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Saturday, 04/26/03; Naples, Florida
Dear Family and Friends,
The gods of weather have been smiling on us for almost three weeks, but today they decided that enough is enough! We were awakened about 0230 this morning to the flashes of lightning and the crash of nearby thunder. Even though the drapes were drawn over the windows and I had my eyes closed in an attempt to go back to sleep, I could discern lightning flashes. I could confirm that it truly was lightning because I counted the seconds and sure enough five to ten seconds later came the boom. I finally got up and looked out the window to see the condition of our cars sitting a few feet away. They were drenched, but the car covers were still in place, so I went back to bed and finally got to sleep. At 0600, when I at last got up, rain was still falling. After packing and having breakfast in the room, Joann and I went out to the car and removed the car cover, rolled it up and stowed it in the trunk. Light rain was still falling and we got a bit wet. By 0715, we were all ready to roll.
Yesterday, a photographer for the local Sarasota newspaper interviewed Joan and Joann. This morning, in the local news section, Joan, Dennis and Joann had their pictures with the Olson’s car and Joann was attributed to have made sage observations about the need to get bugs off the car. She vehemently denies making such remarks.
April showers...
Look at the lightening!
Keith had the lead today. Fortunately, we planed a short trip, first to Ft. Myers and then to Naples where we planned to stay the night. In Ft. Myers, the Olson car had an electrical short in the windshield wiper switch and blew the circuit breaker – right in the middle of the street! Smith’s didn’t realize until a couple of blocks later that the Olsons were missing. A 180-degree turn and a retrace of our path found them standing in the middle of the street – Dennis in the process of donning his poncho! Fortunately, it was early on Saturday morning and traffic was light. With Joan at the wheel, Keith and Dennis pushed the car across the intersection and under the shelter of the drive-in bank teller – which was closed. In a few minutes, Dennis had the short located and fixed and we were on our way to the Edison-Ford winter home complex.
Once at the Edison home, we dashed to the ticket office to find that because of the lightning the tour of the estate was postponed, but we could tour the laboratory and museum. We spent a couple of hours out of the rain enjoying the exhibits.
Music box at the Edison Museum
By the time we completed our visit, the rain had pretty much died down and we were on our way to find a restaurant. Too bad that we couldn’t picnic today, as last night we dined at an Amish restaurant that had large servings and we had plenty of meatloaf and turkey which we planned to make sandwiches. After a leisurely lunch, we were off to Naples about 17 miles south. We drove down US 41 instead of the Interstate. This was a less stressful path than all the high-speed traffic on I-75. Coming into Ft. Myers on I-75, the Smith’s windshield wiper decided that it was happy flashing back and forth and wouldn’t turn off. Keith was concerned about this, as the motor was getting hot and he didn’t have a spare! We guess the wiper sensed this concern and took pity on Keith, for it finally behaved itself.
Now we are ensconced in a motel near the I-75. The rain is about over and we are glued to the TV – weather channel, of course! We were able to do some minor repair, mostly trying to stop leaks in the windshield and back window for the Smiths and adjusting brakes for the Olsons. It was a poor day for picture taking and Keith hasn’t checked the cameras for the day’s take. We hope there will be something significant to share with you today. If the weather cooperates, we will be off for Key West tomorrow morning.
The Dauntless (but soggy) Four
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