Three

I played pickleball at lunch on Monday and then cleaned up to head towards Orlando for a work conference. The drive up to Orlando is always long and I-4 is always the wildcard in terms of just how congested it is. There is always stopped traffic, it’s just a matter of how much. I made decent time getting up there without charging and arrived around 5PM, an hour before the registration shut down.

This was at a new venue for me, the Hyatt Regency. It’s a huge and very luxurious hotel very close to the Disney parks. I immediately noticed the large parrot named Merlot they had sitting unrestrained in the middle of the atrium, it was very cool. My room was on the 5th floor and was very clean, modern and well appointed. I was pleased with my accommodations.

They had a reception dinner where I sat with 5 of my co-workers who were also attending. The event had an open bar which I took advantage of, making 4 or 5 refill trips during the night. Alcohol always aids me in social interactions after all.

The schedule for the two days was very casual. Breakfast was from 8-9, you had a couple of sessions in the morning with a generous 30 minute break thrown in. When lunch rolled around at noon I wasn’t even hungry because of the big breakfast. During Tuesday afternoon there was one time slot that had nothing that really interested me so I decided to use that time to run down to the hotel gym.

The gym was very well equipped which didn’t surprise me. I got a good hour workout in before I headed back up to the room to change back into my work clothes for my last session of the day.

To get to the gym you walked past a beautiful and massive pool area. The hotel had a TON of amenities available to their guests. Part of me wished I was in a situation where I could have enjoyed them conventionally, with someone. I instead returned to the conference, name badge in place.

It just so happened that my brother Todd was down in Orlando this week with his fiance and her daughter. I made arrangements to meet up with them for dinner. Todd suggested Carrabas since he knew that was a place I used to really like years ago (it’s only so so nowadays) It was the first time I saw Todd since Thanksgiving.

I got the lowdown on how their week had gone so far. I heard expected horror stories of long waits in lines in oppressive heat which is a given this time of year. Todd had his hip replaced a few months back so I got an update on that as well. I filled them in on the latest and greatest in my life as well which has been anything but boring. After dinner I told them they were welcome to drive down to see my new place and hang out for a day while they are here. I’m not sure if they will take me up on the invite. I once again drank a number of beers during the meet up, a theme for the trip evidently.

After dinner I was determined to ride my One Wheel even though it was after 9PM. After parking the car I slapped on wrist guards and my helmet and took off for maybe a 20 minute ride around the beautiful grounds surrounding the hotel. I was glad to at least get to ride a little during the rather hectic couple days.

On Wednesday I was at the conference until almost 4PM. Technically it runs through this morning but nothing else on the schedule pertained to me so I preferred to get back home. The drive back hit more traffic and was on the tedious side. I also was walking the battery high wire as I did not have the car at as full of a charge state before leaving Orlando. I got back with 9% in the tank.

On the way home I grabbed Elsa from Ali’s place. It’s always conflicting for Elsa as of course she is excited to see me but she also loves hanging with Ali and Shugs so much. On the drive home a storm broke out which sent Elsa into a panic. As I was driving I quickly threw the blanket over her in the back to make her feel safer. She hates rain.

I rolled into my driveway a little after 8PM. I buzzed around the home taking care of the number of tasks to be completed, crashing into bed closer to 10. It was a good trip where I used some of the downtime to think and reflect about what comes next.