Tag: Florida

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My November Vacation 2021 Road-Trip

#TravelThursday continues now with Part 6 of my 7-part blog series on my recent 18-day road-trip between South Florida and North Texas.

Last week I left-off at the end of Day 16 at my hotel destination on the west side of Hattiesburg right around sunset that night. It was my 2ND stay at that particular hotel, and it was a good night’s stay. Back in November I wrote all about Hattiesburg Mississippi here on #TravelThursday. On a future road-trip I need to spend a couple of days there exploring the local area rather than just a hotel night.

Early the next morning – Saturday November 27TH 2021 – I departed at dawn with freezing cold temperatures and a heavy layer of frost on my car windows. Temperatures dropped to as low as 30°F / -1°C during the first hour of my drive southeastward along historic U.S. 98. I drove through Semmes and Mobile Alabama right around 8 AM, and on the east side of Mobile (after another scenic drive along Battleship Parkway) I picked-up I-10 eastward.

Post-Thanksgiving holiday traffic on I-10 eastward was a madhouse. Once again it was quite scary driving through Pensacola. It didn’t really get much better after that. I don’t think I’ve seen and experienced I-10 as busy as it was on that Saturday.

I eventually had enough of the extreme anxiety, and I got off I-10 about 95 miles earlier than originally planned – at U.S. 231 – which leads southward into Panama City. I’m very familiar with this road, as one of my longtime friends has lived a couple of miles off the road for the past 20+ years. After a fuel pitstop at Love’s (my new favorite gas station / travel stop on the road) I took a series of backroads across the Florida Panhandle (south of Tallahassee) and into the “Big Bend” area of the Florida peninsula.

U.S. 98 is fun (translation – peaceful) to drive between Hattiesburg Mississippi and Mobile Alabama, and I especially love it along the “Big Bend” area of Florida south of Perry. I picked-up U.S. 98 in Wakulla County – which is another fascinating area of my state that I’ve spent very little time in (other than driving through). I’m a big fan of “Welcome To Plathville” on TLC, and on a recent Season 3 episode the family ventured down to Wakulla Springs State Park for some fun in the sun and sea. Now I want to visit !

I enjoyed a nice #LuDinner (late-Lunch / early-Dinner combined) at an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant in Chiefland – which incidentally I plan to eat at on every future visit through Chiefland. After my hearty meal I continued on for another hour to my hotel destination for the night in Crystal Springs (another town I’ve spent the night at previously). It’s located along U.S. 98 and Florida State Road 44, and where the two routes meet – it’s a very busy and congested intersection.

From the very cold low-30s up to the mild mid-60s – those were the temperatures during my drive back into my home state.

Just like Day 16 I drove another 523 miles on Day 17, so that’s 2,497 miles on this road-trip so far. And that’s where I’ll end Part 6 of this 7-part blog series. I’ll conclude with my road-trip adventures and experiences next #TravelThursday.

All rights reserved (c) 2022 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

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Blogging Driving Food Holidays Military Travel

My November Vacation 2021 Road-Trip

I have returned back home (where I belong) to Homestead Florida after 18 days on the road between here in South Florida (30 miles southwest of Miami) and my family’s home in North Texas (25 miles northeast of Dallas).

#TravelThursday continues now with a recap of my adventures and experiences along this extended multi-holiday road-trip. In fact I’ll be looking back on this road-trip for the next 7 Thursdays (starting today). I’ve got a lot to cover. I’ve got a lot to look back at with joy. If you’re interested in this trip then read on and stay tuned, for we’ll visit some fun places together (virtually).

Let’s get started – at the crack of dawn on Thursday November 11TH (Veterans Day here in the U.S.A.), as that’s when this road-trip commenced. I took Florida State Road 997 (known locally as Krome Avenue) onto U.S. 27 up the spine of the Florida peninsula. I refer to Krome and the southern portion of U.S. 27 as the #CMDRH. (That stands for the “Chris M. Day Retirement Highway” – for obvious reasons.)

Every military veteran knows that on Veterans Day you can pretty much eat for free at selected restaurants for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. Many restaurants offer free portions of meals (appetizers, desserts), and other restaurants offer assorted discounts. Denny’s and Bob Evans are two restaurant chains that offer free meals on Veterans Day. As I cruised up U.S. 27 into Central Florida I intended to stop at either restaurant – as long as the respective parking lot wasn’t jam-packed. I passed by about a half-dozen Denny’s and Bob Evans locations that were bustling with cars and people – even lines waiting to get in. An ideal situation would’ve been to eat at Denny’s for Breakfast (free) – and then Bob Evans for Lunch or Dinner (free). I finally found a Bob Evans with a few empty parking spaces at around 11 AM in Clermont, so that’s where Lunch was to be. After a short wait in line I enjoyed a nice, hearty, and delicious “Country-Fried Steak – Dinner Bell Plate”. #Yum

After my free meal at Bob Evans I continued up the road, over to the Nature Coast (“Big Bend”) of Florida, into the Panhandle, and just past Tallahassee for my first night’s pitstop. I drove 519 miles on Day 1 of my 18-day road-trip.

On Day 2 I took I-10 westward for another 180 miles to the Alabama state line. That’s right – it took me nearly 700 miles just to get out of Florida !

Incidentally driving through Pensacola along I-10 is never fun. It’s actually rather intimidating (for me). It’s a close call as to which stretch of I-10 in the Florida Panhandle is more challenging – Tallahassee or Pensacola. In both cases I-10 skirts the northern fringes of the cities (rather than traversing right through the middle of them). But due to the combination of local and Interstate traffic there’s a whole lot of merging going on, and merging traffic gives me anxiety attacks.

Rivaling both Tallahassee and Pensacola is I-10 through Mobile Alabama. I prefer to cruise the scenic route along Battleship Parkway (the concurrency of U.S. 90 / 98 which runs adjacent to and closer to the water than I-10).

I wrote about Mobile Alabama 4 weeks ago here on #TravelThursday. On this visit (on Friday November 12TH) I drove past a few more places that I’d like to spend some quality time at in the future – including the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park. I really need to return to Mobile and spend several days there exploring the attractions of the city on both land and sea. It would also be nice to spend more quality time with my friends there.

I did make a 90-minute stop in Semmes (a suburb northwest of Mobile). I think I know about a dozen people who live in or near Semmes who also lived in Homestead 10 years ago. I ate with one of those people. I enjoyed good Thai food and fellowship with one of my great friends. I’ve known her for nearly 15 years – since the first 3 minutes of my very first Sunday morning church service as a born-again Christian on January 21ST 2007.

And that’s where I’ll end Part 1 of this 7-part blog series. I’ll continue with my road-trip adventures and experiences next #TravelThursday. We’ll cruise-up U.S. 98 into Mississippi, and we’ll cross the state via old rural U.S. highways – over to the eastern bank of the mighty Mississippi River.

All rights reserved (c) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

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Tamiami Trail

#TravelThursday continues, and in this edition we visit Florida’s Tamiami Trail.

If you read #SundayScripture and #Top10Monday last weekend then you’ll know that I’ve returned from another Florida road-trip. I drove 563 miles in just under 50 hours.

Last Thursday I drove to Tampa where I saw MercyMe, Micah Tyler, and Sam Wesley LIVE in concert at the Amalie Arena downtown within the Channelside district. It looks like they are making that area from Port Tampa Bay westward past the Aquarium and the shopping, dining, and entertainment area to the Arena more pedestrian-friendly with less vehicular traffic, the use of streetcars, safer and more visible crosswalks, and wider sidewalks. The area is heavily under construction, and it will be so for another year or two. It should look really nice once it’s all done. I like that area a lot. It’s actually fun to attend an event at the Amalie Arena and walk around and sightsee along the way. You can spend all day #Channelside.

The next morning (Friday) I got on Florida’s historic Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41 between Tampa and Miami). (Tamiami is pronounced “TAM-ee-AM-ee”.) It’s the preferred alternative highway for me along Florida’s Gulf Coast – mostly because I-75 is frightening.

I made a pitstop at a friend’s house in North Port at the southern edge of the Greater Tampa Bay area. He retired and moved there a little over a year ago. When he told me that he and his wife were settling in North Port I had never heard of it. Of course now (due to recent real world events) much of the world now knows about North Port. It’s a rapidly-growing city about 85 miles south of downtown Tampa. Its population has more than tripled since 2000, so people are flocking to this expanding corner of Southwest Florida.

I continued on further south along the Tamiami Trail into the Fort Myers area. My pitstop for Friday night was Estero – a newly-created incorporated village about halfway between Fort Myers and Naples. It is home to the worldwide headquarters of the Hertz Corporation, and it is also home to the Hertz Arena – home of many shows, concerts, and sporting events year-round. (That’s where I saw Casting Crowns and Matthew West LIVE in concert.) I’ve attended 11 events at that arena over the past 11½ years. It is my favorite arena.

The next morning (Saturday) I continued along the Tamiami Trail through Naples, and then eastward through the Everglades to the other side of the state. It intersects with Florida State Road 997 near the eastern edge of the Everglades. (We know it locally as Krome Avenue.) Krome takes me due south – back home into Homestead.

Join me next #TravelThursday as we visit another location on the face of this earth.

They keep you safe on your way, and your feet will not stumble. You can go to bed without fear. You will lie down and sleep soundly. You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked, for the LORD is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap. (Proverbs 3:23-26 NLT)

All rights reserved (c) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

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Tampa Florida

#TravelThursday continues, and in this edition we visit Tampa Florida.

Tampa is the actual big city – approaching 400,000 residents. It’s the 3RD biggest city in Florida after Jacksonville and Miami. Tampa Bay is the body of water adjacent to Tampa. The Greater Tampa Bay area is the metro area surrounding Tampa and Tampa Bay. Over 3 million residents live in the area, and that number surges past 4 million when outlying areas are included.

The Greater Tampa Bay area is home to the Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the repeating Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning, and the World Series Runner-Up (last year) Tampa Bay Rays. #TitleTown

I like Tampa a lot. It’s my favorite big city in Florida. I like the way it looks (the downtown skyline), and I like all of the activities that can be done in and around Tampa – at both land and sea.

Last #TravelThursday I revealed that I embarked on the Carnival Miracle for a fun 7-day cruise out of Port Tampa Bay exactly 15 years ago. It’ll likely be my future port-of-choice after I retire and move closer to the Tampa Bay area.

I once lived in Tampa – for about 7 months from August 1993 to March 1994 – when I worked at MacDill Air Force Base. That was after Hurricane Andrew destroyed my previous workplace at Homestead Air Force Base as well as much of the surrounding region. For a few months at the beginning of that time-frame it appeared that I’d be living and working in Tampa for years to come, but then political decisions were made to rebuild and reopen the airbase at Homestead, and in March 1994 I moved back. I’ve been here ever since. I like to say that I’ve been here in Homestead for almost 34 years – except for those 19 months right after Hurricane Andrew.

Had the airbase at Homestead not been rebuilt and reopened I wonder how long I would have stayed living and working in Tampa, and would I still be there today. What would I be doing ?

I actually haven’t visited Tampa too many times since I left 27½ years ago. I mostly visit nowadays to attend music concerts and sporting events at the downtown arena (now known as the Amalie Arena). Very near the arena is The Florida Aquarium – the 8TH largest aquarium in the U.S. You can spend all day there enjoying that impressive facility. I was last there in May 2019.

On March 21ST and 22ND of 2003 me and my little brother stumbled onto (OK maybe it was a little bit intentional) the Spring Break scene on Clearwater Beach where we had a hotel room overlooking the Gulf Of Mexico. That was a couple of days after the Iraq War began. College kids were blaring the Outkast song “B.O.B. (Bombs Over Baghdad)” up and down South Gulfview Boulevard. Those 2 fun nights on the beach were part of a 5-day / 4-night vacation in the Tampa Bay area.

Join me next #TravelThursday as we remain in Tampa, and then venture southward along the Tamiami Trail.

They keep you safe on your way, and your feet will not stumble. You can go to bed without fear. You will lie down and sleep soundly. You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked, for the LORD is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap. (Proverbs 3:23-26 NLT)

All rights reserved (c) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries