Today, I woke up early to drop off a welcome basket at their hotel. Their flight was delayed, so I sat at the Riverside pool for a while until they arrived.
We went to Caribbean Beach to eat lunch. Caribbean Beach was amazing. I donât know if I have been to the food court area since my first trip to Disney in the late â80s.. It is pretty nice. I really never think about it as an option to stay at, but the food area was really well done. I remember swimming there as a child. I also remember seeing someone drop a wallet, returning the wallet, receiving $1 for returning the wallet, and having to give the $1 back, because I didnât need to be rewarded for doing the right thing.
Then, we went to Gatorland and Bahama Breeze.
I also have included pictures of an Asian event I attended as it is Asian American Heritage Month. I also chipped a tooth and had to get a crown. The dentist has a 3-D modeling program which was really cool. It chiseled my tooth in 6 minutes and 40 seconds. I got the crown in one visit â about 2 hours. I thought it was technologically advanced, but I guess they have had this system for 4 or 5 years. I probably should go to the dentist more.
Today, we welcomed the Ambassador from Belarus (technically he is not as the U.S. and Belarus do not have ambassadors between the two countries, but if they did, he would be it). He was from the Embassy of Belarus in D.C. We also welcomed an Honorary Consul from Belarus for Florida.
At the meeting were two Orange County commissioners â one of which is the vice mayor of Orange County.
Last week, I hosted a series of meetings with a group of future leaders from Montenegro.
Yesterday, we woke up and went to Benjaminâs French Bakery Cafe. Andrea and I shared a salmon quiche and an almond pastry. Later we went to the Lake Eola Farmerâs Market. My friend Maryann that works at the NEC was in a Salsa contest later on in the day in Thornton Park. We saw people setting up, but we didnât see her. Her salsa (she has her own company and had a business at UCF for 6 years) placed 2nd out of 26 professional salsa makers by the judges.
Afterwards, we drove to Disney Springs and went to its running store. Then, we went to Animal Kingdom and went on the safari and rode Dinosaur.
We checked into our campsite around 3 p.m. Setting up the tent is so easy with two people. I found Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sleeping bags at Target, so I brought those. The bags went well with the green tent. We explored the campground for a little while eating a pizza at the pool. To finish the day, we went to Epcot, walked around the garden festival, and saw IllumiNations.
Today, we woke up and took down the tent. We had reservations at Kona Cafe at the Polynesian. I guess it is now called the Polynesian Village Resort. Anyways, it was a great meal. I highly recommend breakfast there. We got the Kona coffee french press for two and we split the Big Kahuna plate. The plate included: French Toast, Pancakes topped with Pineapple Sauce and Macadamia Nut Butter, Eggs, Home-fried Potatoes, Ham, Bacon, and Sausage. It was the perfect amount of food.
After breakfast, we rode the monorail to Magic Kingdom and walked on Buzz Lightyear. We had fastpasses for Big Thunder, but it was closed, so we went on Splash Mountain again. Around 11:00 a.m., I drove Andrea back to Sanford and I was back at work by 1 p.m. I think we lived like 9 days in 2.5 days.
Last night, I picked Andrea up from the airport in Sanford. We went to Dexterâs in Thornton Park. I love Dexterâs. Andrea had the lamb burger and I had a duck sandwich.
Today, we woke up and went to Austinâs Coffee which is a highly rated coffee shop and then, we went to the Winter Park Farmerâs Market. After buying some vegetables we drove to Plant City for a Blueberry Festival. We picked about 1.5 pounds of blueberries. Andrea loved it.
We also stopped at a fruit stand before heading to the Back Porch in Lake Alfred. The Back Porch is much like a mix of Galena and the Amana Colonies.
We drove back to Orlando and walked around Epcot. At 6 p.m. we rode Splash Mountain at Magic Kingdom. Our other FastPasses were later in the night, so we decided to wait in line for Big Thunder. I havenât waited in line in so long. Big Thunderâs normal wait line has been refurbished and there are a lot of interactive things to do while waiting. We could act like we were imploding dynamite on the mine site. We could see if the canary has the proper oxygen etc. After riding Big Thunder, we ate a baked potato which was the best find in a while. We walked over and rode Buzz and then, left to head to the Outlets. We went to a few stores and then stopped by Pollo Tropical to finish the day.
Two weekends ago, I volunteered for the Star Wars 10k and Half-Marathon. The first day I woke up around 1:45 a.m. and set-up a water station. I gave out water from around 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. We kinda werenât prepared for how many runners came through at the end and we ran out of prepared water for about 10 minutes.
Then, the next day, I woke up again around 1:45 a.m. and was a race direction volunteer. It was quite horrible. I would say 95% of runners are nice. After that race, I would say 80%. Many did not seem to listen. I was also at a section where the people who got picked up by a bus had to come to the finish line and they wanted an extra medal. It is a long story, but if you donât finish the race, you do get a finisher medal, but you donât get a challenge medal saying that you completed two races. Anyways, people wanted the challenge medal and we had to tell them they couldnât get it as they didnât finish the race. People were frustrated. Other runners wanted to go backwards and go to previous medical stations. It was a hard job.
In the last few weeks, I have been going to many events. I presented to a French delegation and a Caribbean delegation. I also went to Sanford to welcome the first flight from Mexico City to Sanford International Airport. Last night, I went to the opening of the Russian American Eastern European Chamber of Commerce.
I have been going to Thornton Park more and more. It is a hipster area with a lot of great restaurants. I went to Dexterâs and Benjaminâs French Cafe and Bakery.
We also created a get well basket as my boss is out for knee surgery for a few weeks.
