Tag: Orlando

Texas Return

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date June 12, 2025

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This is a continuation of my post from last week when I wrote about meeting my family at Disney’s Coronado Springs at Walt Disney World. My sister-in-law and two nieces headed for Orlando International Airport (#MCO) – on their way back home to the Dallas Texas area. My brother came with me, and we spent a few hours at Disney Springs before driving southward to Highlands County, Avon Park, and Sebring.

Day 2 begins now, and on that Wednesday we did more shopping at my brother’s request. We ate lunch at my favorite Asian restaurant in Sebring – Cang Tong. (It’s really my only Chinese restaurant here, as I haven’t visited any other.) We saw a fun “action on an airplane” movie at the mall – “Fight Or Flight” – starring Josh Hartnett. And we made a Starbucks run.

Day 3 (Thursday) consisted of breakfast at Avon Park Diner (one of my favorites), more shopping, and then our monthly Sebring Historical Society spaghetti dinner fundraiser at our Charles F. Weigle House Museum. My brother got to meet some of my museum friends, and we both enjoyed being served a delicious spaghetti dinner. (Normally I’m preparing the desserts or in the kitchen helping prepare the meals, but on this special night I was a paid customer.) And we made a Publix run.

Day 4 (Friday) consisted of lunch at Olympic. Everyone I know seems to love Olympic, and so do I. The first time I ate there was back in June 2022 – 3 days after my 55TH birthday – after I had toured my 55+ dream neighborhood for the very first time and determined that I wanted to buy and live there forever. Olympic serves all kinds of great food for lunch and dinner, and I believe it’s one of the longest-running restaurants in the area. It’s been there with the same name for 47 years – since 1978. The left / west side of the building has been there since 1951 – when it opened as a different restaurant. There’s a lot of history there at that corner of U.S. 27 and Circle Street in Avon Park.

We went to another historic business down the road after Olympic – Maxwell Groves Country Store. Unfortunately they had a sign up at their door stating that they were closed due to minor repairs. So no soft-serve / dairy-free orange ice cream for us. Maybe next year.

We saw another movie at the mall on that Friday afternoon – the # 1 movie of the weekend and perhaps my favorite movie series of all-time – “Final Destination Bloodlines” – the 6TH in the series since 2000. I’m looking forward to # 7 in a few years.

On Day 5 (Saturday) we headed back north to the Orlando area. We ate an early lunch at Skyline Chili – one of my brother’s favorite fast-food places from when he lived in Ohio near Cincinnati and Columbus. After that we went to a couple of sports card stores – and then The Florida Mall. This mall is thriving and bustling – unlike many malls around the country. There were thousands of young locals and tourists at the mall on that Saturday afternoon.

I dropped my brother off at the airport (#MCO), and then I headed back southward to my dream home in my dream neighborhood in my dream part of Florida. My brother made his way back home to Texas via an unplanned (weather-related) trek through Houston’s Hobby Airport.

That ended an unusual span of 10 out of 19 days with my brother since the end of April – 5 days in Texas and 5 days in Florida. In summary – we did a lot of shopping (my brother’s favorite thing to do) and eating (my favorite thing to do). It’s what we’ve always done together for the past 40+ years in Virginia, Florida, Ohio, Texas, and beyond.

And this concludes my 6-part blog series on those 10 out of 19 days with my brother. It was a lot of fun to write, as it brought back great memories with my brother, sister-in-law, nieces, and sister-in-law’s parents. Next #TravelThursday I’ll put on my Meteorologist hat and look back at the cold Winter of 2024-2025 here in Sebring Florida. Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Disney, Florida, Orlando, Sebring

Blogging Commerce Driving Food Geography Home Shopping Travel

Texas Brother

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date June 5, 2025

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This is a continuation of my post from last week when I wrote about my final day in North Texas – Saturday May 03RD 2025 – my brother’s 50TH birthday !

