Met another client in person - Day 1721 (Year 5, Day 252)

Zephyrhills, FL

I have 2 clients who live somewhat in the area (one in Lithia, the other in Clearwater.  I met the one in Lithia a few weeks ago).  I was thrilled to meet the one in Clearwater, along with his partner who was in the area visiting.  Getting there was a nightmare: it was a 50 mile drive which took us about 2 hours (mostly because we had to drive thru Tampa, where there is always horrible traffic).  Our truck was also very thirsty (antifreeze level very low), so we were very anxious as the thermostat gauge was inching it's way to the hot setting while sitting in traffic.  Almost 85 degrees out, we had to run the heater.

The plan was to meet at the Clearwater Mall (Panera Bread Co) at 5:30.  We wanted to stop at a Whole Foods first (about 5 miles away) to stock up on our House Foods shiratake noodles.  We planned plenty of time to go there first.  As we got off the highway en route to Whole Foods, the thermostat hit the red mark, so we pulled in to the first parking lot (thankfully, didn't have the rig!).  Mitch checked the radiator fluid and sure enough, it was way too low.  He added a little antifreeze and the rest of the ride, including returning home, was just fine.  LESSON:  make sure to check fluids on a constant basis.

Despite the stop, we still had about 1/2 hour left over so decided to try to explore the beach, which was also about 5 miles away.  We're told that walking on the white sands of Clearwater is like walking on fine powder.  We drove in the direction of the beach and were hoping to get off before crossing a bridge to another island, but no such luck.  We crossed the bridge (observing the traffic jam on the return side) and realized that if we tried the beach and a place to park and then walk, we wouldn't have enough time to get to the restaurant on time.  So we crossed the bridge, made a U-turn, and headed back.

Do we want to attempt this trip again to experience the Clearwater beach?  I'd love to be there, but not sure it's worth the schlep.  Who knows .. if Mitch finds a job where he can work remotely, maybe we can find a reasonable campground in that area during off season.

One final note, which is mainly for my own memory purposes... for the past few days, Mitch was involved in taking the seals (gaskets) off the refrigerator and fixing them.  He couldn't buy new ones as you need to buy the entire door which is about $900.  The reason for fixing the seals is there that the fins in the back iced over, due to too much air getting in and not circulating properly.  I need to remind myself of this because if there's a problem in the future, I need to remember when it was that Mitch fixed the door!  Thank goodness for the search feature here, which I've needed to use on several occasions!  I don't trust anything to memory!