with 5 miles to spare

I guess I didn't understand that the drive from Sarasota to Ft. Lauderdale is a desolate no mans land.

I am not exaggerating when I say it pretty much looks like this the whole way down:

source

So there I was scooting along, talking on the phone with Dan, completely unaware that I had entered alligator alley (that's actually the name of this stretch of road) and that any hope of getting gas was apparently futile until I entered Broward County.

I have mixed feelings about this digital readout of how many miles you have left until you run out of gas.  I probably wouldn't have gotten myself in the position of almost running out of gas in alligator infested swamplands had it not been for the digital readout and my thinking, '50 miles?  That's a long way!' and continuing to drive on the assumption that I would find a gas station when I needed a gas station.  I think if I had just been looking at the gauge that showed I only had a quarter of a tank I would have probably filled up sooner.  On the other hand once I realized that I was potentially going to run out of gas it kind of put my mind at ease to know when it was going to happen.  Just counting down the miles, waiting for the inevitable.

But I guess I did find a gas station when I needed one.  I was curious about what was going to happen when it got to zero, I have a feeling there is a reserve tank.  Oddly when I got down to 10 miles left it disabled my cruise control.  I mean, I was relying on the cruise control to keep my speed steady so I could get the most out of what precious little gas I had left.  Once it was gone those final five miles was like the ultimate test in "steady foot".

I'm here now though, safe and sound.  Just looking through some listings that Rob gave me and waiting for Jon to get in so we can cruise the streets and terrorize this town.