Target on the northeast end. The mall was fairly quiet after its 10 AM opening time, but it gradually got busier as the morning progressed. By the time we left about 3 hours later it was busy – even congested in areas.

Fun Facts: Back in 1984 groundbreaking began on the MASSIVE Potomac Mills Mall in Prince William County Virginia – about 30 miles away from home. It opened for business in September 1985 – 3 months after I had left home for the USAF. I think we may have visited the mall as a family 2 months later in-between my tech school in Illinois and my first duty assignment overseas in the U.K. And we visited on a fairly regular basis over the next 11 years every time I visited my family in Northern Virginia. (They moved to Jacksonville Florida in 1996.) Shortly after I arrived at my next duty assignment in Homestead Florida – groundbreaking began on Sawgrass Mills Mall in Sunrise – about 55 miles away from home. It opened in October 1990. I’ve been visiting the mall ever since then – less frequently over the past couple of decades. You can easily spend the entire day there, and some visitors do.

After the mall we ventured southward along scary I-75 to Pembroke Pines and Fuddruckers. I enjoyed eating at Fuddruckers down in the Kendall area of Miami-Dade County for over 20 years, and it was a favorite of my brother as well in Florida, Texas, and Ohio. He doesn’t have Fuddy’s (as we affectionately call it) where he lives now, as the nearest ones are down in South Texas and over in West Texas. Our lunch at Fuddy’s was wonderful – just as we remembered it.

From Fuddy’s we drove lots of various roads through the heart of West Broward – venturing in and out of many of its suburbs. We ended up at Tate’s Comics + Toys + More along North University Drive in Lauderhill. It’s a huge 10,000-square-foot store of (literally) comics, toys, and more. I’ve been to a lot of comic book and sports card stores with my brother (that’s his hobby), and generally after about 5 minutes – I’m bored. It was hard to get bored at that megastore, as there was so much to see there. My brother was recording short videos in the store (with permission I believe) for his popular YouTube site.

So – it looks like there will be a Part 4 of this current series. Next #TravelThursday – I’ll head out of South Florida and onto “The Road To Clewiston”. I’ll check out their historic museum along U.S. 27. Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Broward, Florida, Fuddruckers, Lauderhill, Pembroke Pines, Sawgrass Mills, Sunrise, Tamarac

1970s Animals Blogging Driving Food Geography History Home Life Nature Photography Sports Travel

Flamingo Gardens

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This is Part 2 of my look back at my recent trip back to South Florida – my former home of 35+ years. It was my first trip back in nearly 9 months (38 weeks to be exact) – since the end of June 2025 – when I closed on the sale of my 30-year home.

I wrote about my Sunday and Monday in and near Homestead and Florida City in last week’s edition. This week – it’s Tuesday in West Broward (the western portion of Broward County).

But before we leave Homestead – it’s a milestone in my car. I hit 9,000 miles driving to Breakfast. It took 95 days to drive the next 1,000 miles from 8,000 to 9,000. That’s an average of about 10½ miles per day since the middle of December. My trek to 10,000 on the odometer will clearly come sooner than 95 days due simply to this road-trip alone.

It was a good 48 hours in Homestead and Florida City. After Breakfast at the local family-owned Flagler Restaurant in Homestead I hit Krome Avenue (State Road 997), and then onto U.S. 27 just shy of the Miami-Dade / Broward County line.

I made it to Flamingo Gardens along historic Flamingo Road in Davie. It was my 6TH visit since 2012 – and my 1ST visit in just over 4 years. It’s my favorite place in Broward County. If I had decided to leave Homestead and move up to Broward in retirement (very hypothetical) – then I’d very likely be volunteering or working there today. It’s part botanical gardens, part wildlife sanctuary, and part historic house museum. It covers about 60 acres, and it was established 99 years ago as a family homestead and citrus grove at the edge of the Everglades (back then).

Fun Facts: As an 8, 9, and 10-year-old in suburban Lanham Maryland (just outside of Washington D.C.) me and my friends would bring rakes into the woods on a fairly regular basis. We did so to rake the leaves on the ground, clear a path, and create trails and rest stops along the way – essentially creating our very own neighboring nature parks. On the left side of the creek that ran through the woods – I created “Chris Day Valley” (named after myself). On the right side of the creek – two of my friends (brothers) created “Wolf Pack State” (possibly named after misheard lyrics of a popular Gordon Lightfoot song at the time). After my friends on the right side of the creek lost interest in their unique park – I went over to the next street over and joined other friends who had already started working on their park. They gladly welcomed me. We even had a flag handmade of our park. (One of the moms did that for us.) It was so much fun while it lasted.

So why did I bring all of that up ? It’s because Flamingo Gardens looks like a grown-up version of those childhood parks that we created in the woods. It reminds me of those fun days outside 50 years ago.

After a fun 3 hours and 15 minutes at Flamingo Gardens – I headed north to Tamarac where I met my brother (visiting from Texas) at a hotel. (His 3 days of work was done at the Broward County Convention Center.)

We went to a noisy Yard House at The Oasis at Sawgrass Mills Mall for dinner, and then we walked across Panther Parkway over to the Amerant Bank Arena to see our Florida Panthers take on the Seattle Kraken. (The Panthers won 5-4 in overtime after a shootout.)

Next #TravelThursday – we’ll head back to Sawgrass Mills Mall for extensive shopping, and we’ll take an impromptu tour of West Broward County and many of its suburbs. Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Broward, Davie, Florida, Florida City, Hockey, Homestead, Sunrise, Tamarac

Blogging Driving Food Geography Home Travel

Walking Around The Neighborhood

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date December 26, 2024

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. While most of my travel posts have to do with driving or flying somewhere – this post is about another form of transportation – my own two feet.

