Tag: Dallas

Collin County History Museum

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date December 5, 2024

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. I spent 9 days and 9 nights with my family in Wylie Texas – about 30 miles northeast of the center of Dallas Texas. I arrived during the early evening of Wednesday November 20TH 2024. My direct flight from Sarasota-Bradenton to Dallas-Fort Worth arrived a full 45 minutes early, and my brother was there to meet me at the baggage carousel. My big Samsonite suitcase was actually one of the first to emerge, so that was another pleasant surprise. We ate our first meal at Jollibee. (It’s a new tradition for us.) For those in the know – you’ll know that it’s the # 1 fast food restaurant in the Philippines. It’s growing rapidly worldwide – with 1,600+ locations in Asia, Europe, and North America.

Fast forward to Day 3 (Saturday November 23RD 2024), and me and my brother drove to historic downtown McKinney Texas. The day before – I successfully convinced him to take me there so that I could visit the Collin County History Museum. It was originally on my schedule for Thursday November 18TH 2021, but I didn’t visit due to reasons that I can’t remember 3 years later. (I drove to North Texas that Thanksgiving Week.)

We entered the museum nonchalantly, and less than a minute later we were asked to sign-in on an iPad. I loved their modern technology at the onset. A friendly and informative docent then proceeded to give us an engaging and extensive (nearly 90-minute) tour of their Museum. Part of the tour was inside a small theater where we watched an approximate 10-minute video on Dallas Texas native Carroll Hall Shelby (1923-2012). He designed and raced cars. At one point during the video – the word “SEBRING” prominently appeared, and I shouted aloud – “SEBRING !”. I discovered that he and his cars raced at the Sebring International Raceway many times throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Carroll Shelby Road actually forms the southern boundary of the Sebring Raceway. What a surprise to discover a Sebring Florida connection inside the Collin County History Museum.

Towards the end of our tour – my brother revealed to our docent that I too am a docent. So – we started talking docent-to-docent. I then added that I’m on the Board Of Directors for the Sebring Historical Society as well as the Social Media Director in charge of our Facebook page. That led to another half-hour of discussing “museum business” with one of their directors. Overall – it was a wonderful 2-hour experience at their Museum, and I plan to stay in touch via their Facebook page and official web site. I also hope to visit again the next time I drive to North Texas.

We did a little bit of walking around and shopping and eating in the historic downtown area. McKinney has done a wonderful job creating a fun mix of shopping, dining, and cultural experiences.

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll write about the second-half of my fun adventures with my family in Texas – as well as my return trip back home to Sebring. Let’s keep traveling together.

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

Tags Dallas, San Antonio, Texas, Wichita Falls, Wylie

Blogging Driving Travel

Wylie Texas

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date November 21, 2024

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. I’m waking-up in Wylie Texas this morning – the home of my brother, sister-in-law, two nieces, and canine nephew. This guy adores me being around him:

Wylie is an old railroad town with origins that go back over 150 years. Today it’s an affluent and rapidly-growing northeastern suburb of Dallas Texas. Its population has quadrupled since 2000. My family moved there in 2019.

I’ve been candid about this over the years here on my blog. I’m not a fan of Texas. My favorite thing about Texas is my family that lives there – outside of both Dallas and Wichita Falls. After that – it’s a sharp drop to my 2ND favorite thing about Texas – the food – particularly steak.

My history with Texas goes back almost 40 years. It’s where my USAF career began – at Lackland AFB in San Antonio. I returned to Texas several times – San Antonio, Austin, and Fort Worth – during the first-half of my civilian career with the USAF. My brother and his girlfriend turned wife moved to the Dallas area for the first time in 2006. They moved back to Ohio in 2013, and then they moved back to the Dallas area in 2019. My Aunt, Uncle, and Cousins have lived in the Wichita Falls area for about 55 years.

My favorite location in Texas is the San Antonio River Walk. I’ve been there a few times – starting with a day of liberty during USAF Basic Training in July 1985 and most recently in July 2011 with my family. We stayed at a hotel directly on the River Walk, and we just walked around the River for a few days taking in the sights, sounds, and tastes. It was one of our greatest family vacations ever.

Next #TravelThursday in 2 weeks – I’ll write about some of my fun adventures here with my family in Texas. Let’s keep traveling together.

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

Tags Dallas, San Antonio, Texas, Wichita Falls, Wylie

Blogging Geography Holidays Music Sports Travel

Hockey Night In Texas

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date December 8, 2022

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. As I revealed in last week’s edition I recently spent 10 days with my family over in the Dallas Texas area. It was our annual #ThanksChristmasGiving – where we combine Thanksgiving and Christmas into one fun week (or longer). It’s been a family tradition for many years now, but this was likely the last one of its kind.

