Road Trip 2009: Gainesville

Day 5 was time to say goodbye to my new friend and head to the first must-see destinations on my road trip: EvergladesNational Park and Key West. This was a day of driving, eating, napping, and more driving. I think on my next road trip I’ll look for more interesting breaks than just rest areas and truck stops. I was eager to get to The Keys, though, and didn’t think about those things this time.

I contacted another online friend in Tampa to let her know I might be driving through her area if she wanted to say hello. I did this a few times during my journey. It’s not always possible to arrange anything at the last minute because people are not able to drop everything on a moment’s notice just because I decided to grace their town with my presence (plus the horror stories we hear about meeting people online tend to frighten some away), but sometimes they say yes. She asked me to please let her know when I headed north again.

I stopped at Target to buy a new camera - digital, of course. I resisted going digital for a long time. My film camera and I understood each other. The digital cameras confused me. My pictures came out fuzzy and I couldn't figure out how to get action shots. Now that I've made the switch I don't think I'll ever go back. I don't have to develop digital pictures, I just plug the camera into my laptop, upload and post them. I can send pictures to friends instead of getting copies made and paying postage. I can burn them to discs or save them to online photo albums. If I want prints, I can still go to a photo lab and have them made from the memory card or a CD. I can even make short videos with sound.

I looked for some chain oil for my bike, thinking I might just need to lube the brake cable to get it to work again. They didn’t have much as far as bike parts, so I headed to automotive. I spotted a can of WD-40 and bought that instead.

I went to the camping aisle looking for a liner for my sleeping bag. I was cold at night when I camped in Colorado last year so I needed something to layer for a little extra warmth. I didn’t find one, but I did meet a guy that was eager to tell me all about the wonderful tent he had just bought from Target. It was a two-room cabin tent with a screened porch and featured an access for electrical plugs. I prefer something smaller and easier to set up when I’m traveling solo, but the next time I camp with friends I may want something like that.

I started nodding off at the wheel in the afternoon and decided I would take a nap at a rest area. I found a shady area to park, cursed myself once more for bringing so much, dug my way into the back seat, and slept for a half an hour. Power naps are the best for recharging your batteries in the middle of the day. If you don’t have time or can’t find a safe spot for a nap, 25 jumping jacks will do the job, too. I may look silly jumping up and down on the side of the road, but I’m wide awake and ready to go when I’m done. Try it some time. It’s much more effective than coffee.

My last stop was at a Starbuck’s in Gainesville to take advantage of their internet access. I caught up on reading emails, uploaded a few photos to My Space, and let everyone at home know I was still alive. I decided to stop for the night and looked through my hotel savings coupon book for a good deal. I found one for a little more than 30 dollars. I had searched the internet for campsites the previous night and didn’t find a state park that piqued my interest. One had construction issues, the other mentioned wild dogs in the area. The private campgrounds wanted 30 dollars. For a couple more bucks I could have a private bathroom, a real bed, air-conditioning and HBO? I used the coupon and got the room.

I stayed at the Days Inn Gainesville I75. The room was clean, the plumbing worked, it had a/c and a comfortable bed. What more do you need for a few hours? The coupon books can be found at rest areas, truck stops, and diners along the interstate. The catch is that you cannot make reservations and you can only have the rate for one night. You have to present the coupon at the front desk and hope they have a vacancy. If it is a holiday weekend or there is a local event in the area that has the hotels pretty full, you are not going to be able to use a coupon. I find they are most useful in the small towns along the interstate when I’m just wanting someplace clean and inexpensive to get some sleep.