American wheels

I'd had a plan when I set out on this trip to spend a few days driving around Florida. I thought it would be a good way to see different places, and it would give me a little more freedom than my Greyhound-heavy schedule had previously afforded me.

But as my journey south continued, the doubts began to creep in.

I'd heard nothing but negative comments about renting a car in the USA. No website I researched would give me a clear price for the rental, or made it so confusing that I wasn't sure what I'd be signing up for.

Even then, if I made it through the rental process, I'd then be left to fend for myself amongst the crazy drivers, often taking no notice of the rules, on these giant, reversed roads.

I ummed and I ahhhhed as I tend to do; considered the alternatives, and in the end threw caution to the wind. I managed to find a good pricing system on the STA website and just went for it. After all, how many times will I get to cruise the open highway heading up the Atlantic coast in the Sunshine State?

In actuality the car didn't quite fit the free spirit image.

It was a Ford Focus.

But a bloody good one! Just over 500 miles on the clock, new car smell, very lovely to drive.

And drive it I did! When I first got to the garage and the employee of the year waved his hand at three cars, said "One of them." and walked off, I was about to call the whole thing off! But I persevered, found a nicer attendant to show me the buttons and such, and then I was on the road. 

My initial experience wasn't so fun; the roads and roadworks around Fort Lauderdale were just messy, for a lack of a better adjective. The closure of the main road I'd planned to take threw another spanner in the works. But every cloud has a silver lining; it gave me the chance to visit Denny's for sustenance and to re-work my route. 

After my eggs and pancakes I hit the road and never looked back. The automatic aspect proved a doddle (after a few phantom gear stick grabbing). And to be honest, it provided some of my most enjoyable times cruising along listening to classic rocks stations, watching the changing lagoon landscape of Florida accompany me on my journey. Admittedly it also provided me with one of the most stressful experiences too; never try to follow a GPS to Hollywood Beach hostel. Roundabouts do NOT work in America! 

Yet all of it made up a great chapter in my trip, and have given me skills, experiences and memories I never had before. I can't wait to get back on the road!