Tag: Idalia

Retirement 2024

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date September 28, 2023

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. A couple of Mondays ago I finally did it. I revealed to my closest coworkers and friends my official retirement date. It will be “Leap Day” – 29 February 2024 – a great day to remember for the rest of my life. I’ll actually be reducing my 40-hour-per-week work schedule down to 16 hours per week with the start of the new year. I plan to take (“burn-off”) my remaining annual leave on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and that will give me 4-day weekends in January and February to end my nearly 39-year USAF military and civilian career.

This December will essentially be my final month of full-time work, as I gradually transition into long-awaited retirement. I’ve been dreaming of December 2023 for many years now, and it’s almost here. It’s when I reach my MRA (“minimum retirement age”).

Starting on April 01ST 2024 – the day after Easter Sunday – I’ll begin my 3,000+ mile post-retirement road-trip to and from North Texas. I’ll be visiting family over there – and friends along the way. I’ll also be visiting roadside attractions and historical museums between here and there. I know when the trip starts – but the end of the trip is open. I’ll be retired, so I can spend as much time as I feel like on the road and away from home. It will be my vacation of a lifetime.

Fun Fact: I will be in the Dallas Texas area for the 100% total solar eclipse on April 08TH 2024 at 1:40 PM CDT. Daytime becomes nighttime for 4 minutes !

I’ve often stated that planning a vacation is a lot of fun for me, but once it’s all planned out – now I have to actually do it. I’ve planned many vacations that I never went on. Normally I meticulously plan out a vacation weeks and even months in advance – to the hour – for each day of the trip. That won’t happen for this trip. I probably won’t even know where I’ll be stopping for each night (at a hotel) until it actually happens. It’ll be dependent on the people and the places that I visit during each day. I may drive 50 miles in a single day – or 100 – or 250 – or 500. OK – probably not 500. There’s no rush during this trip. I don’t want to miss cool people or interesting places along the way.

Next #TravelThursday – it won’t happen in September for the first time since January. I’ll explain. Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Big Bend, Cedar Key, Florida, Hurricane, Idalia, Nature Coast

Blogging Driving Geography History Nature Travel Weather

Pioneer Daze 2023

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date September 21, 2023

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. It’s an active week this week with the Sebring Historical Society – the organization that I’m an active member and volunteer of. Yesterday (Wednesday) was our weekly social and meeting. I attend for both. The social is important in that it’s fellowship with my new friends who share a common interest with me – to preserve, protect, and promote the history of our small town. The meeting is important as we find out what’s going on in relation to that, and our future plans as a result of that. Today (Thursday) it’s our monthly spaghetti dinner, and that will look a lot different than it has recently since we will be in a new building that we recently acquired (at least temporarily).

I look forward to both events this week. I also look forward to next month when we add our quarterly luncheon as well as a first-time special event at the local sports arena. If it’s successful – then it may become an annual event for our local community. Read all about it, but please forgive all of the misspellings. I had nothing to do with this flyer:

In the months to come I hope to spend more time working with the Sebring Historical Society including serving as a docent at our museum and gift shop at the Charles F. Weigle House Museum.

Next #TravelThursday I’ll reveal my retirement date from the USAF after almost 39 years, and I’ll reveal the 2-to-3-week road-trip that will follow shortly thereafter. Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Big Bend, Cedar Key, Florida, Hurricane, Idalia, Nature Coast

Blogging Driving Geography History Nature Travel Weather

Cedar Key Florida

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date September 14, 2023

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. 6½ years ago on Monday February 20TH 2017 (Presidents’ Day here in the U.S.A.) I visited Cedar Key Florida along the Nature Coast (the “Big Bend” region) for the first and only time.

Back then this blog was solely on Facebook. Here’s what I wrote about that visit a few weeks after:

We’re up to Day 6 now of my recent 1,226.5-mile “Spring Break Florida Road-Trip”. Coming out of Tallahassee at dawn on a Monday morning in February (Presidents’ Day in fact) I took U.S. 27 eastward (eventually joined by U.S. 98) into Perry, and then I continued on U.S. 98 through the Big Bend region. My first stop was my very first visit ever to the Cedar Keys. About 700 residents live on the main tiny island full-time, but the population swells to over a thousand during the winter “snowbird” season. I spent over an hour touring Cedar Key Museum State Park. It includes two museum buildings, a raw nature trail, and the rocky Gulf Of Mexico coastline. Oh yeah – and lots of biting bugs.

Fun Fact: Making a cameo appearance above is my very first Honda Civic – a 2015 LX. (I now own my 3RD Honda Civic.)

Cedar Key Museum State Park, the islands, and the surrounding area was recently devastated by the effects of Category-3 Hurricane Idalia. For the latest news and information regarding Cedar Key visit their Chamber Of Commerce home page.

Next #TravelThursday I’ll introduce you to “Pioneer Daze 2023”. Let’s keep traveling together.