Friday November 10th 2023

There was an increase in humidity and a decrease in wind today. The result was a much cloudier but hotter day. The temperature peaked in the upper eighties, but it still managed to stay dry. This area has now been added to the moderate drought area in the state. The water level in the retention ponds in the park reflects that fact.

Today was the day to replenish a lot of things I was running low on. First on that list was gas in the tank to be able to run all my errands. I got caught at the top of the roller coaster of gas prices today. Ever since I arrived in this area it seems like the price of gas goes up and down in swings of about thirty cents or more. Earlier in the week the price of gas was at $2.85 a gallon. Today it was anywhere from $3.05 to $3.20 a gallon. I filled up at one of the higher priced stations paying $3.16 a gallon. It was necessary. I don’t know were the bottom of my gas gauge is on my new car. I probably had 2.5 gallons still in the tank, but who knew.

Traffic was also a real challenge. I was out during the middle part of the afternoon when school is usually getting out, but the schools in this area had the day off. Even so, traffic was extreme. It took several cycles to get through ever traffic light I encountered. These areas in the middle of the afternoon haven’t been this busy. It must be the Veterans Day holiday making this into a three day weekend for many people.

The Walmart in Haines City was also busy. The fact that the kids were out of school was also evident. There were lots of little kids hanging onto the sides of carriages while others were running away from harried parents. I managed to get what I needed, get through the checkouts and return to the long lines of traffic to return home. Even taking a different, more through the neighborhood, route home I found the long lines again before I got home.

They are building a lot of new housing developments and lots of apartments being built in the area. There are a few road developments going on to support the added residents. One of the bigger problems is on Interstate 4. They are working on widening the road, but the few miles up to the resort area and into Orlando are still a big bottleneck. Traffic stays off the interstate to avoid the construction as a result the local roads backup.