With a routine service trip to Lexus this morning, our routine got messed up. So we decided to have a late lunch/early dinner and splurge on a grilled grouper sandwich at Carvor's Fish House, downtown. To lessen our guilt, we took Toby. He's been here before and we knew that at 2:00 it wouldn't be crowded. It's an outdoor-only restaurant and very dog friendly.
He whined softly a little bit. He was pretty good. He got treats again from the owner who run's Jensen's Seafood next door.
Our server brought him fresh water. He hung out under the table, mostly.
While we were downtown, we walked on the Pinellas Trail down to Main Street.
We are still trying to teach Toby how to drink out of the dog friendly water bowls in Dunedin. They are engineered to drain so as not to attract mosquitoes and to keep the water fresh. You push the button to fill the bowl, but by the time Toby sees the water coming out, it drains away and he's licking a dry bowl. If we try to refill it, the splashing water scares him away. By the time he works up his courage, the bowl is dry again. Repeat.
I finally convinced John to wear a hat to protect his face from the sun. I've gotten him to wear sunscreen intermittently.
I got my last pre-paid Lexus service today, 5 years after our purchase with 4,000 miles to spare. I think if it hadn't have been for the pandemic, I would have not wasted 4,000 miles. We had to use up the plan before 40,000 miles but no longer than 5 years from the date of purchase. I had to pay for a new battery because that's not covered under maintenance.
I mused that that might be the last conventional battery I ever buy for a car. In five years, we might be driving the battery, so to speak, in an EV. If projections hold, the market will soon be flooded with EVs. If the transition is slower, we will be happy to get extra miles out of our current car, since we typically sell them after 20 years or so. In that case, we might need another conventional battery down the road.
The Clearwater dealership is just a little over 4 miles away. They have been renovating it over the past year. It's fancy. Compared to the Durham dealership, this one is more open as you can see. The cars are on display right alongside the waiting area, which seems to be a smart move. They provide free coffee, water, soda, and tea. I didn't see any snacks like Durham Lexus provided. Maybe because of the pandemic?
The bathroom is very cool.
Speaking of cars, we passed this BMW in the Dunedin Golf Course parking lot and had to drive in to inspect. It wasn't the car itself that caught our eye; it was the paint. The picture above does NOT capture the shimmering fluidity of the paint. It was like glass. I told John that I haven't seen a paint job on a car like that since Johnny Lightning Hot Wheels. A quick search on the Internet says that some Johnny Lightning models now fetch around $500.
Today's bike route to downtown
Miles walked: 6.4
Miles biked: 6.67
