Tag: Florida

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Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport

Welcome back to #TravelThursday after a week off last Thursday for Thanksgiving Day here in the U.S.A. I was in Wylie Texas (northeastern suburb of Dallas) for 8 days and 9 nights – visiting my family for our annual #ThanksChristmasGiving (combined Thanksgiving and Christmas) tradition.

I flew out of #SRQ – Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport – on the Wednesday before the week of Thanksgiving. It was a late-afternoon / early-evening flight on American Airlines, and everything went about as good as can be expected with it. The flight – the only one of the day between #SRQ and #DFW – was about 90% full. That was a little bit surprising. I wasn’t expecting it to be that full. It was equally as full on the return flight back to #SRQ on Black Friday afternoon (the day after Thanksgiving here in the U.S.A.). I’m not sure if this single flight per day (in each direction – originating from #DFW) is seasonal or year-round.

I had an aisle seat flying out of #SRQ and a window seat flying back in. I prefer a window seat so that I can watch the weather outside all the way up to cruising altitude. It was exciting to see a new landscape out my window as we made our descent into the region – particularly a clear view of the beautiful Tampa Bay area to the north.

My first impressions of #SRQ were great. There are no parking garages – just surface parking including long-term, short-term, and rental vehicles. They are all connected to each other in front of the only terminal, and that one terminal has just 13 gates. (A new terminal is currently under construction, and it will add a few additional gates.) It’s the 8TH-busiest airport in Florida, and it was easy-in and easy-out to and from the surrounding metro area. It’s about 79 miles away from my Sebring home in the center of the state – almost a straight-shot along mostly rural Florida State Road 64.

I don’t know when I’ll be flying again (perhaps next November), but it will be a pleasure to fly out of #SRQ.

Today – November 30TH – is the day exactly 36 years ago that I flew to Miami International Airport for the first time ever on my way to my new home at Homestead AFB. (I would arrive on-base after Midnight on December 01ST.) Next #TravelThursday – I’ll write about the start of my 37TH and final year in South Florida. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2023 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Blogging Driving Geography Travel

Let’s Go To The Dump !

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last Saturday morning I visited the county dump for the first time ever for a sightseeing expedition chock-full of wonderful breathtaking photos. No. Just kidding. It’s more formally known as the Highlands County Recycling Center at 6000 Skipper Road (south of Sebring). It’s about 13 miles south of my neighborhood.

They were hosting a 6-hour Fall “Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) & E-Waste Collection Event”. I found out about this event earlier in the year shortly after I moved to Sebring, and I saved the date on my calendar.

You know – I just happen to have a lot of electronic waste that I’ve collected over the past 40 years. For me that’s mostly old TVs, VCRs, computer monitors, and printers from the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s. As a good steward of the environment and an obedient resident of my municipalities – I’ve refrained from throwing these objects in the nearest dumpster when they broke (like many others have done).

I stuffed my car trunk full of this junk (and part of my back seat area), and I hauled it all to the dump – not knowing what to expect once I got there. I expected it to be one of those drive-up / stay-in-your-car events where employees remove everything from your car, and then you drive away. But I didn’t know if – upon arrival – I would be in-and-out in about 5 minutes, or maybe 20 minutes. Well – let me tell you this. It was a very popular event – more popular than I ever imagined. Upon arrival of the general area of the dump – on a narrow dirt road that cut through unspoiled South Central Florida scrubland up in the hills – there was a long line of vehicles – cars, SUVs, pick-up trucks, etc. It turned out to be about a half-mile back-up. It was officially my very first traffic jam here in Sebring. I eventually got to the site about 30 minutes later, and it was exactly as I expected. You drive-up. You open your trunk (and unlock your back doors if you have junk back there), and a team of employees remove everything from it. You then drive away. I was driving away just 5 minutes later. It was very well-organized. I applaud Highlands County for such a well-run event.

Oh – and I’ll be back with more E-Waste for the next collection event in 6 months.

Next #TravelThursday – I recount my arrival in the United Kingdom exactly 38 years ago. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2023 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Blogging Driving Geography Travel

The Cars Of Sebring

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. A couple of weeks ago I shared with you how we speak Sebring, and I also introduced to you “The Birds Of Sebring” – the names that make up “The Bird Streets”. This is a continuation of that fascinating post.

“I’m on the Parkway” means that I’m on the Sebring Parkway. That’s our main highway that serves as a bypass of U.S. 27 on the other (mostly east) side of Lake Jackson. Both ends of the Parkway are on U.S. 27 about 5½ miles apart. The Parkway itself is about 6½ miles long, and it skirts the northern edge of the 1920s historic downtown district at North Ridgewood Drive. The Sebring Train Station (which celebrates its 100TH birthday in 2024) is right along the Parkway. (I wrote about it here on #TravelThursday back in July.)

