Leave the Day Before the cruise.
Travel day.
We finished the last round of packing (yes, we overpacked — driving makes you brave), picked up Debbie and Steve, and hit the road around 10:00 a.m. The plan was simple: overnight in Fort Pierce and board Brilliant Lady the next afternoon.
We were supposed to arrive around 3:00 or 4:00 p.m. Easy drive. Relaxed dinner. Early night.
The mood in the car was light. Pre-cruise energy. Talking about what we were excited about, what we didn’t know yet, and where we’d eat when we got there. Rosemarie and Craig had mentioned a Mexican place near the hotel that we could walk to. I kept saying, “Let’s just go with the flow.”
Tim was thinking ahead.
He doesn’t dislike Mexican food — he just knows what happens. He doesn’t eat one chip. He eats bowls. Then the heavy plate shows up. Then he feels bloated. And since we were about to get on a cruise and eat nonstop for a week, he was trying to start lighter.
We were mid-debate — flow versus discipline — when the dashboard lit up.
Every warning light.
The car started shaking. The navigation screen went black.
We broke down right at noon.
Near Brunswick, Georgia. Thankfully near a rest stop.
Tim coasted in. Debbie went inside. The rest of us stared at a dashboard that looked like a Christmas tree.
AAA had trouble locating us until Debbie went in and grabbed the exact address. Then they told us they could only transport two people.
There were four of us. And a lot of luggage.
Tim called Hyundai roadside assistance and got a call center. They calmly suggested someone could look at it tomorrow.
Tomorrow?
No. Absolutely not.
We’re on our way to a cruise.
Then — small miracle — we discovered there was a Hyundai dealership just six miles away.
What are the odds?
Lemons. Lemonade.
Before unloading everything for a tow, Tim tried the ignition one more time.
It started.
So the AAA driver followed us to the dealership.
While they diagnosed the car, I took a work call — because of course I did — and ordered Jersey Mike’s since our planned Wawa stop in Yulee was officially not happening. It was supposed to arrive in 30 minutes. It took an hour.
We ate subs in a dealership waiting room like this was part of the itinerary.
The verdict: alternator failure. That triggered overheating. Coolant issues. The car was staying in Brunswick for ten days.
They’d fix recall items while they had it — small silver lining — but we needed a rental car immediately.
The rental agent was at lunch.
So we waited.
And waited.
We finally pulled back onto I-95 at 2:41 p.m.
Two hours and forty-one minutes gone.
So much for arriving at 3:00.
The only rental available that fit four adults and our very enthusiastic packing was a truck. Not massive. Just fine. Tim pushed his seat all the way back for his long legs, which meant Debbie and I were wedged in the back with minimal legroom.
And we laughed.
Because at that point, what else are you going to do?
Somewhere on the drive south we decided that since we couldn’t retrieve our car on Sunday (dealership closed), we’d turn it into a bonus adventure. Get off the ship, drive to St. Augustine, spend the night, eat at Columbia, and pick up the car Monday.
More lemonade.
We rolled into Fort Pierce somewhere between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m. Instead of a relaxed afternoon, we were arriving tired and hungry. Rosemarie and Craig had already gone to dinner.
The Mexican restaurant near the hotel — Brisas del Mar — was still open. We had said we’d walk, but it was pitch black dark, so we drove.
And yes — after an entire day of debating whether Mexican food was a good idea — we ate Mexican food.
Chips. Salsa. Big plates.
Tim surrendered to the chips.
I surrendered to the chips.
Everyone surrendered to the chips.
The food was good. Not amazing. Definitely heavy.
By the time we got back to the hotel, both of us felt exactly how he predicted — stuffed, bloated, and dealing with real indigestion before we had even stepped foot on the ship.
The irony was not lost on us.
After dashboard chaos, call centers, dealership sandwiches, rental trucks, and lost hours, Mexican indigestion felt almost poetic.
Back at the hotel, we regrouped. Boarding wasn’t until 2:30 the next afternoon, so we made a plan: meet in the lobby at 9:00 a.m., go to Cracker Barrel, eat a solid breakfast so lunch wouldn’t matter, come back, load the car (never leave luggage sitting around), and head to Miami.
It had been a long day.
But we kept saying the same thing:
This is exactly why you leave the day before.
Happiness is Possible 