I was renting a friend's Condo in Dunedin, Florida. I was all alone except for my 2002 Mustang GT with a full tank of gas and I was just raring to go some place, any place. I looked at a roadmap for the State of Florida and I decided that I'd start heading south at 5:00 in the morning. I spent the rest of the night making my lunch and preparing an overnight bag.
I headed towards US19 South which is only five minutes drive from where I was staying. I didn't make it. I had to turn around and return to my Condo because of the fog. It was so dense that I could barely see the tail-lights of the car in front of me. After coming from England, fog was not exactly new to me but this was different. The term “Pea-Soup” would apply in this situation.
By 7:30, however, the fog had lifted and I headed south. After passing through St. Petersburg it didn't take me long to climb up into the clouds on the magnificent Sunshine Skyway Bridge connecting St. Pete's to Terra Ceia in Manatee County. I then barrelled down to Sarasota Bay where I took a rest stop. Surprisingly, I had some unexpected entertainment. I watched a powerful renegade speedboat being chased by an even more powerful police boat for about twenty minutes. I didn't get to know what all the fuss was about but when I saw half-a-dozen cops with their guns drawn and four young men with their hands high in the air, I figured the show was over. “WOW!” Talk about real life Miami-Vice.
I decided to finalize my plan for the day. I would go through the Everglades and down through the Florida Keys terminating at Key West. I made sure I had a full tank of gas before I entered the Everglades because it was my first trip and I didn't know what to expect. When I got deeper into the Everglades the traffic disappeared. I felt quite alone. I saw a dozen black prisoners clearing debris in the dense under-brush. Instinctively, I thought I'd wave to them but I quickly dismissed the idea when all of them stopped working to glare at me and my mustang. One of the three armed guards riding on horseback signalled me to move-on. I hadn't realized I'd slowed to a dead-crawl to get a better look.
I found Everglades City, which I thought was a real stretch to be called a “City”. There were a few restaurants, some of which sold alligator meat, and an old beat-up motel. But, I had a nice lunch in my cooler which seemed far more appetizing so I headed back to the main highway to find a quiet spot. Yes! …About fifty yards off to the right I saw a clearing with a small pond surrounded by dead trees and some good-sized rocks to sit on. It looked very quiet and inviting. It was the perfect place to enjoy my ham and cheese butties and a cold can of pepsi-cola. “Maybe I'll take a little nap after lunch” I thought. God! Isn't life good?
I was into my second sandwich when I noticed an old wooden sign nailed to a tree on the far side of the pond. The two painted words had faded over time and I was not able to make out what they said until I got closer. “Snake Creek” it said, and I instantly looked down. My heart-rate rocketed from 80 to 120 and I broke-out into a cold sweat. Suddenly, my Mustang seemed twice its original distance away. “How do I get back safely?” I said to myself. Then, I used my head. Snakes don't come after you – they try to get away. So, I made as much disturbance as I could by bashing my lunch box against the under-brush and walking slowly as I continued to look down. As I got closer to the car, I broke out into a sprint because I was so scared. Then, unlike me, I made that 265 horse-power, 4.6 litre, V8 Mustang GT burn rubber for the first fifty yards. I wanted out of there, fast.
I finally made it to Key West but I'll save that story for another time. I'll put pencil to paper just as soon as I recover from the “extreme culture shock” of that City.
I headed towards US19 South which is only five minutes drive from where I was staying. I didn't make it. I had to turn around and return to my Condo because of the fog. It was so dense that I could barely see the tail-lights of the car in front of me. After coming from England, fog was not exactly new to me but this was different. The term “Pea-Soup” would apply in this situation.
By 7:30, however, the fog had lifted and I headed south. After passing through St. Petersburg it didn't take me long to climb up into the clouds on the magnificent Sunshine Skyway Bridge connecting St. Pete's to Terra Ceia in Manatee County. I then barrelled down to Sarasota Bay where I took a rest stop. Surprisingly, I had some unexpected entertainment. I watched a powerful renegade speedboat being chased by an even more powerful police boat for about twenty minutes. I didn't get to know what all the fuss was about but when I saw half-a-dozen cops with their guns drawn and four young men with their hands high in the air, I figured the show was over. “WOW!” Talk about real life Miami-Vice.
I decided to finalize my plan for the day. I would go through the Everglades and down through the Florida Keys terminating at Key West. I made sure I had a full tank of gas before I entered the Everglades because it was my first trip and I didn't know what to expect. When I got deeper into the Everglades the traffic disappeared. I felt quite alone. I saw a dozen black prisoners clearing debris in the dense under-brush. Instinctively, I thought I'd wave to them but I quickly dismissed the idea when all of them stopped working to glare at me and my mustang. One of the three armed guards riding on horseback signalled me to move-on. I hadn't realized I'd slowed to a dead-crawl to get a better look.
I found Everglades City, which I thought was a real stretch to be called a “City”. There were a few restaurants, some of which sold alligator meat, and an old beat-up motel. But, I had a nice lunch in my cooler which seemed far more appetizing so I headed back to the main highway to find a quiet spot. Yes! …About fifty yards off to the right I saw a clearing with a small pond surrounded by dead trees and some good-sized rocks to sit on. It looked very quiet and inviting. It was the perfect place to enjoy my ham and cheese butties and a cold can of pepsi-cola. “Maybe I'll take a little nap after lunch” I thought. God! Isn't life good?
I was into my second sandwich when I noticed an old wooden sign nailed to a tree on the far side of the pond. The two painted words had faded over time and I was not able to make out what they said until I got closer. “Snake Creek” it said, and I instantly looked down. My heart-rate rocketed from 80 to 120 and I broke-out into a cold sweat. Suddenly, my Mustang seemed twice its original distance away. “How do I get back safely?” I said to myself. Then, I used my head. Snakes don't come after you – they try to get away. So, I made as much disturbance as I could by bashing my lunch box against the under-brush and walking slowly as I continued to look down. As I got closer to the car, I broke out into a sprint because I was so scared. Then, unlike me, I made that 265 horse-power, 4.6 litre, V8 Mustang GT burn rubber for the first fifty yards. I wanted out of there, fast.
I finally made it to Key West but I'll save that story for another time. I'll put pencil to paper just as soon as I recover from the “extreme culture shock” of that City.
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