The highlight of this recent trip occurred at the American Airlines Center – a large sports and entertainment arena in downtown Dallas. It was built between 1999 and 2001, and I think I had been there before, but I can’t remember. Before returning to the Dallas Texas area in 2019 my family previously lived there from 2006 to 2013, so it would’ve been back then, and it would’ve been either a WWE event or an NHL game. Maybe I hadn’t been there before. The arena and the surrounding area looked new to me on this visit.

So me and my brother went there on Monday November 21ST 2022 to watch our Dallas Stars take-on the visiting Colorado Avalanche. It was a fun game. Texans know how to put on a hockey game. The pregame intro (audio, video, visuals) was unlike anything that I’d ever seen at a hockey game. It was quite the show before the show. I’ve been to quite a few NHL games over the past 30 years – far more than any other sports league. It’s my favorite sport to watch LIVE in person at the arena. (I think it’s actually quite boring to watch hockey on TV.)

The action on the rink was a lot of fun with the audience interaction (for both teams playing). Colorado had its fair share of fans in the stands. I also enjoyed the loud techno and rock and even country music (it’s Texas) in-between the action on the ice. I remarked to my brother that the deejay has to be really good and paying close attention to start a snippet of a new song at the precise second that the action stops, and then end the song at the precise second that the action restarts. His playlist has to be well over 100 songs – with no repeats !

The game ended in a 2-2 tie, so there was a 5-minute “sudden death” overtime with less players on the ice. Neither team scored. So a shootout occurred. Colorado won the shootout. End-of-game. Avalanche 3 Stars 2 (SO).

The announced attendance of the game was 18,532, and that’s also the capacity of the arena.

Next #TravelThursday I’ll count my steps. Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Dallas, Hockey, NHL, Texas

Blogging Driving Food Holidays Military Shopping Television Travel Weather

My November Vacation 2021 Road-Trip

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date December 30, 2021

#TravelThursday continues now with Part 5 of my 7-part blog series on my recent 18-day road-trip between South Florida and North Texas.

Last week I left-off on Day 9 within the eastern portions of the Dallas Texas Metroplex (Collin County). I visited the Military Heritage Collection Of North Texas military museum, and then from there I visited the “Dallas” TV series museum – the Southfork Ranch. It was an interesting combination of military history and television history, and it was very appropriate in that I discovered the “Dallas” TV series in England in 1986 with my military dormitory buddies. It was “must-see-TV” for us back then.

Here’s what’s even wackier. During our guided tour of the Southfork Ranch, one of our tour guides went around the room and asked where each person or couple was from. I responded “Miami”, and a couple on the other side of the room did the same. We eventually met up outside on the front grounds of the mansion following the conclusion of the guided tour. The couple were actually from Homestead (same as me), and the guy worked at Homestead Air Reserve Base (same as me) for the same Wing. He left / retired a few years ago, and he and his wife moved to the Dallas Texas area. We actually knew some of the same people on base. #SmallWorld

After I returned back to my brother’s and sister-in-law’s house on that Friday afternoon I did not drive my car again until the following Friday morning. I enjoyed the day-to-day routines with my family, and we did the normal things that we always do during the week leading-up to #ThanksChristmasGiving – our traditional combined Thanksgiving and Christmas. One of my favorite things to do is something that goes back some 40 years, and it’s as simple as shopping with my brother. It’s also a good workout keeping-up with my brother in the stores.

On Day 16 of my road-trip – Friday November 26TH 2021 – I departed my family’s house for the start of the long drive home, but first I had to let my defroster melt the coat of frost off my windshield and rear window so that I could see. On that frigid morning I took the backroads of the local area over to U.S. 69, and I took that to I-20. On the south side of Shreveport Louisiana I got in one last meal at Whataburger.

Fun Fact: The nearest Whataburger is about 380 miles from my home.

After my early-lunch at Whataburger I proceeded onto I-49, and I took that to Alexandria Louisiana. From there I took backroads and old U.S highways through the rest of Louisiana, across the mighty Mississippi River, through Natchez, and over to Hattiesburg. I pretty much traced the same route eastward, as I took westward 2 weeks earlier.

I arrived at my hotel destination on the west side of Hattiesburg right around sunset that night. On that day I drove 523 miles, so that’s 1,974 miles on this road-trip so far.

And that’s where I’ll end Part 5 of this 7-part blog series. I’ll continue with my road-trip adventures and experiences next #TravelThursday. I’ll reach Florida next week, but how deep into Florida will I get ?