Tag: Florida

Arcadia Florida

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date February 13, 2025

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I stated that I was spending the day visiting Arcadia Florida for the first time ever, and that I would write about it this week. That didn’t happen, as I got sick with the 3-day flu on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. My daytrip to Arcadia has been postponed to Thursday February 27TH 2025. That gives me a little more time to plan it all out. I plan to park my car and walk and browse the entire historic downtown district. I’ve already got my map of the area downloaded.

Arcadia is one of the oldest incorporated cities in the region. It became a city in 1886. A year later with the creation of DeSoto County (carved out of Manatee County) – Arcadia became the County Seat. DeSoto County was named after explorer Hernando de Soto. Arcadia was named after 25-year-old Arcadia Albritton. She was the daughter of local pioneers Thomas and Fannie Albritton.

Footnote: It’s the start of Presidents’ Day Weekend here in the U.S.A. – the unofficial start of Spring Break here in Florida – starting with the week leading-up to the Daytona 500. It’s historically been a big Florida travel weekend for me. For the 2ND year in a row – I’m staying put, as I’m already living in paradise. This weekend in 2023 – I bought my dream home in my dream neighborhood. In 2021 I visited this area. In 2017 I drove through this area en route to and from the Florida Panhandle. In 2016 I drove through this area en route to Walt Disney World. And in 2015 it was my first recorded visit to this area. I took photos of many of the murals all around downtown Lake Placid.

15 years ago I was in the Panama Canal. I’ll look back at that – next #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Arcadia, Florida

Blogging Driving Geography History Music Travel

South Florida State College Arts

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date February 6, 2025

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. It occurred to me today (as I’m writing this) that I’m coming up on 32 years of online activity here in Florida. It all started in a cozy studio efficiency apartment in Melbourne Florida during the Spring of 1993. Back then I was posting on a friend’s BBS (bulletin board system) before I created my very own – “MANx CAT BBS” (named after my childhood cat). It was a lot of fun back then, and perhaps the only subject that I posted about then – that I’m still posting about now – is travel. Back then I posted in “Fluffy’s Travel Bureau”. Today – it’s the simpler-named #TravelThursday.

Last Thursday I headed a couple of miles up the road to the Avon Park campus of South Florida State College (#SFSC).

My first stop was their Museum of Florida Art And Culture. It was my second visit to the museum. It’s a small museum – perhaps about one-third historical and two-thirds art gallery. They feature temporary exhibits throughout the year, and they had one this time titled “Echoes Unveiled” by Katya Neptune. It’s portraits of women and children that Neptune captured in Rwanda Africa in 2012 and 2014. The art pieces include matte medium, watercolor, polyurethane, thread, pencil, markers, and yarn on paper and fabric to embellish the large-scale photo-transfers.

There was actually a second temporary art exhibit adjacent to the museum inside the lobby of the concert venue. It was titled “Whiskers And Tales” by local 92-year-old resident Mary Seigfreid. It’s an exhibit on fluffy cats. And that brings this post full circle. (I saw a cat in her exhibit that kind of sort of looked like Fluffy from 35 years ago.)

Inside the concert venue – formally known as the Alan Jay Wildstein Center For The Performing Arts – I attended a free afternoon / matinee concert with the Charlie Redd Band LIVE. The 4-piece band (lead singer, guitarist, keyboardist, drummer) was very good. They performed mostly ’60s and ’70s pop classics – nearly all of which I knew and sang along with. Their encore was “Sweet Caroline” (Neil Diamond), and that was a lot of fun. They performed over 20 songs in 100 minutes.

It’s great to have #SFSC so close by so that I can enjoy LIVE concerts, and history and art in the same building.

Today I’m spending the day visiting Arcadia Florida for the first time ever. I’ll write about it – next #TravelThursday – Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Avon Park, Florida, SFSC

Animals Blogging Bugs Driving Geography Holidays Home Nature Travel

Archbold Biological Station

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date January 9, 2025

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. There’s a large tract of land directly to the north of my neighborhood that’s unspoiled raw Florida scrub. I have a great view of it out my second-floor side and front windows. I bet it looks exactly the same now as it did 25 – even 50 years ago – probably even more than that. It’s what my neighborhood probably looked like before 1985 – when the land was cleared, and construction began. I love living on the other side of our perimeter fence from that scrub. I often stare at it for minutes – watching the nature and the wildlife that prospers there. It’s like living right next door to a nature preserve. I hope it stays like that for the rest of my life.

A couple of Wednesdays ago on New Year’s Day Morning I had the opportunity to finally visit the Archbold Biological Station 30 miles away down in the southern end of my home county – Highlands. It’s about a mile-and-a-half west of U.S. 27, so I’ve driven by it dozens of times. It was my first time there. For several years I thought that it was closed to the general public, but then I realized that they actually have a small Learning Center there along with public nature trails nearby.

They hosted a “First Day Hike” along some of the private (unmarked) nature trails (for research use only). I figured I’d be 1 of 5 visitors to participate early on the first morning of 2025, but surprisingly there were at least 25 of us (several families with children) along for the hike through the protected Florida scrub. Our tour guide pointed out various insects, birds, animal tracks, and vegetation along the sandy trails. We walked through prescribed burn areas, as well as non-burn areas.

Our part of South-Central Florida is the oldest land south of the Florida Panhandle. A long time ago – back when sea levels were as much as 150 feet higher than they are now – only this area – the narrow high spine of Florida – was above water – as a series of islands – resembling today’s Florida Keys. Everything to the south, east, and west was the sea. The sand that dominates our landscape – visible from space – is ancient sand leftover from that era. Some of our vegetation can be found nowhere else in Florida. I guess I don’t need to explain how Highlands County got its name.

It was a fun “First Day Hike” through the scrub. We walked about a mile-and-a-half total during the informative 2-hour tour. It was a great way to start the new year in an educational and physical way.

Next #TravelThursday – It’s a change-of-pace. I’ll do a little bit of reminiscing. I’ll write about me and my family getting ready to make a move 50 years ago. Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Archbold, Florida, Highlands

Blogging Driving Geography Home Travel

Driving In 2024

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date January 2, 2025

Welcome back to #TravelThursday, and the first edition of 2025, and my first blog post of 2025. I posted on 173 days in 2024. That’s every Thursday, Sunday, and Monday in 2024 as well as 16 special posts on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. I’ll do it again in 2025 – starting with this one.

Less travel is my theme (and goal) for 2025. That’s less road-trips to and from Homestead Florida. That’s no retirement road-trip like last year. Just a low-key year, as I enter my 3RD year here in my dream home in my dream neighborhood in my dream part of Florida – and 2ND year of retirement. The priority this year is neighborhood, museum, and church, and my duties, responsibilities, and relationships at each.

I drove 11,954 miles in 2024. That’s up from 11,721 miles in 2023. That’s the most number of miles driven since 2004. I exceeded 1,000 miles in a month just twice, but one of those months was April – when I drove 3,290 miles. That included 2,807 miles to and from North Texas during the first 18 days of April. From May to December my monthly average was 784 miles.

I’ll likely have no 1,000-mile months in 2025, and I’m projecting about 9,000 miles total for the year. I do plan a few road-trips to and from South Florida and Southwest Florida, but I’d like to explore more of the Heartland of Florida. That’s the name given to the rural inland region in and around my dream part of Florida.

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll write about my first such local exploration. It’s a fun New Year’s Day morning and hike through the ancient scrub out at Archbold Biological Station in southern Highlands County Florida. Let’s keep traveling together.