Tag: Sebring

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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 Church Driving Food Geography Home Travel

Year 37 In Homestead Florida

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Yesterday was a wonderful day in downtown Sebring Florida – catching-up with a lot of my friends for the first time in over a month. I got to hang out with my favorite coffee roaster (and neighbor) at Strangely Warmed. I got to spend 2½ hours with my Sebring Historical Society family. I even picked-up a pizza and cannoli from my favorite pizzeria – Tony’s II. Even my Pest Control guy showed-up in the afternoon to spray my home for bugs. It was a good day in my new hometown.

And then there’s down south in Homestead Florida. Last week I celebrated (make that observed) my 36TH anniversary of my first arrival there during the early-morning hours of December 01ST 1987. I was there for a full week – from Sunday morning (November 26TH) to Sunday afternoon (December 03RD). I reflected last week on my 36 years in Homestead, and how it wasn’t supposed to be that long. (It was supposed to be less than 5 years.) Aside from my longtime church family that I got to preach to and enjoy fellowship with on both Sundays (and the next 2 Sundays) – there aren’t that many other bright spots in my life and times down there. There aren’t that many other reasons to visit Homestead and South Florida.

Nevertheless Year 37 has begun for me in Homestead. I’m likely spending another 25 scheduled nights in Homestead between this upcoming Sunday and the start of March, and then my visits will become sporadic after that – probably once every few months or so. I do plan to keep my longtime home (since 1995) for at least another year or so. Hotel rates are sky-high down south, so staying in my own old home is a bargain !

Down in Homestead there’s a single street with a few numbers and a few names that I’ve driven on more than any other since 1995. Next #TravelThursday – I’ll write about that street. Let’s keep traveling together.

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

Categories
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 Travel

The Cars Of Sebring

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. A couple of weeks ago I shared with you how we speak Sebring, and I also introduced to you “The Birds Of Sebring” – the names that make up “The Bird Streets”. This is a continuation of that fascinating post.

“I’m on the Parkway” means that I’m on the Sebring Parkway. That’s our main highway that serves as a bypass of U.S. 27 on the other (mostly east) side of Lake Jackson. Both ends of the Parkway are on U.S. 27 about 5½ miles apart. The Parkway itself is about 6½ miles long, and it skirts the northern edge of the 1920s historic downtown district at North Ridgewood Drive. The Sebring Train Station (which celebrates its 100TH birthday in 2024) is right along the Parkway. (I wrote about it here on #TravelThursday back in July.)

I frequently take the Parkway from my neighborhood in North Sebring into downtown Sebring. From 2017 to 2019 a new parkway – Panther Parkway – added a 4½-mile stretch from the original Sebring Parkway to the southern portions of neighboring Avon Park (to the north). So you can now easily drive between the two cities without ever getting on U.S. 27.

Along U.S. 27 (or “Highway 27”, or simply “27”) you either have a U.S. Highway 27 N. (as in North) address, or a U.S. Highway 27 S. (as in South) address. The unassuming border – or “zero address” line – is the start of Lakeview Drive as it juts off of northbound U.S. 27. Lakeview Drive is the closest road to Lake Jackson (“The Big Lake”), and it not quite circles the lake from about an 8:00 position – clockwise – to about a 5:00 position.

OK – so here are “The Car Streets” of Sebring just off U.S. Highway 27 N:

Abarth, Alpine, Arnolt, Aston Martin, Austin, Bentley, Benz, Bolide, Bristol, Camaro, Citroen, Comet, Cooper, Corvair, Corvette, Cougar, Dauphine, Falcon, Ferrari, Fiat, Grand Prix, Hawk, Healey, Hillman, Jaguar, Lancia, Lark, Lemans, Lexus, Lister, Lola, Lotus, Maserati, Mercedes, Osca, Peugeot, Porsche, Renault, Replica, Riley, Romeo, Scarab, Shamrock, Simca, Singer, Sprite, Sunbeam, Talbot, Thunderbird, Triumph, Valiant, Vanwall, Volvo.

You can find all of those streets “behind Walmart”. That’s more Sebring speak there. And if you’re like me – I actually Googled some of those names to see if they are really names of cars. YES – they are !

Next #TravelThursday – We’re going to the dump. Let’s keep traveling together.

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