Tag: Florida

Categories
Blogging Christian Driving God Ministry Music Radio Travel

Hertz Arena

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last Saturday night I attended my 14TH LIVE event over the past 15 years at the Hertz Arena in Estero Florida (adjacent to I-75 – between Fort Myers and Naples). Opened in 1998 – it’s my favorite medium-size arena. It’s got a maximum capacity of over 8,000, but a little over 7,000 for most events.

I attended the MercyMe, Zach Williams, and Sam Wesley concert. MercyMe and Zach Williams are two of my favorite Christian rock artists – with a combined 20 hits on my weekly music chart since 2017 including 8 # 1 hits. Sam Wesley is an emerging artist, and he’s the eldest son of Bart Millard – the lead singer of MercyMe.

It was my 5TH time seeing MercyMe, 3RD time seeing Zach Williams, and 2ND time seeing Sam Wesley. I bought my ticket to the concert last July First. It was originally scheduled for Thursday October 10TH 2024, but 3 days beforehand it was postponed and rescheduled for almost 6 months later due to Hurricane Milton approaching the area. (It made landfall and devastated the area late on the night before the scheduled night of the concert.)

The original concert had two different opening acts for MercyMe – Crowder and Cochren & Co. (I’ve seen both of them twice before.)

The concert itself was wonderful. I shared a few details on Zach Williams this past #MusicMonday. I love his “Rescue Story” – his song and his testimony on how his salvation started in 2012. He’s been praising and worshiping his Lord + Savior Jesus Christ ever since. His music truly reflects his fantastic journey and his love for Jesus.

MercyMe have been a band for 31 years. I’ve only been a fan since 2017; although, I actually saw them for the first time in concert as an opening artist in 2015. I saw them as headliners for 3 years in a row in 2019, 2020, and 2021. It was the last LIVE event I saw in March 2020 a few days before the COVID pandemic shut down the world. It was the 2ND LIVE event I saw in October 2021 post-pandemic. A MercyMe concert is always a fun time for all ages – from kids to adults. It’s always great to attend a concert that’s filled with families – all singing along in unison – with a little bit of swaying and even some “happy dancing” mixed in.

It cost $30 to park in the arena parking lot (cashless). For a 4½-hour event (arriving an hour before the start of the concert) – that’s less than $7 per hour. Considering that there are some other arenas in Florida charging as much as $75 to park – I’d consider $30 to be a bargain. (You can also park at the adjacent shopping center for free, and walk over to the arena.)

Departing an arena parking lot post-event can be aggravating, but that’s usually not the case with Hertz Arena. Traffic generally flows reasonably well out the parking lot and onto the main highway (Ben Hill Griffin Parkway) thanks to strategically positioned orange cones and police officers directing traffic. We had a sold-out show, so a few thousand vehicles all leaving at roughly the same time was no problem at all. It was much tougher getting out of the South Florida State College parking lot following the Three Dog Night concert on the previous weekend.

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll write about my drive to and from the Hertz Arena through Lehigh Acres. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
1970s Blogging Music Radio Television Travel

Three Dog Night

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Over the past 39 years I’ve attended over 150 concerts and LIVE events at various venues. It all started in England in 1986 when I attended 17 LIVE music concerts in the span of about 16 months. The pace slowed down quite a bit once I returned home stateside, and the last 100 concerts and events have occurred since 2004.

Last Friday night was a bucket list act. I’ve always wanted to see Three Dog Night LIVE in concert, and so I finally did. They were my first favorite band on the radio when I was a little kid in Prince Georges County Maryland during the early-1970s. I liked all of their songs – especially “Mama Told Me Not To Come”, “Joy To The World”, “An Old Fashioned Love Song”, “Black And White”, and “Shambala”. (I still love those songs today. They are all on my Spotify.)

The concert was awesome. They performed 18 songs – 17 of their 21 consecutive Billboard Top 40 hits from 1969 to 1975 – as well as a newer song for an upcoming new album. Danny Hutton (the only original) and David Morgan also told short stories in-between many of the songs. Their final song had nearly the entire arena singing in unison (and some dancing too) – “Joy To The World” – the # 1 song in America and Canada for the entire year of 1971.

Interesting story on David Morgan. I thought he joined the band in 1981 when they reformed after disbanding 5 years earlier, but upon further research after the concert – I learned that he’s only been a member since 2015. He replaced original founding member Cory Wells after he passed away. That’s how good David Morgan is. I thought he was on the band for the past 44 years, but he’s only been with them for 9. He sang lead on many of the songs, and he was impressive – and energetic. I think he’s been a fan of the band for as long as me. He’s also been a musician for the past 65 years – touring and recording with such greats as Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Dolly Parton, and Rick Nelson. If you watched “Hardcastle & McCormick” on ABC-TV back in the mid-1980s – then you heard David Morgan every week. He sang the theme song for the show – “Drive”.