I flew back home to Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (#SRQ) that afternoon, and I returned to my dream home in my dream neighborhood in my dream part of Florida.

Fast forward 10 days later, and early on a Tuesday morning I drove 65 miles up to Walt Disney World to meet my family who had arrived 4 days earlier. But first I walked around their hotel complex – Disney’s Coronado Springs. It was built in the mid-1990s, and I’ve probably driven by it more than a dozen times. I took a bunch of pictures – some of which will eventually make their way onto my Flickr site. I met up with my brother, sister-in-law, and two nieces inside “El Centro” – the main entrance and lobby area. “Las chicas” took an Uber to Orlando International Airport (#MCO), and my brother came with me to my car with all of his luggage. He’d spend the next 5 days with me.

Our first stop was Disney Springs – the MASSIVE shopping, dining, and entertainment complex that was once known as Downtown Disney – West Side, Pleasure Island, and Marketplace. Me and my brother actually discovered Pleasure Island (and West Side) over 30 years ago on a family vacation with our parents, and we loved it so much that we kept going back there at least a few times a year for the next 10 years. I was actually an annual pass holder at Pleasure Island for many of those years, so I went back more often – all the way from South Florida 4½ hours away. The former Pleasure Island is barely recognizable nowadays. As we walked up and down the island we tried to figure out where various nightclubs used to be located at.

We ate lunch at Guy Fieri’s Chicken Guy ! at the request of my brother. YES – it was yet another chicken sandwich for me – along with fries and an amazing Banana Pudding Shake. I know. I know.

My brother did a lot of shopping, and I did a lot of browsing – and following my brother around. I’m not much of a shopper – unless it’s shopping for food – like at Publix – where shopping is a pleasure.

That afternoon we drove down to my home near Sebring. That evening we went to Wawa – which is the nearest business to my neighborhood. But I’ve never been there before. I’ve only passed by it almost every day for the past 2 years and 2 months. My brother showed me how to order food via the kiosk, pay for it at the checkout counter, and then pick it up when it’s ready. I think I’ve got it down now. I’ll probably be visiting Wawa on a regular basis from this point forth. I should probably create an account with them, download their app, and start collecting rewards.

So that’s Day 1 of me and my brother’s excellent Highlands County Florida adventure. I’ll recap Days 2 to 5 – next #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Disney, Florida, Orlando, Sebring

Blogging Commerce Driving Food Geography History Home Shopping Travel

St. Johns River Cruise

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date August 1, 2024

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last Thursday me and 42 of my Sebring Historical Society friends met at our Charles Frederick Weigle House Museum early in the morning, and we boarded a chartered bus – courtesy of Small World. We departed for historic downtown Sanford Florida – 108 miles north of Sebring.

We arrived 2½ hours later, and we immediately boarded the 105-foot Rivership Barbara-Lee – courtesy of the St. Johns Rivership Co. We were treated to an interactive comedy wedding complete with singalongs and dancing on the dancefloor. The show essentially started as soon as we got off the bus, and it kept on going intermittently until the ship returned to its dock 3½ hours later.

Our multi-course lunch was pretty good. Nothing spectacular, but better than a typical lunch for me. I had the Prime Rib (cooked perfectly medium-well) served with mashed potatoes and green beans. A side salad and rolls were served beforehand, and delicious dessert (red velvet cake) was served afterward.

Our trek along the St. Johns River actually started dockside on the south shore of 9,406-acre Lake Monroe. We continued WNW – past the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens – off the lake and onto the river proper – underneath both I-4 and U.S. 17 / U.S. 92.

Crossing-over from Seminole County into Volusia County – we went about 7 miles up the river, and then we went around an island and came back southward. It was a nice slow cruise up and down the lazy river on a mostly sunny and hot afternoon; although, it felt cooler (with a nice refreshing breeze) outside – especially on the upper decks of the rivership.

