In Search of Wi-fi

Since our accomodations at Dinner Key don't include wi-fi it became a challenge to find a source. We can walk to the library that doesn't open until 10 and not at all on Fridays. Or walk a few blocks further to Starbucks, buy expensive coffee, and use the battery up on the pc.

Then our Canadian friend Marilyn told us about her wi-fi with Virgin Mobile. She even brought her pc on the boat to show us how it worked. Being the skeptic that I am, I went on-line (at library) to check it out...cost, coverage, contract, etc. Seemed to be the answer so then we had to find a supplier. Radio Shack was the largest retailer given and there are no stores in Coconut Grove. So it's off to Miami and we have to figure out the public transit system. Numerous buses run numerous routes from Coconut Grove both north and south and the marina office doesn't have schedules. Not wanting to trek back to the library to get on-line, we decided to wing it.

When we got to the bus stop there was a phone number to call for info. To get help, you have to have a beginning and ending address which we didn't have. But we did find out which bus would take us to the metro rail station. Talking about country come to town, we didn't have a clue how to even purchase a ticket.

Here's one view of the station.

When we got off at Government Center in Miami, we thought we needed to get on the metro mover to get to the store. Got off where we thought we needed to be just to find that we were further away than when we left the station. So we walked back. End of story...by no means. This Radio Shack didn't have the magic stick that we were chasing but the store in South Beach did.

So another bus ride and an hour later we finally got to the store. South Beach is another whole story but let's just say I've been in foreign countries that weren't as strange. We made our purchase and got directions on how to get back to Coconut Grove. It's now 3 pm and we have to be back by 5 to catch the last water taxi back to the boat.

Now comes the fun of installing the device on the pc. To make a long story short, it wasn't a walk in the park but mission accomplished. We started out on this venture about 11am and got on line about 9pm.

Wonder if it's going to be worth it!!