A girl in Florida, 16, driving a golf cart down the sidewalk with her friends - but to get where?
To an adventure of a lifetime.
This isn’t your typical joke, this is a real story… hold on tight, you are in for a ride.
You may be wondering how I got myself into this situation, or why would I be driving a golf cart anywhere that isn’t a driving range, and in the Sunshine State of all places?
Keep it on the down low, will you? I was in Florida preparing for a summer of competition in the Equestrian world, and with no parents in sight. Aside from the occasional “are you okay honey?”, it was me, myself and the golf cart. Talk about having a “ball”.
Now that you have been briefed, I’m going to give you some rules to understand before we put the pedal to the metal (in this case, the rubberized plastic).
1) Pack light, there is no way to secure baggage unless you hold on to it for dear life.
2) Bring someone with you in case you have some unsuspecting “friends”, because guess what? There are no doors.
3) Wear sunglasses, and don’t open your mouth, why? To look cool, and of course the unlimited amount of bugs.
The story begins with the desperate need for groceries after a long day in the sun. All other rides were unavailable; horses put away for the day (yes, I even considered that), and a group of friends “hangry” and hopeless.
After a moment of contemplation, I had an idea that hit me like a bolt of lightning, and proclaimed it to my friends instantly as if I finally discovered the next version of sliced bread.
5 minutes later… the journey began.
Wind in my hair, shades on, a Taylor Swift song blasting, I felt like I was in my own version of a “Fast & Furious” movie, until a whipping sound woke me up from my dream. Cars left and right kept passing me. Car, after car, I realized how long this journey was actually going to take us. Turns out a golf cart has no real resemblance to a golf kart, as much as it felt like it at times.
As soon as I hit the perfectly flat concrete pavement, I realized how normal this was for Floridians, as I passed other golf cart goers on the way. Most were on their way home, or just simply picking up the mail, but it was certainly an experience. Shoutout to Judy on her way home from “Wall-Greens”, who knew I was Canadian with only saying a few words, crazy eh?
My two best friends, Emma and Danielle, were in charge of music, and navigation on this excursion. Funnily enough, when using the navigation app on your phone, there is a car option, a bike option, a walk option, but there is no “cart” option in sight! This made determining our travel time a bit difficult, so we settled on us being an average biker, considering the golf cart only goes 20 km/h.
A long forty minutes later, we finally arrived… I forgot how much I appreciated the quick, and efficient commute of an actual car. As I pulled into the complex, I noticed a Maserati perfectly parked in the back of the parking lot. At this moment I realized that I actually drove the golf cart to the mall…I hoped that others will be more amazed by the Maserati, and not my golf cart as I pulled in to the spot next to it. I slowly turned to look at my friends in amazement that we actually managed to pull this off. After several deafening shrieks later, I took the key out of the ignition, and walked towards the store.
Remember how I mentioned there isn’t a lot of room on a golf cart? Well, that was my struggle of getting home, and my eventual demise. Regardless, if you are interested in switching it up, hit up the streets of Wellington, Florida, and learn the true meaning of a “hole in one” when you take on the “raging” sidewalks of the Sunshine State.
Written by Olivia Mickus