[Author's Note: I'm anticipating some constructive criticism here, so let me get in front of something. Yes, I know I pretty much glossed over Dawn and Ricky's journey from the Kansas rest area to Florida, but the reason why I did that is because I was eager to get them to their camp before the tropical storm hits.]
Chapter 3: Diversion
Ricky and Dawn stayed overnight at a Super 8 Motel in Kansas City, Missouri and stopped at a local McDonald's for breakfast early the next morning, much to Dawn's disgruntlement.
With the thought of the tropical storm due to approach the Everglades weighing heavily on both of their minds, they decided to make alternative planes and bypass Atlanta in favor of making the 18-hour drive straight to Florida. Their trip from Kansas City to Daytona Beach, Florida went off without a hitch. That is, until they hit a massive traffic jam while merging onto Interstate 75 South while in Daytona Beach.
Dawn slapped the steering wheel in frustration, realizing that they'd be held up there for a bit. "Damn!" she exclaimed before taking some deep breaths to calm herself. "What's going on up there?" she asked Ricky, "Can you see?"
Ricky unbuckled his seat belt, using the handlebar above his door to pull himself up and stick himself halfway out his window to get a look ahead. "Oh man," Ricky said after squinting to see more clearly, "Looks like a motorcycle accident. There's an ambulance, a fire engine, and three police cars up there. I see a Harley laying on its side in the middle of the road."
Sensing the plight of whoever had apparently been injured in that accident gave the previously discontented Dawn pause. "Oh no," she said as her brother re-seated himself back inside the Traverse and put his seat belt back on, "That's awful. I sure hope whoever's hurt is going to be okay."
Ricky nodded empathetically. "Right on," he said.
Dawn cleared her throat to regain the rest of her composure. "Okay," she said, "Once we get through this, how much farther is it to Orlando?"
Ricky took his phone out of his pocket and looked over their now revised Google Maps itinerary. "According to this," he replied, "If we're able to get onto Interstate Four West, we should make it there in about an hour."
Dawn nodded. "Cool," she said, "Then how much longer until we hit Alligator Alley where this camp of yours is?"
"If we take the Florida Turnpike and then get on US Four-Forty-One South," Ricky explained, "We'll be there in approximately one hour and fifty-three minutes."
Dawn looked at Ricky and grinned. "What are you?" she said, "Some kind of human computer?"
Ricky chuckled. "Aw," he replied, "Come on, sis. It's me. You should know better than to expect anything less."
They sat in stalled traffic for at least 15 more minutes before a Daytona Beach police officer doing traffic control finally waved through the Traverse and the 3 cars behind them, enabling them all to move forward up the interstate. After stopping at an Orlando McDonald's drive-thru to grab dinner, their journey continued for almost 4 more hours.
Dawn and Ricky managed to reach Ochopee, Florida with the latter grimacing as she glanced at the car's fuel gauge.
"Crap," Dawn said, "We're almost out of gas."
Ricky nodded. "Hang on," he replied before referring to his phone to once again check Google Maps. He then gave his sister a reassured nod. "Okay," he continued, "According to the map, we just entered the unincorporated community of Ochopee. Based on our current location, the Miccosukee Service Plaza is about 3 miles straight ahead."
Despite being undaunted by this point, Dawn still sighed with slight worry. "I hope we can make it on fumes," she said.
Miccosukee Service Plaza
Ochopee, Florida
8:00 PM
Luckily, the siblings didn't have to go very far and made it to the expansive Miccosukee Service Plaza just as the digital display clock on the Traverse struck exactly 8:00 PM.
This plaza serviced not only the Miccosukee's tribe-affiliated locals, but also thousands of tourists and truck drivers. It's self-service island of gas pumps contained about 10 pumps, Ricky tentatively noted, knowing full well that there were possibly even more than he could see now. He also happened to see some very available outdoor seating, as indicated by the presence of a trio of big green picnic tables.
