The Old Road

Today as I tried to find the local waste management company office so I could pick up a "Big Handy Bag", I found myself confused in a place that thirty years ago I would have known like the back of my hand. Even though I have been coming back up here at least twice a year since I moved to Florida, so much has changed that I'm easily disoriented when I look for familiar landmarks. They are either hidden, tucked away from the new bypass, or gone. Such was the case this afternoon. I couldn't pull up the office's address on my GPS -- and that hardly ever happens anymore -- and while the town the office is in consists essentially of an intersection, I had no idea on which side of the intersection I should look.

At one point I thought, "I want the old road back!" And what do you know; it was there. I just had to pull off the highway and make a few strategic turns and I was on the old Route 9, now the new Route 115. I was feeling pretty proud of myself, but I still couldn't find the building, even after I called for directions. "Turn right and then make the second left." As it turned out, the clerk who had given me the directions had been backwards. It was a left and then the second right. I got there and picked up my "BHB" and went to a local coffee roastery (is that a word?) for a nice strong brew.

I really didn't mind riding around so much. What usually happens is that I'm here long enough on each trip to get re-oriented, but then I'm gone long enough to forget where everything is. This morning I struck gold at the rental car company. So many cars were coming back in that I had my choice, and the clerk worked out a nice deal for me. My choice was a Chevy Silverado, and I love it. Fernando would be jealous! It's a 2015 with only 3000 miles and -- super-bonus -- when I turned on the radio it was tuned to XM Deep Tracks. I love XM! I have it for a week, and can extend if I like. I think I'll like. It was a few dollars more per day than the standard size car I could have gotten, but it makes more sense for what I'm trying to do. I can do in two trips with this one what it would take me at least six with a sedan.

Despite feeling overwhelmed, I'm forming a plan and getting things done. Not a bad day's work.