Italy in Florida

This drive proved to be just as painful as the Pittsburgh one. I mean, this time around I was semi prepared at least, but it still seemed like it dragged on for entirely too long.

I proceeded to finish off listening to Mister B. Gone on audiobook and switched back to music. At this time I was closing in on the Georgia/Florida border and the sun started going down. Almost immediately after driving over the state line I could feel a change in climate that inspired me to roll my windows down and take it in. Around the time I did that, I saw neon lights in the distance. I looked at my gas gauge and decided it was time to fuel up so I wouldn't have to worry about it until way later on down the line. I took the next exit and started to pull into a Citgo when I noticed that across the street was a Mobil. Now, I'm not picky about where my gas comes from, but if you've been paying attention you'd know I enjoy tourist traps. This one was no different. A Dairy Queen, gas station, knick knack dealer, and fireworks shop rolled into one. Lucky day! I jammed on the brakes and turned around in the parking lot and sped over to the opposing gas station. Here I picked up some post cards, roman candles, and more energy drinks along with some food. I hit the road again, and at this point the highway turned painfully straight and didn't deviate once it seemed. I spent hours staring straight with no other traffic around feeling the (slightly) warm(er) wind on my face until I needed gas again. I pulled into another convenience store off the highway where a homeless man implored me for some food or something to drink. I hooked him up with the remainder of my popcorn chicken and french fries and went inside. There was a man working the counter that didn't speak very good english, to fullfil a stereotype I'm sure, so he seemed to be confused when I asked if they had a bathroom.

"Can I use your bathroom?"
"..What?"
"Do you have a bathroom?"
"Oh uh ahm, what?"
"Is there a bathroom I could use here?"

He seemed to make sense of it and smiled kind of a creepy smile. He proceeded to tell me that there wasn't a back room and nodded knowlingly. What he may have thought I suggested still kind of makes me laugh when I speculate to myself, but I assured him I just needed to pee in so many words ("If not can I just take a leak out back?" "Oh, bathroom! Yes, behind chip rack"). I came back out and gave the homeless guy a bottle of water I bought and he stopped me because he was curious what a New Yorker was doing driving down here. He seemed genuinely interested in my story, which I would think would be kind of a bore, and reluctant to discuss the terms of his drifting. I didn't think too hard about it but instead talked about music because he could see the guitar peeking out over the top of my seat.

We parted ways without exchanging names and I kept heading towards my grandparents' place in Venice. When I got close I kept seeing names of major Italian cities on the exit signs like Naples, among others that I don't recall. When I saw the exit for Venice, I pulled off and looked for their neighborhood. It was gated from what I remember, and it was still gated when I got there. It was kind of nice but an extremely tacky neighborhood as it was for old folks, mostly well into their 70s. There was a large waterfall out front and many palm trees dotting the sides of the road among various warning signs for speed bumps and pedestrians. One of the ones that intrigued me the most was a red-beaked crane crossing sign. I kept hoping the whole time I would see one around, but with no luck.

I got to their place which was nice and cozy. Most of the furniture was as tacky as the neighborhood, but I'm guessing that's what being elderly is about. They kept a TV in every room, most of which on different channels and playing loudly, and a mini-fridge full of soda cans. I would have prefered something more hydrating, but this trip has refreshed my memory of how good orange soda could be so I greedily drank down several of the non-diet ones they bought for my arrival. We sat around and visited for a bit before they retreated to bed and I sat in one of the most comfortable rocking chairs of my life. I went off to the guest room that featured two old fashioned twin beds. One had towels and an extra blanket on it, and the other was made up for me. It took some time to figure out the switch/light/fan situation but once I did the room was optimized for comfort and sleep took hold.

The following few days were spent lazily visiting with my grandparents, eating well, and helping my grandma run errands while my workaholic grandpa held it down with his endless calls. I tried winning the trust of their antisocial cat named KC, but she wasn't having it. She wasn't accustomed to guests and she wasn't about to start getting accustomed after all this time. I almost remember her being nicer when I was younger but I don't really know how true that is. We stopped by the gym they have there one night but after about 15 minutes of walking my grandma was ready to go. It felt good to move around and do something other than sit so I didn't complain. I was glad to see she was feeling healthy and energetic as she has been undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. She said she's doing well and backed it up by constantly being on the go. Late nights when my grandma went to bed, me and my grandpa would stay up watching old movies on AMC. When he asked me what I usually watch I reluctantly told him that usually at night if I wasn't watching a movie, I'd usually put on Adult Swim. He found Cartoon Network and I was half hoping something like Superjail wouldn't be on, but the other half of me wouldn't mind it for the sake of having a laugh. We watched King of the Hill briefly and he seemed to almost enjoy it (aka: he didn't complain too much) but we chose to watch more American Movie Classics.

After a few days I figured it was time for me to hit my final destination. My grandparents gave me a bag of soda cans and some chalky candy hearts to bring with me along with another $50 McDonald's gift card to be sure I wasn't starving too. I packed up, said goodbye, discussed directions, and set my sights on Orlando.