Vacation Village, Weston, Florida 12/16/2013

DECEMBER 16, 2013 (Monday)

Pretty lazy day today. The weather has turned colder and it looks like a storm is brewing. Michael had an appointment for the Prius this morning at 10:15 AM at AutoNation. The dealership is about five miles away.

The landscaping in Weston is beautiful. It is a completely manicured place. The plants are exotic and pretty.

They have these great bus stop covers that are very deep and should keep you dry in the wind and rain. Only thing is we never see anyone sitting in them and we don't see the buses running. — They have these great bus stop covers that are very deep and should keep you dry in the wind and rain. Only thing is we never see anyone sitting in them and we haven’t seen any busses running.

Not a place you really like to be, service center at a dealership.

We got to the dealership and spoke with Chris. He told us he would call with an estimate of how much and how long. We went and signed up for the shuttle to take us “home,” but while we were waiting we looked at more Avalons. They are such a beautiful car. We’ve decided if/when we get one, it has to be the top of the line one (Limited) because it has that new fangled thing where if the car senses you are in trouble, it helps you out. How cool is that. How do it know? Anyway, as we get older, all help is appreciated when it comes to driving and safety.

(Mike here, the reason I want the Limited model is the DRCC: Dynamic Radar Cruise Control. That means when you are using the cruise and the car in front of you slows down, your car senses it and slows down at an identical rate, and if they speed up, your car knows and speeds back up to your target cruise speed – way cool.)

Chris Campbell, assistant service manager, did us well. All Toyota parts are expensive, but the killer on the lights is the labor. Usually around $600 per HID headlight. Their charge was $64. for labor. Pleasant surprise.

The shuttle driver, Mike, was so fun. He’s getting ready to retire in ten days and is looking forward to traveling. His first stop is Maine to see his son, who is stationed there. (He also came to get us when our car was ready.)

We heard from AutoNation that the cost to fix our headlight was about $280.00. Not nearly as bad as our first time (around $600.00 per light). We love the Prius but our headlights go out quite often. Michael has learned to fix them (good ole U-Tube) but this last time he wasn’t able to fix it, not sure why. We’re wanting to go to Key West this week and see the sunset. We didn’t want to be out really late without both headlights. (Driving home from Tampa last night was scary enough.)

After the shuttle driver, Mike, picked us up and then dropped us at AutoNation, we paid for the release of our beloved Prius and headed to Publix to do some shopping. We decided what we wanted to fix for the next few days and got things we needed. Michael also stopped by Ace Hardware and got some good stuff to affix my friend Francine to the dashboard. She looks lovely and comfortable now. Glad she won’t be falling down every time we step on the brakes. She just makes me smile every time I look at her, and especially when she starts singing.

Not sure what kind of foreign beast this is.

Manicured Weston. Mike our driver told us several of the areas we can't see have multi-million dollar homes. Dan Marino lives here as well. — Manicured Weston. Mike, our driver, told us several of the areas we can’t see have multi-million dollar homes. Dan Marino lives here as well.

Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky at morning, sailor's warning. — Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky at morning, sailor’s warning.

The everglades from our 5th floor view. — The Everglades from our 5th floor view.

So, from the 5th floor balcony, about 4 feet away, I could leap, plant my chest on the top of the tree, swing my legs down and around and hold on for dear life. Stabilize and then shimmy down to escape. Oh what a disconnect between my mind and body.

Looking out from the balcony, I think I am seeing essentially what the pterodactyls saw as they flew.

We are now home and Michael made the most delicious lasagna. He said he wanted to make it since he hadn’t done it in awhile. I was totally okay with that. Love it when he cooks. That is our day. Hope yours is great!