17 years ago this past Christmas Eve I started something new that I had never done before. I intentional walked around my neighborhood. I did it for a few reasons back in 2007. I did it for fitness – to get healthier and stronger. (I was neither back then.) I did it to honor my dad. He was slowly losing the ability to walk due to the effects of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) – AKA “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”. I did it for my Lord + Savior Jesus Christ – to thank Him for rescuing me and saving me and blessing me with His gifts – such as the gift to pray for my neighbors, and my neighborhood, and my city, and beyond.

This is the start of my 18TH year of walking around my neighborhood. (Technically – each season begins near the start of the dry season here in South and South-Central Florida.) In this 18TH season – I’m still walking for fitness, and for my dad in Heaven, and for God. And when I walk around my neighborhood – I’m praying for my neighbors, and for my neighborhood, and for Sebring, and beyond. The Lord placed me in my dream home – in my dream neighborhood – in my dream part of Florida. I can’t stop thanking Him for that, for I’m living my best life today !

Statistically – Season 17 (2023-2024) – was the biggest one yet. I walked 87 times for a total of 113.50 miles. That’s an average of 1.30 miles per walk. I walked from September 2023 through July 2024. Season 18 started this past September 2024. My goal for this season is to walk 100 times. I’m about one-fourth of the way there, and I’m way behind last season’s numbers at this point. I need to get to steppin’ !

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll write about my driving year in review. Let’s keep traveling together.

#CountUp & #TravelThursday is on Facebook. I usually post there on Mondays and Thursdays. I’m also the Social Media Director for the Sebring Historical Society. I post on our Facebook page 6 days a week – Mondays to Saturdays.

Tags Broward, Clewiston, Florida, Glades, Heartland, Hendry, Highlands, Homestead, Love's, Miami-Dade, Moore Haven, Palm Beach, Sebring, South Bay

Blogging Driving Food Geography Home Travel

Homestead And Back

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date December 19, 2024

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last Thursday morning I drove down to Homestead Florida for the 32ND time since I bought my new home in Sebring Florida 22 months ago. Traffic was a bit heavier than normal for a Thursday morning with lots of truckers and tourists from the north.

I actually drove straight to Longhorn Steakhouse – where I met up with two former coworkers / supervisors for another one of our reunion lunches. We meet about every 3 months. It’s a great tradition that we’ve continued for many years now.

This will likely be my final monthly visit to Homestead. I’ve kept my longtime condo since moving away. I hope to put it on the market next month, and hopefully it will sell fast. I’ll still visit Homestead in 2025 – just not as often – maybe every 3 months or so.

It’s a nice 3½-hour drive between my new home and my old home. 99% of it is on just two highways – U.S. 27 and Florida State Road 997 (locally known as Krome Avenue in Miami-Dade County).

I drove back home this past Sunday afternoon after church and lunch in Homestead. My scenic (mostly rural) drive includes 6 Counties – Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Hendry, Glades, and Highlands.

Once I’ve reached U.S. 27 near the Miami-Dade / Broward line – I’m on the road that I live on. (My neighborhood’s entrance is directly on U.S. 27 just shy of 150 miles away.)

Once I’ve reached South Bay near the south end of Lake Okeechobee in far-western Palm Beach County – I’ve reached the halfway point. I don’t think I’ve ever stopped anywhere in South Bay. I’ve only driven through it. A new RaceTrac Travel Center is currently under construction. That holds promise for potential future stops.

Clewiston (in Hendry County) is next up on the trek. It’s actually the most populated city directly along the road between Homestead and Lake Placid (in Highlands County). Over 7,000 residents call Clewiston home. A longtime Sonny’s BBQ recently went out-of-business along U.S. 27 in Clewiston. I’ve stopped there a few times for a mid-trip meal. If only I were driving through the area before 1999 when Old South Bar-B-Q Ranch drew in the hungry locals and tourists along U.S. 27 for over 40 years.

I’ve written about Love’s here on my blog in the past. It’s just west of the small town of Moore Haven. It was built in 2016 and opened in March 2017. I remember driving by it a few times while it was under construction thinking that I’d very likely be a future customer there. I’ve stopped there many times – in fact – more times than not heading northward. Their employees are friendly. Their restrooms are wonderful – large and mostly clean. They have an Arby’s on-site, and lots of gas pumps. That Love’s stop is right at the two-thirds point of my trek back home.

And then there’s the ordinary (but beautiful to me) “ENTERING Highlands COUNTY” road sign at the slight rightward bend in the road. Once I reach that sign – I’m 40 miles / 45 minutes away from home. I used to dream of living in Highlands County every time I saw that sign during my road-trips northward. My dream came true 22 months ago. Now I’m glad to be back home again when I see that sign. (The whole County is my home.)

From the Highlands County line northward – it’s a slow ascent from elevations in the 60s (feet above sea level) to more than 3 times higher !

Although my visits to Homestead 3½ hours down the road will be fewer starting in 2025 – I can’t envision a time in the future when I stop driving southward to Homestead. As long as I have friends still living down there – I’ll be visiting them. That – and the scenic drive alone – is well worth the trip to and fro. The portion of U.S. 27 from I-75 northward is a trip along the main highway through rural and unspoiled South-Central Florida (“The Heartland”). I imagine that much of it looks mostly the same today as it has for the past 65 years.

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll write about my progress on Season 18 of my fitness walks around my neighborhood. Let’s keep traveling together.