Orlando Overnight

I checked into my overnight hotel in Orlando, the Crowne Plaza.  They upgraded me to a Jr. Suite, so the room is really nice.  It's right next door to Wet 'n Wild and down the road from Universal Studios Theme Park... about a mile and a half.  Since I had the gift certificates, I decided to walk up to Wet 'n Wild which turned out to be treacherous in the 95 degree heat.  When they wouldn't take the certificates there, I wound up walking up to the main park... again, dumb move.  By the time I got there, I was drenched, parched and ready to fall over.  I had a nice afternoon there visiting some of the shops and food places, but didn't go in to ride rides.  Meanwhile, one of the gift certificates didn't process when Elaine got them at Giant Eagle... and needless to say, I took a cab back in lieu of dying of heat exhaustion.  I thought about heading over to the outlet mall, and did, but just as I got there, it pretty much looked like the world was coming to an end with the looming storm, so I turned around.  I'm looking forward to a cold shower and cold sheets on my fluffy bed in my overly air-condioned hotel room.  I'm up at 4 a.m. to catch my flight. 

I am officially over Summer.  Bring on the cooler weather... where, at home, it's going to be mid-seventies tomorrow.... there's no place like home.

Leaving Daytona

Yesterday was a day of hodge-podge activities... after Barnes and Noble, I went to the Daytona Flea Market... which was filled with a bunch of junk and it was very hot... so I went over to the Mall and had lunch and shopped a bit  Then I just hung around at the house while it poured down rain waiting for David to get done working... and we got ready and went to Red Robin for dinner and met his friends out at a local gay bar, but it was pretty beat out everywhere.  I guess it's dead in the off season without the local colleges being in session and tourists.

Today, I am leaving for Orlando, which is a little over an hour and a half away.  My flight out tomorrow morning is at 7:00, so I figured it would be better to just get a room near the airport.  I have to stop by Universal to use a gift certificate that Elaine gave me, and since I'm only a half mile away from Wet 'n Wild, I'll just walk up there for a bit later today.  There's a good mall near the hotel as well, but mainly I'll be decompressing at the hotel all night, having to be up around 5 tomorrow morning to return the car off-site, etc.

I love traveling, but as I get older, I like to only be away about 4 days or so... then I get antsy to get back... partly because I'm worried what my Dad's getting into, but partly because I am a creature of habit and like my surroundings (I miss my woobie).  I had a great time here and I'm so glad that I got to see David again, being that 2004 was the last time we got together.  I'm really appreciative that he put me up at his house and was able to hang out with me so much this week.  It was definitely the break that I needed from home.

Animal Kingdom Safari

America's Oldest City

Today, David and I went to historic St. Augustine (est. 1565) where we toured the fort at Castillo de San Marcos.  For many years, it was the northernmost outpost of Spain's vast New World Empire, and it is the oldest masonry fort and best-preserved esample of a Spanish colonial fortification in the continental United States.  Ground was broken in 1672 and the fort was finished 23 years later.  The town was very quaint, much like Key West or Savannah, and we walked through town and browsed the shops.

Start Wine-ing

I've never been a wine or beer drinker, which is kind of funny since I'm a trained bartender.  I've done some research on the different varieties, but never really drank much of either of them.  Today on the way back from St. Augustine, America's first city and also the first vineyard, we stopped and had a wine tasting at San Sebastian Winery.

I was going to just stand back and watch my friend David, but I decided to participate instead.  After reviewing the 5 "S's" of wine tasting.... See, Swirl, Smell, Sip, and Savor... we gathered around the table and sampled their Reserva, Castillo Red, Rosa, Vintner's White, Port and Cream Sherry.  Whether it's coffee, beer, wine, liquor or vodka... the more fruity and sweet, the better for me, so it was no surprise that the Sherry was my favorite.  Still, I can't see myself buying any and enjoying it.  I just don't have the tastebuds for it... as much as I try, but I'm glad I did it.

Protest With a Smile

In our fight for equality, you know the gays have to insert some humor...  we're just so darned funny...

Outside, Looking In

My friend David had to work today, so I went to the beach by myself.  Between being at the pool at camp and being outside doing landscaping, I've been outside in the sun so much this year that I feel like I've had enough for the summer.  Adding to it down here is the humidity, with the heat index at 111 degrees today.  So when I got to the beach, I didn't feel much like laying out or getting in the water, so I took a short walk and then just sat down and watched people for a while.

My family used to go to Myrtle Beach every year, back to the year that I was born, so I grew up on the beach and in the water.  Today, I sat down on the sand and just watched the families and the kids and couldn't help reflecting back to my childhood when that was me on the beach.  I've had so many great memories... meeting friends and girls... hanging out with my family... splashing in the water... and making sandcastles, to name a few.  Sitting there, I couldn't help but feel like the fabulous Miss Bette Davis as the troubled, once famous child star, Baby Jane Hudson, in the last scene of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, where she was sitting on the beach, not realizing that she's not a little girl eating an ice cream, dancing on the beach in her pretty frock any more.  Instead, she's a dried up, has-been old hag that can't accept her fate. 

'Youth is wasted on the young' is perhaps the most profound saying ever muttered.  If I would have known then what I know now, I would have, at the very least, paid attention to every moment.  Thinking that you have plenty of time is obviously a lesson that you wished you had learned earlier than you actually did. I saw myself a half dozen times... I miss being a boy.  Is there anyone that wouldn't want to do it all over again if given the chance?

