A Day In Naples

Speedy burps. We visit Ellen's cousin, we visit Ellen's cousin's husband's auto repair shop, lunch and cruise the town.

We left Collier-Seminole State Park right after breakfast, secure in the knowledge that a crowded campground would greet us on return in the evening. We were off to visit Ellen's cousin, Kathie and her husband Paul, whom she hadn't seen for a few years. We didn't get very far before Speedy acted up.

About a mile from the park there was a ding and the "Check Gauges" light came on. I checked the gauges and the voltmeter was reading zero. Not a good sign as the engine was running and the alternator should have been providing about 13 volts. At the first turnout, we pulled in to take a look under the hood. I was fretting that I didn't have a voltmeter, since the cheapie that I had in Speedy died just before the trip.

It turned out that it wasn't necessary. Lifting the hood I saw that the alternator (and much of the front of the engine) was covered in coolant. I looked around the radiator and checked all of the hoses but couldn't find an obvious leak. Opening the radiator cap, the coolant was obviously low. One of the advantages of Speedy is that it carries 30 gallons of water. The radiator took two quarts and I added another one to the expansion tank, which was also empty. After running the engine for a while, the level didn't drop, so we continued on to Naples. The alternator had dried enough to work again as well.

We arrived at Kathy and Paul's home with no further leakage, but it didn't seem that the problem was solved. Leaks rarely stop themselves. Did I mention that Paul owns an auto repair shop? It took him about 30 seconds to diagnose the problem, bad water pump bearings. When the bearings fail, the shaft wobbles and destroys the seals, allowing coolant to spray out which is just what it did. It was Paul's day off, but his shop was open and his mechanic, Terry, was there. After a tour of their property (more on that later), we took Speedy to the shop while Kathie and Ellen caught up on about ten years of family happenings.

We pulled in to Cohasset Auto Body and Repair, South, where Terry was waiting. Yup, Paul used to own Cohasset Auto Body and Repair, right out on Route 3A near the Scituate line until he moved to Naples 27 years ago. Terry agreed with the diagnosis and we left Speedy with him to replace the pump and to also weld Speedy's generator resonator (which had fallen off a ways back) back together.

Kathie and Paul moved into their current home a bit over a year ago. It is in a nice neighborhood of older homes on large narrow lots. The house hadn't been lived in for about three years when they bought it, but it was sound and had lots of potential. They completely refurbished the interior and exterior before moving in and it is now bright and comfortable.

They have about an acre and a half and the house is set back on the lot with a grove of palms and pines between them and the road. It is like an open forest glen, but when they moved in it was totally overgrown. It has taken them a year and 13 large dumpsters to clear out all of the undergrowth and vines (not to mention the half-buried engine block, the wheelchair and the kitchen sink buried in the undergrowth. It is a big yard, but picking up fallen palm fronds seems like it would be easier than our oak leaves in the fall.

It was then off to lunch at a nearby seafood place, Randy's Fishmarket and Restaurant, which Kathie and Paul recommended. Aside from a large selection of fresh fish, it is one of the few places in the area where you can get fried clams New England style, bellies and all. Paul had the clams, Kathy had the scallops, Ellen and I had the oysters (much better than the Buttonwood Cafe in both taste and quantity). A set of South Shore favorites. Randy's also served a good Key Lime pie. It was almost as good as Ellen's.

After lunch, we did the auto tour of Naples. There are over 50 golf courses in Naples and we must have passed half of them. We drove along the waterfront, which, unlike at home, isn't really along the water. Every inch seemed to be covered with high-rises or fancy houses. There was the occasional street that went out to the beach for public access. When Paul first moved here, the Tamiami Trail, the road from Miami to Naples, became a dirt road when it ended at Naples and the shoreline had rustic rental cabins. None of that remains and only a few modest beach houses exist and many of those were in the process of being super-sized.

After our tour, it was back Cohasset Auto Body and Repair to pick up Speedy with its new water pump and re-welded generator exhaust. I also got a look at Paul's 1950 Chevrolet, in mint condition with all original bodywork and interior. The only minor modification is the 750HP fuel-injected engine. He's planning to return the engine to carburation. It is a bit hard to handle when the front end lifts off the ground on every gearshift and it's probably frowned upon to do 140 on the streets of Naples these days.

As it was getting late, we said our farewells and headed back to the state park. It was only 5:30pm but they close the gates at sunset. Tomorrow it is off to Sanibel Island and then to Myakka River State park for a few days.