Murphy's Law

Our day started out normal enough...

we got up early to drive to Sarasota

for an AMAZING bedroom suite

We arrived without incident

the set was gorgeous

the people were lovely

on the way out, Kenny noticed the front tire needed air,

so we stopped at the gas station and filled it up

We stopped at the outlet mall

were I ogled handbags at Coach and Michael Kors

and bought an adorable shirt at Saks

(half off the clearance price, yeah baby!)

Did I mention the heat index today was 105?

Clear skies meant no rain...and also no reprieve from the sun beating down

To get from our studio to Sarasota, you have to cross the Sunshine Skyway Bridge

The original bridge was hit by a barge or tanker  in 1980

the new bridge is VERY tall...

(431ft tall)

We paid the toll, and started up the bridge

Midway up, Kenny said

"that tire isn't good, I hope we make it across the bridge"

We did not

The tire blew

AT THE TOP OF THE FREAKING BRIDGE

There is an emergency lane, but it is very narrow,

and you are right up against the concrete barrier wall

(less than waist high on me)

It's a LONG way down...

did I mention I'm afraid of heights?

The bridge is part of the Interstate, so cars are FLYING past you,

very close

We decided to keep rolling on the tire until we reached the end of the bridge

or until the rubber gave way and we started riding on the rim

If that happened, we'd call AAA

otherwise, we're capable of changing a tire!

Basically, I had a bird's eye view off the side of the bridge, all the way down

We saw a pod of dolphins playing, 

which lessened my panic about being so close to the edge a LITTLE

We drove the entire span at about 3 MPH

not even kidding...

about an hour later

not even kidding...

we reached the bottom, and found a spot to pull off safely

(doesn't get much flatter!)

Changing the tire on an F250 is not fun, and it's not easy

one problem after another presented itself,

and an hour later, we were finally on our way

(I had the important job of standing over Kenny w a golf umbrella to block the sun)

As we were riding along on the Interstate, Kenny laughed and said

"Hope we don't get another flat...I don't have another spare"

Well, you can guess what happened next! 

Five miles from home, a different tire blew!

We had no choice but to throw in the towel and call AAA

All this drama for what, you ask?

Made by Dixon Powdermaker, out of  Jacksonville, FL
Circa 1961

(see those details in silver?  Its' carved, not painted on!)

The Triple Dresser was simply too large to get a decent photo of
(I was willing to invest about two minutes in photos before I spontaneously combusted!)

Was it worth it?  

Heck yeah, man!