Sunny Day in Daytona

Today, David and I are heading over to the beach for a little sun and fun... tomorrow, historic St. Augustine.

A Day in Disney

Here are some of the pics from Animal Kingdom and Epcot... I have more of the safari ride that I'll be posting... these are from Everest Adventure roller coaster, Spaceship Earth, walking through the different countries of Epcot, Mission Space and the fireworks at night.  107 degree heat, lots of loud children, a strong drink in England, a ham and cheese croissant in France, Teriyaki chicken in Japan, a Barvarian pretzel in Germany and some great rides later... it was an awesome day!!  (Double click on any pic for larger version)

A Little Hot Out

This was the temp in the parking lot at Animal Kingdom... very humid and hot.

Heading to Epcot

The last time I was at Disney, I was there with my ex, John.  We decided to walk around the area where they have Minnie Mouse's house and all that... and there were kids everywhere.  While walking through, we noticed this Dad pushing one of those triple-wide strollers and also had two kids on a string, tagging behind.  I turned to John and said 'can you imagine how awful that would be?', and with that, the woman walking slightly beside us, unaware she was there, said "I'm the Mommy, and that's why I'm way back here".  We were mortified, but it was so funny.  Wouldn't be the last time my mouth got me in trouble.

David squared is heading to Epcot today.

Please Turn Off All Electronic Devices, and Enjoy

I don't even know how they did it, but with my direct flight into Orlando last night, it only took 1 hour and 45 minutes... and despite being full of Disney-anticipating rug-rats, it was one of the most pleasant flights.  Having recently switched from US Scareways to Southwest airlines, I just love everything about them, from their plush gates and computer stations, to on-time scheduling, to the bag of Cheez-its you get in-flight. 

Having booked my car through Hotwire, I got a great deal ($99/week), but was a little worried about whether they were going to give me a Radio-Flyer wagon or a wheelbarrow, but I actually got a Nissan Sentra with only 2200 miles on it.  After an easy drive from Orlando to Daytona, I arrived at David's house, which is absolutely gorgeous.. with cut-out windows and skylights and multi-level rooms (even Mike Brady would be jealous) and even Mossy Oak hanging from the trees... and we sat up for hours catching up. 

When I moved to Philly at age 20, I busted out of my shell when I turned 21 a few months later and started going out to gay bars a lot.  That's where David and I met... and we became fast friends.  A few years later, he moved to the D.C. area and then down to Florida.  In 2004, my ex, Greg, and I flew into Savannah and drove down the coast to Miami and we stopped for a visit.  It's amazing how the friends that you make along the way in your life, you keep, through moves and life changes, etc.  We were able to pick up where we left off and seemed to have a lot of the same life experiences over the years.

I have found my second home (Barnes and Noble), which is right across the street from the Daytona 500 Speedway... (and to my straight friends, I know, wow!! ... NASCAR.  To my gay friends, the whipping around of the cars makes for a nice breeze to provide that 'pouty but slightly wind-blown' look that Linda Evangelista can only hope for in a Vogue shoot).  Anyway, it's supposed to be 95 degrees today, but with the heat index, it's supposed to feel more like 105.  A little unlike the 105 degrees in the dry deserts of Las Vegas that I experienced (where the heat wraps around you and hugs you like your grandmother would, gently kissing your forehead and offering you a slice of pie and a birthday card with a dollar in it), this heat wraps around you, and then tries to smother you like your creepy Uncle Harold would do while you were asleep, all the while simultaneously and unappropriately trying to fondle you, leaving mental scars that a three-session-a-week psychiatrist can't unravel, even with a cocktail of a few mind-altering meds and some shock therapy.  And............ ok, I'm back from that tangent.

Tonight, we are going to a local Tex-Mex place where it apparently 'happens' on a Tuesday night... and tomorrow, we head for Disney.  A friend of David's is getting us a free stamp to get in, saving us about $85.00.  Epcot is set up to look like various European cities, each with it's own cuisine and decoration to match, and I'm looking forward to back-packing through it, doing a lot of tasting.  In a little while, I'm going to take a drive down the beach... I can't wait to see the ocean.

Miss you, Jesse  :)

Sigh....

Although I got my grass cutting done yesterday in an effort to make today easier, it still turned out to be a hectic day.  Laundry... packing... cleaning over at my Dad's... paying bills... and getting the paperwork signed for accepting the offer on the house.  Coincidentally, there were two calls about the house today... one was from someone who saw it, low-balled an offer and then decided to sit with their thumb up their butt for a few days... only to be kicking themselves when my agent told them it's too late.  Meanwhile, I'll probably be second guessing every little thing about it for the rest of my life.  I'm hoping to be able to process some of my feelings and anger about it while I'm gone.  I have until September 24th to work through it before I may or may not punch the buyer in the face.  Should be do-able.  I'm optimistic.

I would rather get to an airport 2+ hours before a flight.  You never know what will go wrong... and I just like to relax a bit without worrying about anything from the point that I hit the gate.  The flight boards in a half hour... and I'm relaxed.

Trip to Florida (Car and Flight):  $350.00
Admission to Epcot (Thanks to my friend's friend):  $0.00
Not having to wipe up toast crumbs (After my Dad):  Priceless