23 February

Yet another interesting day dawned – but with overcast skies and threatening rain, occurred may be a better description. With the weather looking so poor, I stayed in bed a little longer, then got up, showered and dressed and went down for breakfast.
In these hotels/motels which provide a “free continental breakfast”, it is usually in the lobby area, with about four to six tables and everything is self-service. I have found out there usually are tea bags, so it’s a matter of locating hot water and milk (not the moo half-and-half, which purports to be milk and probably was at one stage, but hasn’t been for the last few years, judging by the taste compared to real milk). Then after putting raw toast into the toaster (or baked bread, depending on your point of view) and awaiting it to pop out, it’s getting the vegemite ready and finding a knife – curse plastic cutlery!
So breakfast can be an experience, but usually a solitary one. Even if there are couples or families, it is usual to have absolute silence – even a “thank you” is murmured low – and so there is little possibility for interaction. I know I have not shared the experience with other Australians because my vegemite jar is assiduously ignored by all others.
At the end, everything goes into the trash and all leave. It’s usually spread from 6 to after 9 so there are often only two, at the most three, tables occupied.
Then it was back, finish packing and check out. The look around the room is detailed but quick, as I usually don’t spread my articles around (anything in a drawer will be forgotten). I leave knowing I have everything but not where it is.
The drive out of Tallahassee was about 400 metres, onto the Interstate. In most places, the less expensive (read “cheap and nasty, but within my budget”) chains are all on the approaches. If there are two or three of the same chain in the same town, the prices go up as you centre on “downtown”. Personally I don’t mind being further out unless there is a compelling reason to stay in close. It also means an early getaway as the traffic is usually going the other way.
The run along I-10 was good. The even-numbered Interstates run east-west and therefore the one I turned into to go south down the length of Florida was I-75. Here the traffic became heavier (snowbirds?), less predictable (drivers changing lanes erratically and speed for no reason – indicators are obviously an extra-price option on most US cars, as are ashtrays by the number of cigarettes I saw dangling out windows) and the road surface deteriorated (a lot of traffic heads this way). Then, just to make sure life remained interesting, back came the rain – with a vengeance! For at least three occasions, it was heavy enough to get me back to 45 mph from the allowed 70 (but not some, who persisted at 80 or more).
Once past Tampa (about the half-way point down Florida), the rain ceased and blue sky appeared. The car told me the outside temperature was 80°F and I didn’t believe it until I got out at a Visitors Centre (nowhere as elaborate or comfortable as those in the other states passed so far, but I suppose once you are in Florida and it’s snowing everywhere else, they don’t have to work hard to keep you here). There I found out that there isn’t cheap accommodation available down here – it’s rather like the Gold Coast, but on a state-wide scale. I settled on trying a Days Inn at Fort Myers, so I could get an early night and a quick start down to the Everglades tomorrow.
Surprisingly there was a room available (smoking, which of course Australia doesn’t have anymore) and on the first floor (which I always rue until I get there and remember it is actually the ground floor). The air-con was on, which surprised me again until I remembered this part of Florida is tropical and the humidity today was about 100%.
Despite dire predictions, the wireless Internet actually worked and was reasonably high-speed, uploading the last three days of pictures (but none today, by 4 p.m.) while I typed this out.
After doing a bit of reading and research on the Everglades, I went out for tea and then came back to send everything and then go to bed to leave as early as possible tomorrow.