Tag: Museum

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Blogging Driving Geography History Military Travel

Mobile Alabama

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. I began Day 2 of my ongoing retirement road-trip to and from North Texas unlike any other day – via an Interstate highway. My hotel for the first night was right along I-10 just south of Quincy Florida (about 20 miles west of Tallahassee). I got on I-10 westbound for exactly 150 miles (from Exit 181 to 31). I then transferred over to U.S. 90, and I took that (and Alternate U.S. 90) to the other side of the Pensacola area. This was a planned-in-advance transfer from Interstate to U.S. highway. It’s a good thing that I did so, for on this particular morning I-10 was at a near stoppage starting just before that Exit 31 due to an accident ahead. Unfortunately – others got off at that same exit before me, and I encountered a long and slow back-up for several miles along U.S. 90. I suppose that it was just a typical Tuesday morning rush hour headed into Pensacola.

Fun Facts: Over a half-million residents live in the Pensacola metro area (which includes Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties – the two western-most counties in Florida). A very short portion of I-10 is located within the city limits of Pensacola. I get very nervous driving on the wide and suburban portion of I-10 approaching, thru, and leaving the city (including the 2.6-mile bridge over Escambia Bay). The U.S. 90 / Alternate U.S. 90 bypass to the north works out better for me.

Northwest of Pensacola I got back on I-10 for the final 5½ miles of far-western Florida and across the Alabama state line. I stayed on I-10 for 35 miles into Alabama (my birth state).

My first stop on Day 2 was the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park. The USS Alabama (BB-60) was beautiful and fun to tour with multiple levels / decks (12). Much of the ship is accessible for viewing; although, you need to be in good physical shape to navigate and climb through many of the tight spaces. (Only the main deck is ADA-accessible.) The stairways / ladders are very steep and narrow. You can easily spend a good 2 to 4 hours navigating the ship (and seeing everything there is to see). I saw much of the ship, but I skipped many of the upper decks.

Upon entry into the Alabama State Park is a large hangar (Medal Of Honor Aircraft Pavilion) that serves as a traditional indoor museum with lots of military aircraft, vehicles, equipment, and memorabilia on display. In addition to the historic 84-year-old battleship you can also enter and tour the (same age) USS Drum (SS-228) submarine. (Both the battleship and the submarine are only accessible via the aircraft pavilion.)

It was a fun couple of hours at this military historical Park. I’m glad that I finally got the opportunity to visit instead of just driving by with a quick glance over at it.

Next #TravelThursday – I’m still in Mobile Alabama to explore more history – not just as a tourist, but also as a fellow docent of a historic house that serves as a museum. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Blogging Driving Geography History Nature Photography Travel

Florida’s Nature Coast

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. On Day 1 of my ongoing retirement road-trip to and from North Texas I departed my home in the Heartland of Florida at dawn. I proceeded northward on U.S. 27 / U.S. 98, and I continued up U.S. 27 to Lake Wales, and then westward along State Road 60. I picked-up U.S. 98 again through Bartow, Lakeland, and points north and west.

My first stop on this road-trip was Weeki Wachee Springs State Park – the legendary roadside attraction that has brought millions of people through its front gates off U.S. 19 for the past 77 years. During its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s it was one of the most popular tourist attractions in Florida (along with Silver Springs and Cypress Gardens). Everyone wanted to not just catch a glimpse of the mermaids, but also see them in action, and meet them in person, and have their picture taken with them before and after the shows. I saw the mermaids perform Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid” for their regularly-scheduled 11 AM show in the Underwater Theater.

Weeki Wachi Springs became a Florida State Park on November 01ST 2008. (The state now owns and operates it.) It was added to the U.S. National Register Of Historic Places in January 2020. It appears to be doing great business, and on some days – they reach capacity and can no longer let additional people into the park. On this particular day (a Monday) the park was thriving with hundreds of kids and their parents. Buccaneer Bay – the on-site water park – is also a main attraction. Personally – I thought that the park was underwhelming. I don’t do water parks, and aside from the 30-minute mermaid show (which was fun for all ages) – there was not much else to see or do at the park. Remnants of the park (from when it was independently owned – including by ABC-TV) still exist, and it’s a sad reminder of what the park once was all of those years ago.

I visited two other Florida State Parks on that Monday – Crystal River Archeological State Park and Forest Capital Museum State Park (near Perry). Both were pleasant surprises and much nicer than I anticipated. The former – with its traditional museum inside and its collection of Native American mounds outside – was nothing short of spectacular – especially the scenery from atop one of the mounds.

Crystal River (flowing from left to right towards the Gulf Of Mexico)

Fun Facts: All 3 of these Florida State Parks are located along the Nature Coast – a region of 8 mostly rural counties located directly on the Gulf Coast from the Big Bend region southward to north of the Tampa Bay region.

