Fun in the sun

What a couple of days it's been. Yesterday I left Atlanta for Orlando. In a car, that's about a 7 and a half hour drive. On a bike when it's 95 degrees out and you stop every 50 miles for a drink of water, it apparently takes 10 hours. I'm visiting a friend from college.

[Monday]
"So how long do you think you're going to stay?"
"A couple of days I guess. Maybe 3 if that's alright."
"You can stay as long as you want. Is there anything you wanted to do in town?"
"I don't really know what there is in town other than the parks and those are just a wee bit out of the budget."
"I can get you into any Disney park for free."
"I'll leave on Saturday."

My friend, it turns out, is an Operations Manager at Disney.

And apparently, I was riding in on Monday night, and another friend of ours was flying in Tuesday morning. We took a little trip today and they rented a car for it but to get the one my friend wanted, he apparently had to pick it up at 4am.

I arrived at his place at midnight and we got a few hours sleep before leaving at 3:30am to pick up a car.

...

IT WAS SO WORTH IT!



So I got to drive around in a new Mustang convertible for a while.

Here's the conversation my friend said he had with his boss today:
"You seem anxious to leave. You got a plan for the next couple days?"
"Me and two friends from college are driving to Hollywood in a Mustang convertible to play in a poker tournament tomorrow."
"That's usually something people only talk about doing."
"We're men of action."

And here we are!



I relinquished the front for the trip down because it was their plan and I was just tagging along (and they weren't making me pay for the hotel room), but tomorrow, I called driver for 50 miles.

Yeah, we're having fun.

Meanwhile, on a side note: I have serious beef with the Florida toll system. In New York, you can pay a toll with any means you can come up with. Cash, Credit, Debit, EZ-PASS, you name it. I'm pretty sure you can pay with an interpretive dance if you're good enough. If you can't pay a toll, they scan your license and send you a bill. In Maryland, there are even credit card lanes that are like pumps at a gas station where you just swipe your card and move on. No human involved.

In Florida? Caught without any cash because the ATM at the service station was broken?
"Can I pay with a debit card or credit card?"
"Nope. Do you have your checkbook with you?"
-WHO THE HELL WOULD HAVE THEIR CHECKBOOK WITH THEM?!-
"No. I don't."
"Well then I have to fill out this form and you have to mail it back with the payment within 10 days."
"Ok. Can I pay this online with a credit or debit card?"
"No. Cash, check or money-order."

Really, Florida? Really? Your contingency plan is a personal check or money-order? Can I send it USPS or do I have to use a carrier pigeon? Every other state in the union seems to have come up with all sorts of ways of getting money quickly and easily but not here. Luckily the ATM at the next service station worked.

My friend pointed to a couple of signs on the road today:



And as ridiculous as that is, it is immediately followed by:



Sun-Pass is available in the service station gift shops. That's right: Not only do you have to pay the toll, you have to buy from them the means by which you pay them, and failing to have the proper payment causes the toll to jump up $100.

Our other friend said he saw a sign that said "Next Cash Exit 52 Miles" just before those. Florida, you fail at tolls. I can say no more.

This bird is over 4 feet tall!