Florida/Georgia adventures

I'm now in St. Marys Georgia at my daughter Angela's house.  It's the morning after the big company sales conference in Florida.  Sales conferences are really a drinking event for professionals.  Professional drinkers I mean.  I have figured out a method of partying with these professionals so I experience all the fun, but other than being tired, not the hurt that comes with the morning after the events.  It's a pacing strategy really.  As the night goes on, mixing in the tall glasses of ice water is the key.  Substituting that for the drink with the alcohol multiple times (while others continue with the alcohol) does the trick.  Then you're on point for the toasts, possibly shots, and "special" drinks that come along the way, and yet there for the 8 am breakfast the next day.  I suppose that goes along with my Planner personality--even at a social event, there's always a plan.  That kind of makes me laugh at myself.  

After the conference, I picked up my rental car to drive up to Angela's.  I thought ahead (again the Planner) and bought a GPS so I would have it when I did this drive, not being at all familiar with Florida or Georgia.  Now there is a small issue with this plan. 

First, I get my car from a ramp.  In a ramp the GPS cannot "see" the satellites so I can't get the GPS to know where I am and start telling me where to go.  Second, in airports when you get your car, you exit the ramp and start driving directly onto the freeways.  I have no idea what direction I'm supposed to go because the GPS hasn't found the satellite yet even though I am now outside the ramp.  I can't exactly drive on the freeway in an unfamiliar place and program the GPS at the same time.  I'm a multi-tasker, but that is beyond my capabilities.  I'm feeling a little panic and trying to figure out where the hell I'm going.  There are no shoulders I can pull off the freeway onto to take the driving part out of the equation.  I go in the direction that seems logical and am trying to get the GPS to catch up to the warp speed my brain is going in to try and figure what to do next.  Then I am starting to calm down a little and I see the toll signs coming up.  OMG, where is my money!  I search through my wallet--a nickel and some pennies and am freaking out.  Wait . . . I put a bunch of change in my jacket in my computer backpack!  I grab the change and get through the first toll booth.  But where is the rest of my money?  There are more tolls coming up.  Oh that's right, I had it in another small purse I carried, in my suitcase now. 

Regroup, find a shoulder on this damn road!!!  I see a spot to pull over before the next toll booth.  I pull over, pick up the remnants of my wallet that I threw all over the car looking for change for the toll and put it all neatly back in.  I zip open my suitcase and grab the little purse and get my money out and put it in the cup holder so I have it handy.  Get out the bottle of water to just take a sip and get a little calmer.  I program the GPS to go to Angela's house and get back on the road.  Well that was fun, I hope the entire ride is slightly less eventful.  

It's always so interesting to me to drive in another area of the country.  The signs, the drivers, the style of the area all fascinating to me.  I want to just take in the atmosphere like I'm taking pictures in my mind.  I did find that most of the drivers in Florida that I encountered do not have an interest in the "cruise" feature of their vehicles.  It was such an odd sensation setting my cruise, having a car pull up along side me only to disappear from my view going behind me because the driver suddenly decided to go much slower for no apparent reason.  This happened so many times in my drive, it was humorous to me after a while.  The drivers also don't seem to like to go the speed limit, but they go slower not faster!!  I drove 4 miles over the speed limit because I had this vision of this Smokey and the Bandit cop pulling me over for speeding (that's not too stereo type I know) and I was always in the fast lane passing all the fluctuating speed drivers by the hundreds.  I saw cops everywhere, but they did not seem at all interested in the speed I was going.  

I now have an extreme interest in Georgia pecans and Florida citrus, but I think that's due to the power of suggestion of the road signs virtually every 3 minutes all the way here telling me of the awesome local fruit and nuts.  I arrived here safe and sound, took Angela and Jon out to dinner and had some fun conversation then came back to their place.  I didn't last too long before the Florida adventures caught up to me and I was one tired girl.  Down for the count.  

More adventures to come!