I frequently take the Parkway from my neighborhood in North Sebring into downtown Sebring. From 2017 to 2019 a new parkway – Panther Parkway – added a 4½-mile stretch from the original Sebring Parkway to the southern portions of neighboring Avon Park (to the north). So you can now easily drive between the two cities without ever getting on U.S. 27.

Along U.S. 27 (or “Highway 27”, or simply “27”) you either have a U.S. Highway 27 N. (as in North) address, or a U.S. Highway 27 S. (as in South) address. The unassuming border – or “zero address” line – is the start of Lakeview Drive as it juts off of northbound U.S. 27. Lakeview Drive is the closest road to Lake Jackson (“The Big Lake”), and it not quite circles the lake from about an 8:00 position – clockwise – to about a 5:00 position.

OK – so here are “The Car Streets” of Sebring just off U.S. Highway 27 N:

Abarth, Alpine, Arnolt, Aston Martin, Austin, Bentley, Benz, Bolide, Bristol, Camaro, Citroen, Comet, Cooper, Corvair, Corvette, Cougar, Dauphine, Falcon, Ferrari, Fiat, Grand Prix, Hawk, Healey, Hillman, Jaguar, Lancia, Lark, Lemans, Lexus, Lister, Lola, Lotus, Maserati, Mercedes, Osca, Peugeot, Porsche, Renault, Replica, Riley, Romeo, Scarab, Shamrock, Simca, Singer, Sprite, Sunbeam, Talbot, Thunderbird, Triumph, Valiant, Vanwall, Volvo.

You can find all of those streets “behind Walmart”. That’s more Sebring speak there. And if you’re like me – I actually Googled some of those names to see if they are really names of cars. YES – they are !

Next #TravelThursday – We’re going to the dump. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2023 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Blogging Geography Travel Weather

El Niño Winter

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. I was previously planning to write about “The Cars Of Sebring” as a continuation of last Thursday’s fascinating post on “The Birds Of Sebring”, but I decided to change the script and write about the weather instead. (It’s always an easy subject to write about for me.) Don’t worry – those cars will be reported on next Thursday (unless I call another audible).

It’s been a cold week so far here in the Heartland of Florida. (As a refresher – the Heartland is that mostly rural inland region of South-Central Florida that’s southeast of Tampa and southwest of Orlando.)

Due to a plunging jet stream and trough in the east with several strong cold fronts sweeping through – December and January-like temperatures invaded the Heartland (and all of Florida). The 50s actually made it all the way south to the Everglades in South Florida, and the 40s (even mid-40s) poured into the northern suburbs of the Tampa Bay area. We actually set some record low daytime high temperatures this past Monday and Tuesday – with the low-70s – or about 15°F below normal. (Our normal high for this time of the year is still the mid-80s, and our normal low is still the low-70s here in Sebring.)

We dipped down to 52°F here in my part of Sebring with wind chills around 48°F on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings at dawn. It felt good and weird – like we suddenly plunged into winter after 5 months of a hotter and dryer than normal summer. I had to dig-in to my limited winter clothing collection.

Our rainy season has ended. September 30TH is generally the unofficial end of the rainy season here in the Heartland. (It’s October 15TH in South Florida.) We’re now in our 7-to-8-month dry season when we get just 30% of our annual rainfall.

But it’s an El Niño Winter, so that means cooler and wetter than normal for Florida (all regions). So far – it’s living up to its reputation. This is (already) our strongest El Niño since the Winter of 2015-2016, and that was one of the strongest ever recorded. (This one likely won’t be as strong.)

Unfortunately – El Niño Winters also bring severe weather to Florida, as the leading edge of this early winter weather arrived after a confirmed 6 tornados (EF0 to EF2) in the Tampa Bay area last week.

Fun Fact: That strong El Niño Winter of 2015-2016 ? I recorded an unprecedented 13 days in Homestead Florida that we did not reach 70°F. (Normal is 6.)

Want to learn more about El Niño (and La Niña) ? The NOAA does a very good job of explaining it here.

So – it should be a very interesting winter season here in Florida. I’ll keep watching and studying it just like I’ve done for the past 45 years, and I’ll even post pictures of it occasionally.

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll tell you all about the cars of Sebring – unless I change my mind again. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2023 Christopher M. Day, CountUp