Day 1 of the Certified Global Business Professional Boot Camp
There are about 20 people here for the study session. I know one person from the Trade Commissioner of Spainâs Office in Miami.
At night, we went out in the snow to a pub where I had a lobster roll and creamy clam chowder. Neither were that great. I think I am over trying New England food items.
I am up in Rhode Island for a few days attending a conference.
I woke up at 4 a.m. and made it to off-site airport parking around 5 a.m. I was assigned a pretty good seat in row 2C on JetBlue. It was really spacious.
I arrived at a small airport in Warwick, Rhode Island (Providence). I saw some snow on the ground when flying in. It was around 32 degrees when we landed. Winds were around 20 to 30 mph with some gusts of up to 45 mph! I waited for the shuttle. Newport is about 30 miles from the airport.
My room wasnât ready, so I took off to see some things people and trip advisor told me about. The Hyatt, the conference hotel, is on an island. It was snowing and windy as I was trying to walk across the bridge. I made it to a Visitorâs Center. They mapped out a way I could see the mansions and do the Cliff Walk. I went to the White Horse Tavern to eat some clam chowder. Evidently, there are a few different ones â one red, one white, and one broth-like. Afterwards, I found a bus and went to see some of the mansions including The Breakers and The Elms. I didnât go in. I just walked around and walked the Cliff Walk.
I went into the International Tennis Hall of Frame. It is $15 to enter, but it was Bank of America day today. Anyone who had a BoA credit card could enter for free, so I was able to get in for free. It was neat to see some of the items in the exhibit. Tennis players are smaller than they appear on tv. The museum has a hologram of Rodger Federer speaking to you about why he loves tennis. It was neat to see the outfits of the players.
Later, I saw the church where JFK and Jackie Kennedy were married. I ate again on Thames Street. I had a slice of lobster pizza and a bowl of New England Clam Chowder.
I made it back to the hotel. The water is right outside my window. It is quite nice, but I feel I am on a boat.
I donât think I fully described how cold 35 degrees with 20 to 30 mph winds feels â to a person who is used to 70 to 85 degrees days. I donât think I will explore much more before I leave on Wednesday night.
We returned to Guatemala City on Monday. We stopped in city to see another furniture store in a shopping center. I bought a McCono Oreo which was really good.
We went to this bakery for lunch followed by a Megapaca which is like a Goodwill (but kinda worse). I didnât like it. Mike, then realized, that I might like some Korean stores nearby! Of course, I would like these stores. The stores get the leftovers of what do not make it to the United States. There are brands like Tory Burch, Michael Kors, A&E, Abercrombie, Hollister, Lucky â basically any shirt you see that says âMade in Guatemalaâ I saw at these stores. I canât even post pictures of what I bought. Every single exercise shirt I saw at Kohlâs last Christmas was there. It was amazing and most shirts were like $4. We went back to the apartment and I facebooked Andrea asking her what she wanted, but by the time we went back, the stores were all closed. I got two pairs of Tomâs shoes with the âeach pair you buy, helps a person in needâ tag already applied for like $3.50.
I went to the airport shortly after. My flight was at 12:55 a.m. on Tuesday morning. The airport didnât have air conditioning and I couldnât get my wifi to connect, so it was a long night. We arrived in Houston on time and going through customs is a breeze these days. Basically it is all computers these days with all your information. I said, âHelloâ to the customs agent. He said âhelloâ and let me through. No one even took my customs declaration sheet from me. I need to go back on a shopping trip. (Seriously, I bought a Tory Burch bag, a Michael Kors bag, a few shirts â Abercrombie, Hollister, Lucky, Roxy, etc., and two pairs of Tomâs shoes).
The pilot said to expect âlight to moderateâ turbulence to Houston. Well, the flight attendants didnât even get out of their seats, so I didnât sleep too much. Houstonâs airport is amazing. I was impressed landing there, so I can imagine if it is your first trip to the United States. Connecting was no problem. I had plenty of time to grab breakfast. I fell asleep immediately upon sitting down on the flight from Houston to Orlando, but I woke back up when I heard that there was a suspicion of a leak on the plane or something. Luckily with United, we didnât have to wait too long for a new plane to come get us and we were only delayed 1.5 hours overall. One the decision was made that we would need a new plane, it took like 35 minutes to get there. Anyways, we landed in Orlando around 12 p.m. I was back at work for a few hours on Tuesday afternoon. I went home and slept and then, went to the Magic game.
I left work around 4 p.m. and I went home to take a nap. The NEC had their annual night in the Southwest Suite at the Magic game. The game started at 7 p.m. I made it down there at 7:30 p.m. I was so tired, but it was worth it. I even had a hot dog, a chicken sandwich, some pasta salad, etc. It was really nice.
I think the Magic scored like 70 points in the first half. It wasnât much of a game. Devon Marble played once the game hit 110 or so. I am glad that his dad was able to see him play in the NBA before he died last year.
Bubba Watson, a PGA golfer, was there. He shot a few shots from half-court.
I always forget about Magic games. Amway is really nice.
(Also in the gallery, you will see the birds I bought on the streets of Guatemala. I asked the little boy if he made them and he said his family stayed up last night making them which made me say, âawwwwâ and buy a few (8). Mike rolled his eyes and continues to make fun of me, but it was a win-win situation. I paid about $2 for each bird, hopefully it helped the boy out, and the people in the office LOVE the birds!!!)
The Guatemalan people were much friendlier to each other than normal Americans. It is too bad their government, drugs, corruption, etc. etc. are hurting the country so much. Anyways, I am happy to be back in Florida. Stay tuned for my next adventureâŠâŠâŠ.
