Today's destination is Fort Lauderdale. It isn't far to go so I don't have to hurry. The plan is to spend the night at the hostel there, then drive to Key West the next day and spend one night there.
Somewhere along the way I discovered my clutch was close to worn out. I can get it to slip if I step on the accelerator hard while the car is travelling slow. That explains what the mechanic said about the clutch being high when my brakes were being fixed. Sigh. One more worry.
Billboards are very much a feature of Florida roads. The most obnoxious ones are those that pester you every mile or so, starting 30 miles or so from the attraction. More irritating are the lovebugs, a rather unlovely insect that has a habit of getting plastered over the windscreen on impact. The AAA book advises travel in the early morning or late evening to avoid these bugs. Wish I could. By the time I reach Fort Lauderdale my bumper is smattered. My windscreen isn't because I keep wiping it with cleaning spray.
Florida is a big citrus fruit producer and uncountable roadside stands offer fruit and gifts. Since I don't fancy oranges, they weren't hard to resist.
The Sol-Y-Mar hostel entry looks promising: near the beach, swimming pool, air-conditioned rooms. There were a couple of pool loungers when I arrived. The office was closed until 5 pm. A resident assured me there was no shortage of room. So I pulled up a sun chair and lazed away the afternoon in the cool breeze. So far I had only read three chapters of The American. I polished off a couple more and started reading On The Road as well. Kerouac's story of non-stop Beats wandering the US encourages rapid reading. I thought of taking a walk to the beach to see what it is like, but I was reluctant to venture into the heat. Besides, it was crowded from what I could see, driving past.
I was beginning to get bored. I have nothing against beach cities, you understand, but a constant climate of warm, sultry weather attracts people who have no more ambition than to sun all day and drink all night. Some of the residents had already been in the hostel for 4 months. I have nothing against this kind of relaxation either, but there is little else in the way of culture in such cities. So after a while, I get bored of such places.
I'm beginning to wonder if I should bother with Key West. The main reason I wanted to go there was because it is the southeast corner of the US. I've been to the northeast corner, in Maine. But I saw visions of more beach city ennui. The Keys are just a chain of islands connected by a highway. One of the towns is named Marathon, apparently what a highway engineer muttered when told to continue the highway all the way to the end. I would also miss seeing the Everglades. Oh well, I come
from the tropics so I know that sort of stuff. Then there was Miami. To come so far and not see Miami? I didn't want to stay in Miami, it was probably just Fort Lauderdale on a bigger scale. But I did want to have a glimpse of the city. Then there was the car. Would it get me back home? I felt vulnerable to mishaps, so far from home. It was the farthest I'd been away from base.
Finally, after consulting my maps, I decided to shorten my trip. Drop Key West. Drive through Miami, then turn back north. The problem was I'd told Tom, my friend in Philadelphia, I would turn up Monday night. I knew he was going away for the weekend, so I would have to arrive there before Friday. Could I make Philadelphia by Thursday night? Two days to cross FL, GA, SC, NC, VA, and MD. It would mean long driving days. Well, might as well enjoy this place today.
This place is full of Germans. There are a few Swedes and British here too. The two Swedish boys have come from LA, driving a LTD. They wanted to sell the LTD and get money to travel. While I was there a guy hired them to paint boats for $6 an hour. So they decided to stay on another week.
Somewhere along the way I discovered my clutch was close to worn out. I can get it to slip if I step on the accelerator hard while the car is travelling slow. That explains what the mechanic said about the clutch being high when my brakes were being fixed. Sigh. One more worry.
Billboards are very much a feature of Florida roads. The most obnoxious ones are those that pester you every mile or so, starting 30 miles or so from the attraction. More irritating are the lovebugs, a rather unlovely insect that has a habit of getting plastered over the windscreen on impact. The AAA book advises travel in the early morning or late evening to avoid these bugs. Wish I could. By the time I reach Fort Lauderdale my bumper is smattered. My windscreen isn't because I keep wiping it with cleaning spray.
Florida is a big citrus fruit producer and uncountable roadside stands offer fruit and gifts. Since I don't fancy oranges, they weren't hard to resist.
from the tropics so I know that sort of stuff. Then there was Miami. To come so far and not see Miami? I didn't want to stay in Miami, it was probably just Fort Lauderdale on a bigger scale. But I did want to have a glimpse of the city. Then there was the car. Would it get me back home? I felt vulnerable to mishaps, so far from home. It was the farthest I'd been away from base.
This place is full of Germans. There are a few Swedes and British here too. The two Swedish boys have come from LA, driving a LTD. They wanted to sell the LTD and get money to travel. While I was there a guy hired them to paint boats for $6 an hour. So they decided to stay on another week.
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