Dawn parked the Traverse at the closest gas pump on the edge of the self-service island, exited the vehicle, and began to initiate the refueling process. Meanwhile, Ricky hopped out and made his way inside the plaza's store building.
The young male quadruplet visually scanned the racks of various supplies that he saw in his usual meticulous manner before the thought of the oncoming tropical storm crossing his mind once again.
He pulled up his phone's trusty Google app for what seemed like the umpteenth time that evening and searched: "What are the most common supplies needed for a tropical storm?" He soon found answers he felt were adequate and began checking for the supplies needed.
Having now refueled and parked the Traverse, Dawn joined her brother inside the big store as Ricky was grabbing a pair of two-gallon spring water bottles from inside one of the back coolers.
"What do we need to get?" she inquired.
Ricky rattled off the veritable laundry list of items and Dawn expeditiously jotted down each one on the 'Notes' app of her smartphone. The two then split up to retrieve everything.
Within 20 minutes, they had successfully found and collected the needed supplies: 2 heavy-duty flashlights, a first aid kit, 2 heavy-duty hooded yellow raincoats, 2 bottles of shampoo, a bar of soap for them to both share, 2 jars of jelly, a jar of peanut butter, a can of chicken noodle soup, a can of chili, a box of lemon-flavored tea bags, and a one pound can of ground coffee.
Dawn and Ricky then put the plethora of items on the counter, at which point they got some a somewhat surprised look from the older dark-haired Miccosukee clerk. The name pin fastened to her collared green work shirt identified her as "Mona."
"Stocking up, huh?" Mona asked as she began scanning the various supplies.
"Yeah," Dawn replied, "We're going to check out a property out here that my brother Ricky just purchased."
Mona nodded with an increased amount of interest as she continued to scan the rest of the items. "Alright guys," she said as she glanced at the digital readout screen above the cash register, "It looks like your total's going to be One-Hundred-Ninety-Eight dollars and Sixty-One cents."
"You got it," Ricky said as he took his brown leather billfold out of his pocket and produced his Mastercard.
"Thank you," Mona cordially said as she took the card and promptly swiped it in the credit card machine. "I'm just curious," she continued, "Where exactly is this property of yours?"
"It's off Old Turquoise Road in Alligator Alley," Ricky replied.
"Oh," Mona said as she handed Ricky back his card, "So, you bought Old Man Jack's Fish Camp?"
Ricky proudly nodded in response. "Yep," he said, "Dawn and I are hoping to renovate it and eventually turn it into a kids' summer camp."
"Ah," Mona replied, "That's really neat. It's a nice area with lots of space on the property. I should warn you that it is pretty rural out there, though."
"So we've been told," Dawn chimed in, "That's part of the reason why we've bought all these supplies, what with that tropical storm coming."
Mona nodded. "Smart kids," she said as she bagged all the supplied.
Dawn chuckled. "Thank you," she replied, "But honestly though, all the credit has to go to my incredibly smart and well-prepared brother." She then put her arm around Ricky, at which point the latter smirked in response.
Mona grinned before handing the siblings the 3 big paper bags filled with their purchased supplies. "You're all set, guys" she said.
Ricky took 2 bags while Dawn took the final one. "Thanks for your help," Dawn said to Mona.
"You're very welcome, guys" Mona kindheartedly replied, "Have a nice rest of your night. If you need anything else, we're open twenty-four-seven."
The siblings nodded before heading out the door. Dawn looked to the sky as they walked back towards their waiting car. "Oh boy," she said, "Looks like this tropical storm's going to follow up some regular-ass rain tonight. We'd better put on those raincoats we bought, just in case."
"Good idea," Ricky said as he momentarily sat his pair of bags down on the ground and retrieved their raincoats.
The siblings donned the hooded raincoats and buttoned them securely before getting into the Traverse. Dawn then started the ignition and headed out in the direction of Alligator Alley.