This was a rare sold-out concert at the Alan Jay Wildstein Center For The Performing Arts at South Florida State College in Avon Park Florida, so that’s 1,460 seats sold. If I had to guess – then I’d say that about 90% of the attendance was between the ages of 65 and 75. I was part of the 10% under 65 or over 75. So – most of the attendees were born from 1950 to 1960, so they were in their teens and 20s when Three Dog Night were one of the hottest bands in America. (I of course was a bit younger – age 2 to 8.)

Fun Facts: Three Dog Night hosted the cocktail party on the November 29TH 1971 episode of “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In”, as they sang “Joy To The World” (with pauses for jokes). They also hosted the inaugural edition of Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve on December 31ST 1972.

I can only imagine what a Three Dog Night concert was like during the early-1970s, and I’m guessing that some of my fellow attendees may have experienced such a wild night of music (and more) back then. Now I can say that I’ve also been to a Three Dog Night concert – 2025-style.

It’s on to Fort Myers and Estero Florida for another music concert – next – #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Blogging Bugs Driving Geography History Home Military Nature Travel

Florida Medal Of Honor Memorial

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This week I’m writing about my first-time visit a little over 3 weeks ago to our newest museum right here in my hometown of Sebring Florida. It’s the Florida Medal Of Honor Memorial.

Their Mission is “to honor and preserve the legacy of Florida Medal of Honor recipients through education, leadership, and inspiring displays, ensuring their courage and sacrifice are never forgotten.”

24 Medal of Honor recipients are Floridians – including our very own Major Thomas “Mickey” McGuire Jr. (1920-1945; Sebring High School Class of 1938). Check out his displays inside the Visitors Center.

What a wonderful Memorial (outside) and a beautiful Visitors Center (inside). It’s a fantastic addition to downtown Sebring, and as a Director of a neighboring historical museum – I welcome them to the family. I went home that night, and the next day I wrote them a check to cover a 5-year membership for myself. I want to be part of their growth and evolution. I want to support them in any way that I can.

Fun Fact: Surrounding the museum and the memorial are mostly (90%) native Florida plants – over 650 of them – including over 40 species. The plants were selected based on their colors, textures, and interactions with wildlife – attracting and supporting local butterflies, birds, and beneficial insects.

They are located at the corner of South Commerce and South Eucalyptus in downtown Sebring – 0.4 miles from our Circle – right next to the Highlands County Government Center. They are open 5 days a week – Tuesdays to Saturdays – from 10 AM to 4 PM. In addition to their official web site (hyperlinked above) – you can check them out on both Facebook and X.

Mama Told Me Not To Come, but The Show Must Go On, so we’ll Shambala An Old Fashioned Love Song Out In The Country – at least this One time, so that there is Joy To The World for the Black And White – next – #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Blogging Commerce Driving Food Geography History Home Shopping Travel

Arcadia Florida

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. It’s Equinox Day – the Spring Equinox here in the Northern Hemisphere and the Autumnal Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere. It occurs at 0501 U.S. East Coast Time / 0901 UTC. The Sun crosses the Equator at that precise moment on its trek northward to the Tropic Of Cancer.

Last week I wrote about my fun trip over to Arcadia Florida – 43 miles away from home. I visited the historic John Morgan Ingraham House Museum of the DeSoto County Historical Society. I also enjoyed a wonderful lunch at the cozy and quaint The Yellow Deli.

And this is where the story continues. After lunch I took a stroll down historic Oak Street, and I visited numerous antique stores. The historic district known formally as “Arcadia Main Street” is mostly antique stores, and they all appear to be thriving. Some stores even have multiple locations. Arcadia is informally known as “The Antique Capital Of Florida”. I don’t buy antiques, but I actually enjoy visiting antique stores just to see the 20TH Century memorabilia on display and for sale. Antique stores are like mini museums. On many visits to the Wichita Falls Texas area to hang out with my family there we often went on short road trips around the region to visit antique stores.

There were a lot of cowboys and cowgirls walking along Oak Street, as well as full tour buses unloading near The Tree Of Knowledge (a small downtown park with an old oak tree as its centerpiece). It didn’t take me very long to figure out that this was a special event weekend in Arcadia. In fact – it was Rodeo Weekend. Specifically – it was the start of the 4-day “97TH Annual Arcadia All-Florida Championship Rodeo“. My timing is impeccable. I picked the perfect day to be amongst hundreds of tourists along Oak Street. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. Historic Downtown Arcadia was vibrant with life on that Thursday morning !

This was my first visit to Arcadia. I had driven through a few times previously along U.S. 17 and Florida State Road 70. Both roads actually split into one-way roads through downtown Arcadia. It’s a nice small town with a fun historic pedestrian-friendly Main Street. I’ll be sure to visit again and again in the future. The coffee smelled really good as I walked by The Florida Farmhouse Coffee. Next time I won’t be walking by. I’ll be stepping in.

It’s back home to Sebring – and a first-time visit to our newest museum – next – #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp