Tag: Highlands

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Blogging Driving Geography Home Travel

2023 – Year In Review

Welcome back to #TravelThursday, and the final edition of 2023. It’s been a crazy year – even a life-changing year for me. It all changed on the morning of February 16TH 2023 when I drove 3 hours north from Homestead (my home since December 1987) to Highlands County Florida. I checked-in with my Real Estate Agent at her office in downtown Lake Placid (who I had met in June 2022), and we drove up the road to Sebring. We drove into my new neighborhood – which I had confirmed (to her and myself) – would be my new neighborhood when I toured it with her just 2 days after my 55TH birthday in 2022. (It’s a 55+ senior community.)

Long story short – I bought my dream home in my dream neighborhood in my dream part of Florida. The area that I had been driving through, and visiting, and vacationing occasionally for 8+ years, and stating that it would be my future retirement home – had become reality. It’s one of countless miracles for me from my Lord + Savior Jesus Christ. He knows the plans He has for me. They are plans for good and not for disaster – to give me a future and a hope.

I love reading (some of) my old Facebook blog posts from 2015, and 2016, and 2017 (before I returned here to WordPress) when I wrote about retiring in Highlands County and other adjacent areas.

Here’s what I wrote on February 09TH 2015:

“I’m embarking on another classic sightseeing road-trip vacation next weekend. I’ll cover about 575 miles of South, Southwest, and South Central Florida as I visit Fort Myers, Lake Placid, Sebring, and Lake Wales – all of which are currently in the running for my future retirement location. U.S. 27 is pretty much my main north-south route now from the Miami-Dade / Broward County Line straight-up past the Orlando area. I really like the classic route as well as all of the small historic towns along the way. It’s “Forgotten Florida” along the spine of the peninsula some 100 to 250 feet above sea level / both coasts on either side – lots of scenic hills and lakes.”

(I soon eliminated Fort Myers and eventually Lake Wales from consideration.)

I moved-in and closed on my new home on March 15TH 2023, and ever since then I’ve been driving back-and-forth between Homestead and Sebring. (I still have my Homestead home.)

Each trip northward is an “A” trip, and each trip southward is a “B” trip. I’m currently on “20A” – my 20TH trip to Sebring since buying my new home. “20B” occurs on January 02ND 2024 when I return to Homestead for 6 days and 5 nights. It’s 1 of 4 remaining trips to Homestead until I retire.

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll continue my “Year In Review”, and I’ll reveal if it was a record-breaking year of driving for me in 2023. 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

Categories
Blogging Driving Geography Home Travel

Miles & Meters

Welcome back to #TravelThursday.  This past Sunday afternoon I surpassed 22,000 miles on my 2020 car. It took me 34½ months to get there. I reached the milestone in the southern part of my home county – Highlands County Florida.

The topography of Highlands County is quite interesting, and it explains its name.

My neighborhood – for example – is on a gentle slope, and it’s most noticeable after a thunderstorm when the water quickly runs and drains downhill from west to east along the culverts and into the lake. It starts at 43 meters (141 feet), and it runs down to 40 meters (131 feet). The large neighborhood to our west on the other side of U.S. 27 is as high as 52 meters (171 feet). In our northwestern part of Highlands County – the Lake Wales Ridge runs along the west side of U.S. 27. (Think of the Lake Wales Ridge as Florida’s little mountain chain along its spine.)

The highest elevations in Highlands County are in the southwestern part – south of Lake Placid closer to Venus – where the land peaks at 62 meters (203 feet). That’s where U.S. 27 rides along the top of the ridge. The land starts rising from 22 meters (72 feet) just as soon as you enter Highlands County from the south.

So – I got sidetracked there with the fascinating topography of my new home county, but isn’t that what blogging should be all about ? You write what comes to you in the moment – not knowing where your thinking mind and your typing fingers will lead you.

Well – (circling back) – I surpassed 22,000 miles on my car 32 days after I surpassed 21,000 miles on my car, and that was 18 days after I surpassed 20,000 miles on my car. So it was a slower 1,000 miles this time around. I’m settling-in to my new home here in the Heartland and the Highlands of Florida. The view is wonderful from up here on the Ridge !

Next #TravelThursday – I gotta cut loose – footloose – kick-off my Sunday shoes. Let’s keep traveling together.

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

Categories
Blogging Driving Travel

Weigle House Museum

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This week I’m writing about the Charles F. Weigle House Museum near downtown Sebring Florida – located at 1989 Lakeview Drive.

My first visit to the museum almost didn’t happen. It was back on Wednesday February 17TH 2021, and I had just arrived in the local area from neighboring Avon Park – disappointed that the Depot Museum there was closed due to COVID restrictions. (I wrote about that last #TravelThursday.)

So I drove to the local area, and I went to the city pier to hang out and absorb God’s nature on Lake Jackson – a 3,212-acre mostly-clear and fairly-shallow freshwater lake with a sandy beach-like shoreline.

After several minutes of lake-viewing I decided to explore the area just off the pier. I saw a sign nearby leading to the Sebring Historical Society, so I went to the door, and it was locked-shut even though they were supposed to be open. So I walked around to the side of the building (which is actually up a hill and on the 2ND floor). I thought I was walking-in to the upper-part of the museum, but as it turns out I walked straight into the Sebring Public Library !

I walked around the library pretending that I was actually interested in everything there. (I actually was not. As a kid I was regularly dumped at the local public library for many hours at a time. As a result – public libraries turn me off and bring back negative childhood memories.)

I eventually walked-up to the front desk, and I asked the librarian on-duty about the museum downstairs. She said that it should be open. I told her that it is locked-shut. She called someone that she knew who worked there. They talked for a minute or two. After she got off the phone she said that the guy in charge was running late, and that he would be there soon to open it up. In the meantime I should go check-out the museum across the parking lot in the bright yellow building. So I did !

I walked-in, and a friendly docent greeted me at the door. She showed me all around the museum. She was fantastic. After the personal tour we just talked for another hour or so. She lived in Miami for many years, and then she retired to Sebring many years ago. I told her that I’ll be doing the same. I’m getting ready to retire and move from Miami to Sebring. I also told her that I’m interested in serving at the museum. She told me that I must talk to the guy in charge of the Sebring Historical Society on the ground floor of the building across the parking lot directly below the public library. I took her advice. I walked back over to where I started, and the door was unlocked. The guy in charge was there, and we talked for an hour or so – all about Sebring.

What almost didn’t happen on that day turned out to be the highlight of that short trip to Sebring in February of 2021. It may also be the start of some great experiences in the not-too-distant future.

Earlier this month on Wednesday June 08TH 2022 I drove back to the parking lot, and I walked-in to the museum expecting to take a tour of it again and enjoy some friendly conversations with the docent on duty. I walked right in to a regularly-scheduled Wednesday morning “social” with coffee and donuts and several local residents just sitting in folding chairs in a circle and enjoying fellowship with each other. They invited me to take a seat as well, so I did. I enjoyed their company for a couple of hours. It seemed like many of us had a military connection – as well as a South Florida connection. I learned about some of their life experiences / war stories, and they learned about some of mine. (I never toured the museum.)

I am now absolutely sure that if this Wednesday morning “social” with coffee and donuts is still active when I’m retired and living there full-time that I will definitely be a part of this community. I also plan to join the Sebring Historical Society as a member and as a volunteer. I’d like to do some social media work for them, and maybe even take over their blog.

Next #TravelThursday we’ll return to South Florida and Miami-Dade County and a museum in a historic house that overlooks scenic Biscayne Bay. Let’s keep traveling together.

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