Orlando February 2019

I made it down to Orlando last Monday night and went to Mireya’s house. She doesn’t live too far from the airport. It was nice to see her again. I don’t think I have seen her since June or July.

On Tuesday, I met Ken at 8 a.m. at Panera at the same location as I used to work. I met another Ken at 10 a.m. and I met other former colleagues at Noon at Sweet Tomatoes. I could spend hours at Sweet Tomatoes. I like the food in Orlando almost as much as the parks.

I went to the outlets and then, I met Bev at Epcot. We decided to eat dinner at Rose & Crown in Britain which was really nice. I chose the Shepard’s Pie which had a lot of beef in it (I wonder why they don’t call it cottage pie). It was alright, but the cheese platter we had as an appetizer was the best.

I stayed at my friend Carol’s home the rest of the week.

On Wednesday, I walked around Epcot and walked over to Hollywood Studios after going to the outlets. I actually thought I had a rock in my shoe and I kept walking to Hollywood Studios. It turned out to be a nail. It only slightly punctured my foot.

Around 4 p.m., I drove to meet Maryann for dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant downtown. It was really nice seeing her, but 1) the traffic has become somewhat worse 2) I am not used to driving anymore 3) my rental was so close to the ground a small bush would block my vision.

On Thursday, I went to the outlets again and then, I went to Sweet Tomatoes again. I then went on a mission at Disney Springs to find “Fear” from the movie, “InsideOut.” I can’t reveal if I found him or not. I had multiple Cherry Coke Zero ice cream floats at Coke World this week. Afterwards, I went to Hollywood Studios and rode Star Tours and Toy Story Mania.

On Friday, I met Robert at Disney Springs and we went to out on the dock at The Boathouse. I had a “Gibsons” Award Winning Burger. The combination of jalapenos, sauce, and other toppings made it really good. After eating, we went to Epcot and walked around looking for Figment’s paintings in each pavilion. We also drew at the Animation Academy which they bring back just for certain festivals. We saw the Pixar’s short films and rode Soarin’.

I left to meet Yanbin and Mireya at Yanbin’s house. It was great to see a lot of friends again. I am in Sanford headed back to Iowa right now. (My Google Photos is not loading, so I will upload pictures later tonight.)

I made Robert stand by the Test Track sign again as it has been 10 years since the original!