Earl and I left the Florida Keys this morning with no mileage destination in mind. Usually we determine how far we’re going on a given day, but not today; so we drove across Alligator Alley in the Everglades; checked on Naples, Florida; then grabbed I-75 to make mileage for a while.
We stopped for the night in Charlotte Harbor, struggling to find a motel. After checking at the local drug store for help, we landed at the Microtel. We’d never stayed at one before, and we’re probably not going to stay at one again. The room is clean, but it’s the size of a postage stamp. It’s also the most expensive motel we’ve stayed in during our entire road trip.
For dinner we visited a wonderful local restaurant, Laishley’s Crab Shack. It overlooked the waters of Peace River, and we arrived just in time to see the golden sun sinking into it. We enjoyed drinks and relaxed. Looked at the specials on the menu where Earl saw that stone crabs were offered.
We’d heard of them but never had the opportunity to experience them firsthand. So we each ordered the special and waited for our pound of stone crabs, boiled potatoes, hush puppies, and corn to appear. When it did, a pair of metal crackers arrived too. And they were sorely needed, because the crabmeat was firmly encased in shells worthy of ammunition casings. We cracked and cracked to get at the crabmeat.
Tomorrow we’ll continue to experience more firsts; but we’re sure we wont stay at Microtels or eat stone crabs again on this trip.
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