she talked as she drove : she talked about the last hurricane , and about how she took her nephew benjamin to seaworld and to walt disney world and how none of the tourist resorts were what they once were , about building codes , the price of gas , exactly what she had said to the doctor who had suggested a hip replacement , why tourists kept feeding 'gators , and why newcomers built houses on the beaches and were always surprised when the beach or the house went away or the 'gators ate their dogs .