Florida Coalcracker Chronicles: WINTER WEEKEND TESLA TRIP - Saturday Jay Leno - Sunday Tom Brady

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

WINTER WEEKEND TESLA TRIP - Saturday Jay Leno - Sunday Tom Brady - Monday Marjorie Rawlings

Jay Leno in Sarasota

Raymond James Stadium in Tampa

Marjorie Rawlings Home in Cross Creek

On Friday - Lulu and I decided to take the Tesla for a long trip. We heard Jay Leno was doing a stage act in Sarasota - we decided to get a hotel in Tampa - maybe see the Philadelphia Eagles in a playoff game.

Saturday morning I woke up with a sore throat. I did not have a fever - but I feared covid. Some say we are all going get covid - even those with 3 vaccines - I figured it was my turn. We went over to FAMU campus and got covid tests. If we had it - we stay home - if we didn't we would drive.

At 10 AM we got our test results - negative. We went right on the road. We decided to take the back country road way to Tampa. Our Tesla had a full battery - 350 miles worth. We knew there was a Tesla Supercharger in Crystal River. So we enjoyed a quiet 150 mile trip through Florida nature country. At Crystal River we stumbled onto the Manatee Festival. This little coastal town is famous for the lumbering mammals. As our car charged at the WaWa Market we had lunch. Then we walked among the vendors in this cute little coastal community.

At 3 PM - we pulled into our Hilton Homewood Suite near the Tampa Airport and Raymond James Stadium. We took a little rest - and watched FSU beat Syracuse on TV - in the Carrier Dome.

At 6 PM - we drove to Sarasota where Jay Leno was playing the Van Wezel Theater. We wanted to find a place for supper but the theater was in a nice neighborhood with few if any places to eat. We went into the theater - after they checked our covid cards. Lulu was hungry. She went downstairs to see a dining area with a lot of old people having supper. We walked up to the waiter and asked what the deal was. He said it was a dinner and show deal. It had a really nice spread including prime rib. He gave Lulu a wink and said - you look hungry. We had a nice supper - and no one asked for payment. We went upstairs and sat in our seats just in time for the show - 8 PM. Maybe our tickets included dinner :-)

Jay Leno is a favorite of mine. I liked watching him on TV at night - but I like even better his talks about automobiles. Jay has a car collection worth over $50 million. He knows everything about the cars. Go to YouTube and look him up. He is very entertaining. Jay did 90 minutes of stand up comedy. He kept going and I never saw him use notes. He never sat down.

After that we drove back to the hotel for a nice sleep.

In the morning - we had a nice breakfast. We decided to leave the Tesla in our covered hotel garage - free parking - and took the local bus to the stadium. It was $2 - the distance was about 2 miles. We could have walked but we are grayheads - we save our energy.

At the stadium we enjoyed the fans carrying on. I was surprised how many Eagles fans made the trip. Scalpers had tickets but the prices were really high. About 20 minutes before kickoff - a nice young couple offered us two club tickets for $100 each. The tickets had a face value of $400. It included inside bar and seating if you wanted it.

The stadium was packed. Tampa Bay was killing the Eagles. Temperature was around 70 - but it was very windy. It even had a cold rain for a few minutes. We brought raincoats. We had a light lunch there in the club room. Since it was such a beating - the Bucs fans were very happy - singing - etc.

Tom Brady - considered an old man - was excellent. I must remember he is as old as my sons.

After the game - we took a bus to Grimaldi's for pizza at the mall. Its was a nice place - but they burnt our pizza. They brought a new one for free. We ate and drank - enjoying other fans.

Finally - we called an Uber to take us back to our hotel. To our surprise - the Uber was a Tesla just like ours - but black. The driver rents the Tesla from Hertz for $420 a week - he earns enough to pay for the car and for himself. He has ordered a Tesla for himself. He seemed happy.

Monday morning - we packed and drove north on I-75. Lulu had a mall she wanted to visit. The we drove to Cross Creek - FL - to the former home of Marjorie Rawlings. It is out in the sticks.

Marjorie Rawlings - is a Pulitzer Prize winning author. She wrote "The Yearling" among many other short stories and books. Her main subject matter was Florida Crackers - these people were poor whites that lived off the scrub lands of Central and Northen Florida. She bought this orange farm and ranch around 1928 and lived there until she died 1953. She raised crops and animals - and also hire locals to tend her property. She also wrote about them. She was originally from Wisconsin and later New York - but she loved the wilderness.

It was getting late - and the Tesla GPS said we would be home by 7 PM. Beside how quiet and smooth the Tesla is - we really like the autopilot. Once on the divided highways - you can put the autopilot on - and it steers itself. It stays between the lines like I never could. Flawlessly. It asks you to keep you hands on the steering wheel - but it steers with or without you. Both Lulu and I agree - it makes us better drivers. It corrects your tendencies. We could have made it all the way home - but we do not like to drain the battery down low. At 100 miles left - I like to fill her up. It gave us a chance to pee and grab an Arby's for supper. 7 PM - we were in our garage.

What a nice 3 days. We like Leno - we enjoyed seeing an NFL playoff game - and the Rawling farm was really neat. Lulu plans a nice weekend. Our next big trip is to Houston in February.