Thursday, August 21, 2014 Daytona Beach, FL At 0600 Josh knocked on my bedroom door and called out quietly for me to wake up. He was heading to work and I was driving to Florida. The night before had been a difficult one as I found it hard to sleep. The last time I’d checked my watch it was 0200, so morning had come much too soon. Slipping out the bedroom door pushing cats out of the way with my foot; for some reason they think there is something interesting in my room, I headed to the upstairs bathroom to shower. Once I was done with my ablutions I collected up my toiletries and went to dress and pack. Shorts, t-shirt, boat shoes, and ball cap were the uniform of the day. Schlepping my two bags down the stairs I set them near the front door, but out of the way, and headed to the kitchen to fix myself a bowl of cereal for breakfast. I was accompanied by a kindle of cats trying their best to either trip me up or get stepped on. Marina has never found a stray cat she couldn’t bring home. She cleans them up, takes them to the vet, and then attempts to find them an owner. She’s a little behind on the finding a new owner aspect of her endeavor, so she still has seven furry dependents cluttering up her house and yard. At any rate I poured rice checks into a bowel, added milk and sat down to eat brushing kittens out of the way repeatedly as they tried to steal my breakfast. Soon Marina was up and saying good morning. She had been in the shower and her hair, like mine was damp. She asked where we need to go so I showed her on my phone and she indicated that she knew where it was. A bit after 0830 Marian got Jude up and dressed and we headed out. I was feeling sad that my visit was coming to an end. Arriving at the address that the confirmation email from Hertz had indicated, we were surprised to see that it wouldn’t open until 0900. My confirmation had said 0800. Calling Hertz got me assurances that the car would be there in a few seconds. Twenty minutes later I called again because no one had showed up. I was told that the lady with the car was already there and was waiting for me. After a bit of back and forth it turns out that the address I’d been given hadn’t been used in over a year and that the office was on the other side of town. I was not happy. Getting directions we proceeded to the new office but by then I was feeling grumpy. Of course the tribulations were not yet over as the computer couldn’t print out my contract so I couldn’t take the car until that got fixed. “Then fill it out by hand” I demanded. Of course no one knew how to do that but the manager noted to the counter person that as long as they had my information that it would be okay for me to take the car. So we went through the tedious task of explaining why I don’t have an address where I live because I live on a boat, but they agreed to accept my daughter’s address. Then they wanted two telephone numbers. “I only have one” I said. “Don’t you have a work number?” she asked. I explained that I no longer worked because I was retired. Once again we had to use my daughter’s number. Then we go out to the car and it is an SUV, not a standard sized car. I was told that they didn’t have any standard sized cars available but would not charge me more for the rental. Sure, I thought to myself, but the damn gas costs will make up the difference in my wallet. Transferring my bags to the rental, I then gave Marina and Jude hugs good-by and promised to drive safely. Seated in the vehicle I familiarized myself with the controls, adjusted the mirrors, and plugged in my cell phone to use its navigation app. I backed up cautiously and then pulled out of the parking lot to head towards the highway. At the stop light I found a Public Radio station to listen to as I proceeded out of town. Soon I was on the 95 heading south and enjoying Morning Edition on the radio. I made a few adjustments to the seat to make it more comfortable for me and settled back for a long drive home. I stopped in Smithfield at J&R’s to buy some cigars and a coke. I figured that I’d save the shipping costs by picking the cigars up at the store and the coke would help me stay awake as I drove along. Sadly I wouldn’t be able to enjoy a cigar as I drove because it was a non-smoking automobile with a $400 cleaning fee if I indulged in my vice. Never the less I was still doing well and rolling along smoothly. As I passed into South Carolina I lost my NPR station and wasn’t in the mood for rap music so I settled on a country station. Soon I was singing along with some sad song about lost love and old beach rollercoasters feeling all melancholy and misty eyed. Sometimes I get in a mood because I have a few regrets and ideas about how life should or could have been for me. With my sixty ninth birthday a few days away I’m in the winter of my life. Sure, I’ve lived more than most folks have. I’ve been places and done things that books could be written about. There have been wild times, life threatening adventures, a few romances, and some failed relationships, money in the bank and no money at all. There have been sunsets over palm lined beaches, moon rises over snow covered mountain peaks, shafts of light penetrating into the sea as I swam beneath the surface of the waves 200 feet above me, pitch black darkness as I squirmed through too small passages in caves, and storms that humbled and excited me at the same time. I have survived every kind of natural disaster imaginable, yet being alone now seems more challenging than all of the earthquakes, typhoons, and volcano eruptions I’ve endured. Damn country music anyway. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not down in the dumps; just a brief pity potty trip to remind myself that I’ve got a lot of living to do. Each and every day I roll out of my bunk I rejoice because I’m living out my dream. Granted, there are frustrating moments, but taking the grander view, nothing could be finer than living on a sailboat in Florida, meeting new and interesting people, as well as planning more adventures for the coming year. Yahoo! I stopped briefly just before the SC border with Georgia to get gas and again further down the highway for a sandwich just before leaving Georgia. My coke was gone by the time I rolled into Florida but Daytona was only a couple of hours away and I was anxious to get to my hotel so I kept on moving along at just a mile or two over the speed limit. Passing through Jacksonville I found NPR on the radio which helped lift my spirits as I listened to an interview with the creator of the Simpsons TV show. I’ve never watched it but the interview was interesting never the less. Turning off the freeway onto 92 I headed east past the speedway to the beach and my hotel. Checking in was easy enough and soon I was stretched out on a queen sized bed scrolling through the TV channels looking for something to watch. I called my daughter to let her know I’d gotten to Daytona safely and then ordered spegetii and meat balls delivered from a restaurant across the street. I watched Matrix as I ate and after the movie ended I shut off the light and curled up for a good night’s sleep. This is Captain John heading back to Kittiwake thanking you for joining me on this trip.
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 00:02:10 +0000
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