On our way to and from the dock – we caught a glimpse of the vibrant historic downtown district of Sanford. I’d like to walk around and check it out on my own on a future daytrip to (or through) the area. I definitely want to visit the Zoo. I think this field trip was my very first visit ever to the area northeast of Orlando. There’s a lot to see and visit up there !

Fun Facts: We avoided I-4 between Kissimmee and Sanford by taking the “Eastern Beltway” (Florida State Road 417) northward and the “Western Beltway” (Florida State Road 429) southward. Both routes combined form a 108-mile ring around Orlando. On this field trip we traversed 7 counties – Highlands, Polk, Osceola, Orange, Seminole, Volusia, and Lake.

As we returned to our museum in Sebring – our Director announced our next field trip in a little over 3 months to Clewiston to visit an Indian Museum and to Okeechobee for a big Lunch. I’m looking forward to it !

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll tell you all about Frostproof Florida. Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Avon Park, Florida, Highlands, Lake Placid, Museum, Orlando, Osceola, Polk, Sebring

Blogging Commerce Driving Food Geography History Home Shopping Travel

Welcome To Highlands County Florida

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date July 25, 2024

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. A couple of months ago I had the opportunity to introduce my little brother to my new home county – and my new dream home in my dream neighborhood in my dream part of Florida.

After spending 4 days and 4 nights at Walt Disney World with his wife and two daughters – I met them on a Tuesday afternoon at the Disney resort that they stayed at. As my sister-in-law and nieces prepared to head to Orlando International Airport to fly back to North Texas – my brother packed his bags in my car, and we headed out for a week of fun.

Our first stop was a comic book / sports card store in Kissimmee off U.S. 192. (My brother is a collector of both.) After that – we made our way southward onto U.S. 17 / U.S. 92 (South John Young Parkway / South Orange Blossom Trail) through northwestern Osceola County and into Polk County – through Davenport and over to U.S. 27. We stopped for dinner at a favorite place of mine in Lake Wales – Sizzling Grill – and then we arrived in Highlands County and my neighborhood and home.

I got to show off my home county to my brother over the next 5 days (from Wednesday to Sunday). That’s stores, restaurants, downtowns, attractions, and highways.

On Thursday I gave him a tour of downtown Sebring – the Lake Jackson shoreline and parks, the Charles Frederick Weigle House Museum (where I’m a docent), and the Circle with all of the HGTV workers wrapping-up their projects for an upcoming season of “Home Town Takeover“.

Friday was Avon Park day. We tried to visit the Depot Museum, but it was unexpectedly closed. We did enjoy lunch at the historic Hotel Jacaranda – as well as orange ice cream at Maxwell Groves. #IYKYK

Saturday was Lake Placid day. We checked out the Depot Museum on International Museum Day (every May 18TH). I got to chat with some of the docents on-duty there about – well – life as a docent. My brother found it both amusing and intriguing that museum docents visit each other to talk about being a docent at a museum. YES – it’s a thing. We tried to visit the clown museum, but they were unexpectedly closed.

During our 5 days in Highlands County – we visited our local (dead) mall twice (to see movies), we shopped at both of our Walmart stores, we went to Publix twice (my brother discovered the #PubSub), and we enjoyed meals at some of my favorite family-owned restaurants in the local area. He also got a detailed geological and geographical education of the region.

It was fun to show him my home county. He only saw a tiny portion of the local area. I’m hoping that it’s the start of a new tradition every year so that I can show him new places. I’m still exploring new places myself. I’m proud to show off my new neighborhood, Highlands County, and the Heartland of Florida to anyone who visits.

On the final day – me and my brother headed back to the Orlando area (2 hours away). We spent a few hours at the thriving / exceptionally busy Florida Mall. There’s nothing dead at that mall – well – except for one of the last remaining Sears in the U.S.

I dropped-off my brother at the airport, and I returned home – ready to return to my regularly scheduled retirement routine – like blogging !

Next #TravelThursday – Let’s take a slow cruise on the St. Johns River out of Sanford Florida. Let’s keep traveling together.