I love Florida’s Nature Coast. I love driving along scenic U.S. 19 / U.S. 98 and seeing historic motor inns and restaurants along the way – some of which are still in business with modern amenities. (Others are long dormant and rotting in place.) There’s so much to see and do in this area, and I’m just getting started.

Next #TravelThursday – It’s on to Mobile Alabama to explore more history by land and by sea. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Blogging Driving Food Geography History Travel

Bartow Florida

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. 8 days ago I spent some quality time in historic downtown Bartow Florida. It’s a part of Bartow that’s often overlooked by those just passing through along U.S. 17 and U.S. 98 (north-south) and Florida State Road 60 (west-east). I was with 9 of my Sebring Historical Society friends last Wednesday on a fun fact-finding mission to explore how other museums operate.

We started our fun at the intersection of Main Street and Broadway Avenue which serves as the “zero-point” of the city’s grid. All addresses – north-south and west-east – begin at that intersection.

We enjoyed Lunch at Palace Pizza at 105 East Main Street. I had 2 hot and delicious slices of pepperoni pizza and 3 soft and juicy garlic rolls. #Yum

After Lunch we walked across the street and entered the historic Polk County History Center. It’s located in the former courthouse building at 100 East Main Street. It’s their county museum, and it’s quite extensive on 2 out of 3 floors. The 1ST floor houses all of the exhibits – permanent and temporary – while the 2ND floor houses their archival library. (The 3RD floor is generally not open to the public; although, our group got a nice private tour of it – mostly utilized for storage and more archives.)

The museum is open 5 days a week from Tuesday to Saturday from 9 AM to 5 PM. Admission is free.

Fun Facts: The Polk County Courthouse building was built in 1908 and 1909. It was added to the U.S. National Register Of Historic Places on August 07TH 1989. The current courthouse is located a couple of blocks away at 225 North Broadway Avenue. Bartow is the County Seat of Polk County. Over 800,000 residents call Polk County home.

We also visited the Historic L.B. Brown House museum less than a mile away along South L.B. Brown Avenue. (It too is on the U.S. National Register Of Historic Places.) We were warmly greeted by 2 friendly docents, and they treated us to an extensive tour of the exterior grounds as well as the interior of the house. They shared lots of stories along with historical photos and documents. They were enthusiastic to tell the stories of the man, his family, and the house.

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll write about my morning with the mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs Florida. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Blogging Driving Geography History Travel

On The Road Again

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. 10 days ago – I took a nearly spontaneous day trip over to Lakeland. I briefly considered Lakeland as a retirement location several years ago. It’s a rapidly growing city (and metropolitan area) along I-4 between Tampa and Orlando with all of the big box stores and chain restaurants – and all of the traffic that goes along with it. Located just shy of 60 miles from home near Sebring – some 125,000+ residents call Lakeland home, but perhaps close to 800,000 people live in its metro area.

This short day-trip served a few purposes. I wanted to experiment with a somewhat non-traditional way of driving to Lakeland – by staying on U.S. 98. (My neighborhood is located along the concurrence of U.S. 27 and U.S. 98.) About 14 miles north – U.S. 98 splits away from U.S. 27 and heads westward to U.S. 17 where the two old U.S. highways form a concurrency to Bartow. (U.S. 98 then continues northwestward by itself to Lakeland and beyond.)

It was a nice drive along U.S. 98. I actually enjoyed a late-Breakfast at a popular local diner in Fort Meade. I think I may have driven through Fort Meade on a previous road-trip many years ago. It deserves its own edition of #TravelThursday, as I’d like to explore more of this historic small town – including the Museum presented by my brothers and sisters at the Historical Society of Fort Meade.

(On that day trip of 10 days ago – I ended up taking the more traditional route of Florida State Road 60 eastward from Bartow to U.S. 27 and then southward to return home.)

That day trip served as a “dress rehearsal” of the start of my upcoming retirement road-trip. It’s a road-trip that’s nearly 40 years in the making. I’ve frequently dreamed of taking a long road-trip clockwise around the perimeter of the country at the start of my retirement. I envisioned driving some 10,000 miles from Florida to Texas to California to Washington and then along I-90 from coast to coast across the northern U.S and then down the Eastern Seaboard back home to Florida.

My actual road-trip will be a much scaled-down version of those lofty dreams. I’ll be staying south and driving to and from North Texas via two different routes while mostly avoiding the Interstate. I’ll be journaling my life and times while on the road again. It’ll provide plenty of material for #TravelThursday through the next several months. I hope that you’ll hop along for a virtual ride !

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll write about a couple of historic museums in Bartow Florida. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp