Our first full day in The Villages was relaxing. Nothing beats getting out of the car and being able to stretch. All day we were hearing about a neighborhood that was all decked out in Christmas Lights. For anyone reading this who is from the Milwaukee area, think Candy Cane Lane on the south side. So since we had nothing else to do, we thought we would partake of some Christmas cheer and drive over to see the lights in the golf cart.
The only problem is that to go with Kris and the girls, we would need two golf carts since my parents only have a 2-person one. Luckily, my aunt let us borrow hers. So Kris and I took my aunt’s cart and Sarah and Alison drove my folks’. We were in line with all the other carts, slowly moving thru the neighborhood looking at the lights and listening to the Christmas music they had blasting. I even took a few photos with the new camera. Between golf carts, regular cars, and people who had parked a couple of blocks away and just walked thru to see the lights, it was quite crowded.
Everything was going along great until we were ready to head back home. As we were driving around all the lights I had noticed that the lights were starting to dim a little and the battery meter was hovering down around the low end. I thought we had better get back home quickly. And wouldn’t you know it, as we were going thru a tunnel, the cart came to a stop. So now we were stuck in a tunnel, with carts behind us starting to back up, and other carts coming around the corner from the opposite direction. I was able to move it slightly so we were out of the tunnel by letting it sit for a minute, then turning the key back on and going about 10 – 20 feet at a time. This continued for a little while, and I found that I could get more power for a longer run with the lights off.
After 10 minutes or so we had moved up the hill and were about ready to cross the street. Most people were very nice, slowing down and asking if we had a problem, or if they could help. But there was one women who felt the need to drive by and yell at us to get out of the way, or maybe it was get off the path. Either way we were yelled at for blocking her way. I responded to her request with a warm, Christmas, “F-You!” (Yes, I was just full of Christmas cheer).
After a few more minutes of letting the cart sit, and waiting for the traffic to lighten up so we wouldn’t block any carts, or cars that were trying to get thru the gates we managed to make it across to a starter’s shack at one of the golf courses. There was a wide area there where we could pull over and get out of everyone’s way. We sent the girls back to the house to let my parents know we were stranded and then sat and waited to be rescued by my dad.
After waiting and having him show up with the car, we gathered our stuff and drove back home, leaving the cart there until the next day when it could be looked at. And coincidentally, the next day when my dad went back, he put the key in and drove it home without incident. So I have no idea what the problem was, or is, with my aunt’s cart. Maybe it has something to do with the cables going to the battery? I had a car like that once that had exposed wire around the terminal clamps that needed to be covered with electrical tape. If there was anything exposed, if it was a cool night and moisture condensed, it would cause the cables to short out, leaving you stuck. But I won’t be driving that golf cart any more. I’ll leave that for my aunt.
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