Miata Mailing List: January 1995, Message #66
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   From: rthorpe@munch.gsfc.nasa.gov (Rosemary Thorpe)
Subject: Red Devil Goes to the Florida Keys
   Date: Tue, 3 Jan 1995 16:37:19 -0500

Since the mailing list still seems a little slow, we'll take up some bandwidth and
report on our pilgrimage to warm weather, sunshine, clear turquoise waters, pretty
fish, etc. 

December 25th - Packing up to leave.  Realize our pretty small camping gear takes
up the ENTIRE trunk of the Miata.  Go into deep funk at thought of taking the Ford
Probe instead.  As last ditch effort, make phone call to cheapest hotel in our Rodale's
Scuba Diving magazine.  Book room, sight unseen (actually hotel had on-site diving boat
so total package was not bad).  Remove camping gear from Miata.  Add clothes to Miata.  
Find that clothes fit and we can close the trunk.  Change oil (we'll have to this when 
we get back too :-< or :-> ??)/.  Wash car.  Remove front tag.  Happily head off to 
Christmas party.

December 26th - Depart at 8:30am.  Nice weather for Washington, D.C.  No snow to hasten 
our departure like last year.  Put top down at rest stop in North Carolina (we really
could have put in down earlier).  Proudly head down I-95.  Sleep outside Kennedy Space 
Center (all this driving and we're still outside a NASA facility :-<  ).

December 27th - Warm :->  Head down to Key Largo.  Follow a BRG for a few miles
around Palm Beach.  Take side trip at Homestead after the Florida Turnpike 
(motto - pay us or the Miami folks will slit your throat) tolls 
begin to seriously impact the vacation budget (or at least the Super Big Gulp budget). 
Drive through enormous sprinkler watering our winter veggies with TOP DOWN !!! 
Get to Keys - wow it's nice down here.  See hundreds (about 20% of all cars) of 
LameBarons and Mustang non-GT Convertibles.  Almost no Miatas.  Finally realize 
they are mostly rentals.

December 28th - Scuba Diving - wow it's nice down here.  Car gets strange whitish film
on it and in absence of a do-it-yourself car wash or a hose, we live with it.  Hey, it's
better than road salt and gravel !!!

December 29th - Drive down Route 1 to Bahia Honda State Park, and Key West.  Beautiful
drive, beautiful snorkeling at Looe Key, wild Key West.  Miss great Key West photo
ops like the 808 Bar.  Key West like a beachside New Orleans.  Some Miata owners live
here.  IVELEAGR (?) Miata from Michigan spotted. Have to come back here and stay a 
few days.  Drive back to hotel with planetarium-like sky for 1/2 the trip, then drizzle.

December 30th - Scuba Diving - 2 foot chop on the water seems high when you're on a
Gilligan size boat.  The other red Miata at our hotel from Naples Florida packs up 
their scuba gear and heads home. Drive to eastern end of Key Largo to be stopped at 
Ocean Reef Club gate.  While scanning AAA book for description of this tropical 
paradise (a housing development I believe), a white Miata leaves the private fishing 
club and heads into the Ocean Reef Club.  Driver says "Nice Car", we say 
"We like yours too" and spend a few moments in deep envy at living in paradise with 
the perfect car.  

December 31st - Pack up and leave :-<  Stop at Boca Raton and Delray Beach to swim
for a few hours.  Drive through Palm Beach and realize how well some people live.
Head to orange stand at sunset to buy some Tangelos.  Capacity of Miata, top-down:
7/8 bushel of oranges.  Drive proudly with setting sun on our left, Miata shadow and giant
rainbow on our right, oranges on top of our top for an hour.  Discover top up capacity:  
7/8 bushel oranges, 6 giant lemons, 2 lbs. pecans, 1 pair Bass outlet boots, box of 
tissues, etc.  Fog hits and then ......  Florida's finest saves our lives from certain 
death due to reckless speeds and awards Rosemary her first speeding ticket in 12 years for
77 mph in a 65 mph zone on the interstate.  Cop had followed me for about a mile
hanging out in left lane as I kept getting into the left lane to let him pass.
Bogus.... Maybe I can still take the driving improvement course option instead of
the pay-what-a-Hilton-would-have-cost-you option.  What a way to end 1994 :-<
Wonder if they have an annual quota down there in Fla.  And how 'bout stopping someone
whose drinking something other than coffee....

January 1st - Yuk, the icky part of the drive, fog, cold, BORING, BORING, BORING.

Red Devil is now parked hoping to avoid 2,800 miles of commuting in snow, ice, etc.
to make up for this trip.  Taking the Miata really made this a fun trip.  Best 
convertible weather we've experienced since we bought the car in March, absolutely 
no problems, great having only the essentials along.  We passed many station wagons
on the way back with two people and junk up over the sills, over most
of the windows, etc. And we had our three duffel bags..... and of course our 7/8 bushel
of oranges.  Only downsides were the rather short cruising range of the Miata (especially
bad on the stretches of I-95 in northern Florida where there are no exits and no
gas stations for 10-30 miles,) and the expansion strips and poor pavement, mostly in 
Virginia.  Really didn't miss the cruise control much, but maybe I would have gone
74 instead of 77+ (nah!).  Discover hard Miata seats are actually much better than
the lumpy, soft seats of my base model Probe.  No really stiff back, etc. Leg room 
could be a little more expansive, though.   We'll miss the warm weather and the 
Waffle Houses of the South until next year.

Rosemary and Chris and Red Devil
'94 Classic Red A

Rosemary  => Rosemary.Thorpe@gsfc.nasa.gov