Tag: Melbourne

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1990s Blogging Career Driving Geography Home Military Travel Weather

From Melbourne To MacDill

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. In last week’s edition I wrote about my hectic 6-months right after Hurricane Andrew destroyed Homestead Florida. That’s when I was driving back-and-forth between Fairfax County Virginia and Prince Georges County Maryland (Andrews AFB) along the Capital Beltway and also through Washington D.C. I put a lot of miles on my red 1989 Geo Spectrum sedan back then, but I was not yet done.

I drove / moved to Melbourne Florida in March 1993 – just a few days before “The Storm Of The Century” swept through the U.S. Eastern Seaboard bringing hurricane-force winds, sub-freezing temperatures, and even snow to North and Central Florida.

5 months later in August 1993 I was offered a job on the opposite coast over in Tampa at MacDill AFB. I accepted, but I kept my home in Melbourne. I ended-up living in a hotel (paid for by the USAF) in Tampa, working on-base during the week, and taking I-4 and U.S. 192 back to Melbourne on most Friday afternoons – returning back to Tampa on Sunday afternoons.

That was about a 140-mile drive in each direction, and it took anywhere from 2½ to 3 hours. That was also back when I freely drove on Interstates and high-speed expressways. (I don’t do that anymore.) That was also when far less people lived along the U.S. 192 corridor from Melbourne through St. Cloud and Kissimmee to Walt Disney World. Back in 1993 into 1994 St. Cloud had a population of about 15,000. Now it’s over 65,000. Kissimmee is up from about 35,000 to over 80,000. That’s a lot of traffic along U.S. 192 these days. It wasn’t too bad back in 1993.

That back-and-forth commute between Melbourne and MacDill lasted about 7 months until March 1994 – when I moved back to Homestead Florida. For a short period of time I thought that I would live in Melbourne for the rest of my life. But then when I got the job at MacDill AFB I thought that I would eventually move to Tampa full-time and live there for the rest of my life. Then I moved back to Homestead for the next 29 years.

Now I have my longtime Homestead home – and my new Sebring home. And I have a commute of about 185 miles that I do several times per month. I haven’t gotten tired of it yet. I enjoy the scenic and mostly rural drive. I enjoy seeing my church family and even some of my coworkers at my longtime workplace in Homestead. But I especially look forward to the return trip back north again to my new home and pre-retirement life and times in Sebring. I plan to live there for the rest of my life – less than 2 hours away from both Melbourne and Tampa.

Next #TravelThursday we’ll check-out Weeki Wachee Springs. Let’s keep traveling together.

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

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Blogging Computers Driving Internet Travel

Melbourne Florida

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. 29 years ago I lived in Melbourne Florida. It was my home from March 1993 to March 1994. I lived in a cozy low-rent studio efficiency on South Oak Street – at first full-time and unemployed, and then part-time and fully-employed.

When I got my honorable discharge from the USAF I moved to Melbourne Florida (from the Washington D.C. area). This was in the aftermath of the destruction of my former home at Homestead Air Force Base. In hindsight – I should have relocated to Melbourne directly after Hurricane Andrew instead of the #DMV (where I grew up as a kid). Had I gone to Patrick Air Force Base while still on USAF Active Duty my life of the next 30 years may have turned out completely different – perhaps for the better – maybe for the worse.

My first 5 months in Melbourne were crazy – and a lot of fun – as I looked for a job in the local area. It was probably the most fun 5 months of my entire life. It was during those 5 months that I learned how to use a modern Windows 3.1 / DOS 6.0-based personal computer for the first time ever. I also discovered an early form of social media known as the BBS (bulletin board system). My friend was running a popular BBS at the time where people would dial-in (via modem) to his computer and participate in message boards and live chat. I was so fascinated by that. I decided to create my own BBS – MANx CAT BBS. It went online during the early-morning hours of Friday May 21ST 1993. It continued for over 4 years.

MANx CAT BBS spawned MANx On The Net – which was the World Wide Web spinoff of the BBS. MANx On The Net evolved into MASSIVESMASH.COM in 1998 – my music-based web site, and it in turn became this blog in 2007.

Original Masthead (1998-2007)

So this weekend marks 29 years of online activity for me – starting with that first BBS – created in Melbourne Florida. And on that BBS we talked about travel and music – among other topics.

Since I moved away in March 1994 I’ve only visited Melbourne a few times. I don’t know anyone there anymore. My old rundown apartment complex was bulldozed to the ground years ago. The city has grown a lot over the past 30 years. So has the metro area (essentially all of Brevard County / Florida’s Space Coast). Over 600,000 call the area home nowadays. 30 years ago that number was right around 400,000. It was congested back then. I know it’s worse today. It’s a nice scenic area with the rivers and the beaches, but I wouldn’t want to live there.

Next #TravelThursday we’ll visit Kings Dominion in Virginia. Let’s keep traveling together.

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