Wednesday, we made a trip from the west side of Florida across to the east side to visit friends. We've done this trip numerous times, sometimes in the opposite direction, depending on which friends we visited first. Yes, we are lucky to know wonderful people on both sides of the state willing to greet us with open arms. (I guess as long as we know when it's time to pack the suitcase)
We make the trip on Interstate 75, which starts somewhere in Michigan and ends in Miami Florida, or vice a versa. All depending what you are either trying to get away from or trying to get to? This North/South expressway is, according to AI, 1,786 mile, which about 90 of them miles goes in the East/West direction through Alligator Alley.
Now, in the past I always viewed this as a long treacherous drive amongst alligators who were waiting for me to brake down and I would become their late night snack. (tastes like chicken). But in reality, it has just become a quick run across the state. The speed limit is posted at 70 MPH and if you aren't doing at least 80, hold on tight because others will be blowing by you like you are standing sill.
The trip this week was interesting to say the least, because presently there are brush fires along 75 in the Everglades City area. They didn't close the highway, but visibility was poor and you could see the fires along the edge of the highway, Good part about it, traffic was light so there was no slow down going through this rough patch.
I just heard a new phrase last night called Alligator Alcatraz. What, the heck does that mean. Is it because there's a fence all along the interstate? Nope, there is an actual prison somewhere in those swamps! I don't think I'd be looking to cut through the fence at Alcatraz?
One year, when we didn't have our own car and decided not to rent vehicle, which was always a challenge in itself, because you didn't know how well the vehicle has been maintained, we called our good friends at Prestige Limo in Boca Raton. We wanted to sit back and relax.
These friends are not the ones we are staying with, but just good people in the industry. We got a great rate to be chauffeured from Naples to Boca. With all my complaining about the ride, this poor guy had to do the trip both ways. Good thing there are rest stops along the way.
Being we are in the same industry, we got a discount. Hey, it doesn't hurt to save those pennies.
This got me thinking about my years at Fugazy as a chauffeur hanging out at the airport. We would get discounts on meals because we were in the transportation business. A courtesy that I'm not sure exists anymore. Back when my boys were in high school, we made a trip to Punta Cana, but unfortunately we had to make a stopover in Charlotte, NC. The wait time changed from about 30 minutes to a few hours so we deplaned and everyone went looking for food.
One of my boys went with a friend we were traveling with, off by themselves to a restaurant. When he came back he explained how he got a transportation industry discount. What the heck, he did spend weekends working at Perfect Limo. Why not?
Be safe.
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