Driving north past
Florida City, we started talking about how ole Chevy-girl could
use an oil change, and maybe get her tires rotated. So
we're trying to figure out what our mileage was the last time we
got tires. As we're discussing the tires, driving 75 mph
or so on the turnpike, we have a blowout. Rear passenger
side. It was surprising how relatively normal the car felt
to drive even after the tire went. So, we were able to
pull off the road where we briefly debated using our AAA
membership to get some assistance. But since we had
nothing better to do, Scott decided to go ahead and put the
spare on and drive back into Homestead to get a new tire.
Of course, just getting to the spare was the most difficult part
of the process, as nearly all of our worldly belongings reside
in the trunk. Which meant we had to scatter our stuff on
the side of the highway.
Things went smoothly,
Scott changed a tire while Caroline snapped photos and re-packed
some of our luggage. We drove back to Homestead and found
a tire place that was about a half an hour from closing, where
we were able to get a new tire put on. Our main mechanic,
a New Yorker by the name of "Brain" (no, I did not misspell
Brian), warned us to leave Homestead, head north, don't get
trapped there like he did. I informed him that we had no
intention of moving there... he seemed quite relieved - for our
sake. "Them Cubans think they own the place!".
We were back on the
road before six, and figured we'd start looking for a place to
spend the night. But apparently, once you drive past the
last exit for Ft. Lauderdale, there is absolutely NOTHING on
I-75 for the next 90 miles west. Not even an exit.
They call this stretch "Alligator Alley", and apparently this
time of year you can see lots of alligators lounging near the
side of the road. Since it was dark, we saw nothing except
for the thousands of mosquitoes that decided to smash themselves
into our windshield. We ended up stopping off at the next
exit, near Naples, to enjoy a night at the Comfort Inn in one of
the last non-smoking rooms available in Naples, apparently.
It was a long day that started with breakfast at Blue Heaven in
Key West and ended with a fine dinner at the Taco Bell at exit
101 off I-75 near Naples. |
|