Florida

Florida is the southern state where Dick Hallorann, the Overlook Hotel's head cook, spends the winter months working at the Surf-Sand Resort in Fort Lauderdale. It is the place of warmth and ordinary life that stands in stark opposition to the snowbound, supernatural horror of the Overlook. From Florida, Hallorann receives Danny Torrance's telepathic cry for help and launches his desperate journey back to the Colorado mountains, a journey that will test his courage and nearly cost him his life.

Hallorann's Florida Life

Hallorann lives in an apartment in St. Petersburg, Florida, and works as the head cook at the Surf-Sand Resort in Fort Lauderdale during the Overlook's off-season. His life there is comfortable and routine: he drives a converted 1950 Cadillac limousine, buys vegetables from a wholesaler named Frank Masterton, and enjoys the warm weather. On December 1, he is in a good mood, wearing his cook's whites and driving back from Masterton's with a load of avocados, cucumbers, oranges, grapefruit, and Bermuda onions. The temperature in Florida is a pleasant 79 degrees, a stark contrast to the snowbound Overlook. Hallorann has been thinking about death and aging, and earlier that day he made a will, leaving his Cadillac, his bank account of some nine thousand dollars, and his clothes to his sister. He cannot explain why the impulse came upon him, but he is used to following his hunches.

The Telepathic Call

While driving home on a Florida highway, Hallorann is suddenly struck by a powerful telepathic message from Danny Torrance. The experience is overwhelming: the smell of oranges intensifies, and a psychic "gun" seems to fire a ".45 caliber scream" into his head. The message is clear: "OH DICK OH PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE COME!!!" The force of the communication causes Hallorann to lose control of his car, drifting into another lane and nearly causing an accident. A workman in a Pinto station wagon has to brake hard and swerve around the weaving limousine, shouting obscenities. Hallorann manages to pull into an A&W Rootbeer stand, where he sits shaking, his heart thudding painfully and his face a sickly gray. He realizes that this is far more intense than the playful "shining" Danny had demonstrated when they first met; this is pure panic, each word screamed aloud in his head.

The Journey Begins

Hallorann immediately decides to go to the Overlook. He abandons his rootbeer float and drives to the Surf-Sand Resort, where he lies to his manager, Queems, claiming his son has been shot by a white truck driver and is in critical condition in Denver. Queems, though reluctant, gives him three days off. Hallorann then drives to the Miami airport, but is delayed by a traffic cop who gives him a speeding ticket, causing him to miss his flight. He spends the night at the airport, trying to contact the Rocky Mountain National Park Authority by phone. The ranger on duty, Tom Staunton, is skeptical and dismisses Hallorann as a crank, explaining that all available rangers are busy rescuing climbers stranded on King's Ram. Hallorann is left with no choice but to continue on his own.

The Flight and Drive

The next morning, Hallorann catches a TWA flight to Denver. The flight is turbulent, with heavy snow and strong winds, and several passengers become hysterical. Hallorann himself is terrified, but he is driven by the urgency of Danny's calls. During the flight, he receives another telepathic message from Danny, but this one is suddenly cut off, as if with a knife, leaving Hallorann deeply frightened. After landing in Denver, he rents a Buick Electra and drives west, despite the worsening storm. He has chains put on the tires and pushes on through the snow, his progress slow and dangerous. He nearly goes off the road when a snowplow appears out of the whiteout, but the plow driver, Howard Cottrell, helps him and gives him a pair of blue mittens. Cottrell also tells him to rent a snowmobile from Larry Durkin in Sidewinder.

The Final Approach

Hallorann reaches Sidewinder and rents an ArcticCat snowmobile from Larry Durkin, who also gives him a parka and a ski mask. He drives the snowmobile up the mountain road, fighting the storm and the growing psychic resistance from the Overlook. The hotel's malevolent force tries to stop him, sending a powerful telepathic blast of racist hatred that nearly causes him to crash. He is forced to close his mind to protect himself. As he nears the hotel, he is attacked by a hedge lion that has come to life. The creature batters him, tearing his parka and injuring his face and leg. Hallorann fights back, using gasoline from the snowmobile's can and his Zippo lighter to set the hedge lion on fire. He then reaches the hotel, only to be knocked unconscious by Jack Torrance, who has been possessed by the Overlook. Florida, the place of warmth and safety, is now impossibly distant, and Hallorann is trapped in the nightmare he came to stop.