Exquisite Convergence

I’ve always loved the name for Andrei Codrescu’s literary website Exquisite Corpse. So I jumped on the chance to use Exquisite with one of my other favorite words, Convergence.

And what better description for the happy intersection of a great airfare and the return of a favorite spring migratory rite, as the snowbirds return to the north from wintering in Florida, and the rental car companies must find a way for their vehicles to follow suit.

And so once again, those of you willing to do so, can rent a car from Hertz for as little as $1 a day in various Florida locations, providing you’re willing to drop it off somewhere outside of Florida.

It happens that one of those designated drop off points is New Orleans. And now for the convergence part, it also just happens that there are excellent one-way fares from New Orleans to various Florida cities, most notably Ft. Lauderdale. Driving roundtrip that deep into Florida gets a bit tiresome, but it becomes a whole lot more appealing when you can cover half the trip in a plane.

Continental (www.continental.com) currently offers one-way flights for $69 midweek, and that includes the taxes and fees. If you’d rather fly nonstop, Southwest (www.southwest.com) has flights starting at just a few bucks more and allows travel on select weekend flights.

You’re allowed to keep the car for up to fourteen days. For reasons I can’t explain, at $9.99 the weekly rate is slightly higher, but I’m not going to raise a whole lot of hell about the extra $2.99.

That means for twenty bucks you can take two weeks toodling around South Florida, maybe cross the Everglades and up through those tony west coast resorts, perhaps a stop at Wakulla Springs in the panhandle, or a little respite at Seaside.

The rental deal starts March 24 for cars returned through June 30, but the very cheapest dollar-a-day rate is only for reservations made in January. Get details HERE: www.hertz.com/rentacar/specialoffers/index.jsp?targetPage=FloridaDriveOut.jsp&Category=D