Pensacola, FL
It’s not even dinner time and I’m ready to crash. I just drove close to 500 miles from Clearwater Beach, FL to the Kinko’s in Pensacola. I woke up this morning at the hostel in Clearwater Beach. What a location. It is 2 blocks from the beach and I was surprised to find that it was across the street from the restaurant Kevin and I ate at on Thursday night. The location was great, but I did not sleep too well last night.
I checked out of the hotel at 11:10. This was ten minutes late and the maid knocked on the door right at 11:00. I was piddling around sending emails and checking on plane tickets. I didn’t want to cause a stir because Kevin was already gone and the room was under his and his company’s name. I packed up and headed out. I was off to one of the places we all hate: the DMV. I was hating it more because I was going to sit in line to handle the ticket that I got in Tampa a few nights ago. As I pulled up I was intimidated by a group of close to 20 people milling about the outside of the doors. That is never a good sign. As I approached a woman with a clipboard asked, “Would you like to register to vote?” “No, I don’t live here.” “Are you moving here?” “No,” as I entered the building.
They had a receptionist up front. I was in the circuit court area. I told her what I was doing and she gave me a ticket. C555. I decided I am going to cinte4st the ticket and plead tourist. We’ll see what they say. I had hoped since all I was doing was setting a court date and picking up a contest form I could be in and out. How foolish is that to think you’ll get in and out of the DMV. “Calling C478,’ they said as I sat down. I then said a lot of bad things to myself. C478 means there was 80 people in front of me. Talk about a nightmare. But I was leaving town that night and I had to do this. I plopped down on a chair with my USA Today. I originally thought taking part in the legal process would be a cool experience for the book. Whatever. This was awful. No one talks to anyone. You sit and count it down. Lucky me, I got to sit in-between two people who knew each other and talked back and forth. I read about Iraq, Shaq, and how booming the economy is.
I thought and rethought about how I could get up, grab lunch, and come back. It was 12:30 when I got there and I was hungry. An orange will not last me all morning and day. I planned and read and listened to my stomach. So now I am the brilliant guy who is starving sitting in the court office. My patience was short but the numbers rolled off pretty fast. At about 2 they made sweet music as they called my number. There were actually a couple of babies behind the counter, but I was called to #12, a black man in his 40′s who didn’t say anything to me for close to 45 seconds. After our stare off I explained what I was doing. He said my ticket had not been processed yet. I explained my details of being an out of towner and leaving, etc… We finally were on the same page and he set my court date of September 8. I had until then to write up my explanation of what happened and send it in. At that point they will say whether or not I have to pay the $90 and get the points added. I don’t have any points and I don’t want any points. Especially for doing something I thought was correct, only because I had never driven there before.
Enough Law and Order. I was finally out of there. I headed to BK for a couple of $ deals. A Whopper Jr. and a 5 piece chicken tender. Total: $2.??. Not bad.
My friend from NY told me of a beautiful place outside of Sarasota, Siesta Key. I was originally supposed to interview the equipment manager of the Toronto Blue Jays during the day, but he got busy, so I made my way south to Siesta. It took longer than I planned as I tried to get my hands on a hard copy of the Miami Herald article. I stopped in a few places and called a newsstand but had no luck. I got to Siesta and hit the beach. It was beautiful. The sand was a very powdery white, similar to Turks and Caicos. I got there at about 4ish and the beach was still crowded. I need to invest in a beach bag. I lugged out my towel, hat, shoes and notebook. I found a spot and realized I like the beach more with other people. That may not be the case all the time, but today I wanted to be with some people. I sunned for a while and got a few calls which were good. I got a call from a friend in Charlotte who is getting married in Vegas in midJune. I had set aside a voucher plane ticket (from Elizabeth Dole day) but US Air said I can’t use it. Some voucher. So I am trying to find a city to get a good ticket price. Any suggestions let me know.
I stayed at the beach for a while and then decided to head back. I made arrangements to stay at the hostel in Clearwater Beach. As I left Siesta Key my phone rang and it was the guy from the Blue Jays. We were set to grab dinner and go chase a lady or two. It sounded like he was close to my age. He is the nephew of the Prime Minister of the Conch Republic.
I rushed to get to the hostel and get checked in. You never go as fast as you want to, especially on a Friday afternoon. But I got there, checked in, changed and headed out. The room was similar to others, with 3 bunk beds and a bathroom. I was on a top bunk. I met a guy who said he had been there since January. It turned out he also worked at the office (I checked out with him today). I was a few minutes late. We were meeting at Bahama Breeze. 2 hour wait. No way. Do people really wait that long?
We went elsewhere. Billy was close to my age and a really nice guy. He was a Wardlow. This meant he had great aura about him and was very personable. How cool of a guy is he to hang with me on a Friday night, some guy he’s never met? We went to Champp’s and ate and talked. He has some great stories about baseball and people he’s met along the way. I see big things in his future, as in, the BIGS.
We called it about midnight after checking out the Blue Martini. Great scenery. Not sure how interested they’d be in a guy with my salary though. Billy had to work and I knew I had a drive ahead of me. We parted ways and I was glad to meet him. He’s a guy I would be friends with and play golf with if I lived here.
I got back to the hostel hoping to find 2 Swedish girls sitting in the courtyard. No dice. I grabbed my stuff and headed in to sleep. I hopped up on the bed and turned a bit. It was hot. Hot as a lot. I had no covers on and no shirt (easy ladies) but was still sweating. After some turning I made it to snoozeville. I woke up a couple of times due to heat, but I wasn’t going to jump down to get a glass of hostel bathroom tap water. No the best sleep, but for $13, you can’t beat it.
I rose, showered and made my way to I75 and then West on I10. I got a hold of a sales rep from my old company who is in Mobile, AL. I wasn’t sure if I was going all that way today, but he offered for me to hang with his family (wife who I’d met before, and 5 kids, I think). I love family interaction as it makes me think of mine. So I pressed the gas and shook of the heavy eyes. We’re cooking out tonight and then I’m going with them to the beach tomorrow. Should be fun.
Time to check email and make the last 60 miles.