Finally, after the trip out west in September and then to Saint Augustine in January, we’ve finally found some warm weather!!!

Greetings from Orlando, the experiential capital of the world!  Thanks Walt.  You were clearly a visionary and have created an incredible experience for those who come to your parks.  Wondering if anyone else in Orlando had a master plan 🙂

Why Orlando?

I had business in Orlando last week and Linda and I thought it’s been 29 years since we’ve seen Disney World, so let’s give another go and see the parks.  We’ve also completed all the therapy from the previous visit, so we’re gonna do this!

Linda arrives Monday, so I’ll golf on Sunday

Had an opportunity to golf on Sunday morning, so I went for it.  For those who have never golfed with me, I am horrible.  I love the game and love the time spent with friends and family on any golf course.  For this one, I chose Disney’s Lake Buena Vista course, the easiest of the Disney courses.  Got paired with two gents who were brothers and the adult son of one of them.  I promised to keep pace and had my own cart.  On the first hole, I swung and missed, followed by a sharp hit off the toe and into the water way left.  No problem.  Off and running.

One of the brothers was a doctor, who smoked constantly, and the other was a retired National Guardsman.  The son was a golf course grounds superintendent who could hit a drive a country mile with the fastest swing I’ve ever seen.  He did hit the fairway twice out of 18 holes.  The fellow that was the in the Guard was on duty on 9-11.  He shared his experiences that day outside NYC as his unit was responsible for fighter jet deployment for any issues that may arrive.  His pain and frustration was clearly evident in his description of that day when they watched helplessly staring at the air traffic control screens.  He mentioned they had fighter jets deployed to intercept some of the highjacked aircraft but were restricted from engaging due to the FAA overruling.  And, according to him, they nearly took down aircraft that was not involved.  I cannot imagine how helpless that day must have been for those trained to react to a potential attack.

That all said, he too never hit the ball down the fairway off the tee however he threw clubs into the fairway straighter than any of his balls.

Sometimes being a single on a golf outing is not the best place to spend 5 hours.

Fort Wilderness Campground

Checked into the Disney RV park Sunday afternoon.  It is everything you’d ever expect from Disney, but in an RV park.  Nice campsites, clean bathrooms and showers, lots of rules and everyone following them to a T!  Don’t know how we lucked out, but our site backed up to some ‘woods’ and we had great landscaping that screened us from the other campsites.

Got the site set up and finally was able to use the awning and experience OUTDOOR living for a few days.  Virtually no bugs here – it’s Disney!  Wondering if the birds are real and if some have cameras.

So, when you check into a Disney (Orlando) resort, you now get a wrist band with a chip in it that does everything.  And I mean everything.  You can charge anything within the Disney expanse, it’s your Fast Pass for rides, entrance to the parks and it’s how you get into the bathroom at 3:00 AM.  Without it you’re shit out of luck, so to speak!  No wallet, no driver’s license, no credit card for the entire time at Disney.

Tried it out the first night at the Wilderness Lodge in our campground.  Everyone else was there for the buffet but I was there for a beer and hopefully a meal at the bar.  Very few items on the bar menu…nachos, wings, pizza.  Tried the nachos and while they were a bargain at $11, they had more things you’d never expect or want in a nacho.  The cheesy gooey shit holding the pork or beef together with the real cheese was good for about 3 chips!

While ‘dining’, I noticed there was this small window that was next to the bar that all the dads seemed able to find from outside.  While the wait for the buffet could be an hour or longer, the line at the window was busy constantly with dads wanting a little bump away from the family!  It was like a speakeasy for dads!

What’s with the golf carts everywhere?  We’re in Disney’s Wilderness Campground and everyone is scooting around in these carts.  You can rent them for $75/day or many folks bring their own.  How you gonna work off the buffet by driving around in one of these?!

Met an interesting couple in the bar.  Older than me by only a couple years, they’ve sold everything…every possession and real property and have decided to take to the road in an RV.  They talked about the satisfaction of not having anything but what they travel with.  And, the ability to give to family and friends their prized possessions while they are still alive.  Thinking about starting next week, if Linda approves.  I’ll ask her when she gets to Disney!

Linda Arrives!

FYI – Linda did not approve.  I will try again in a few months.

Made her a welcome to Disney campground dinner and we got dialed in for 3 days of Disney Parks.  1) Magic Kingdom, 2) Epcot, 3) Animal Kingdom.

I’ll spare you all the details, but it was worth the trip back.  Done and done and done.  See you again in 29 years.  That said, we would come back to the Disney Wilderness RV park in a NY minute and do other things while here, but what?

Friend in the Park!

Lots of ‘cast members’ everywhere.  I’m certain this one had a camera and was secretly recording everything.

Tattoos of Family Members

If my son is an example of how to get a family member tattooed on your body that actually resembles one of your children, what does this woman’s kid really look like?!?!

People You Meet Along the Way

While our campsite was a bit isolated (to the woods behind), we were still pretty open to the loop in front of the bus and the folks in campgrounds near us.   On our last day, this fellow comes by and wants to chat about the bus.  We learn that he and his wife have been living in their camper for 3+ months traveling anywhere but near their home in Pennsylvania.  He mentioned that their work can be done anywhere there is an internet connection and have actually been in the Disney park for 2 months and simply love it!  We learn after chatting some more that they are Jim and Amy Schneider, who have an eyewear company that is faith based.

Check out their website:  https://eofoptical.com/  and support them if you are so moved.

Good Things Happen When You Get Lost

Spent Saturday in Orlando getting the bus ready for storage until the next trip.  An old bus needs attention, and off I went to the Auto Zone for some brake lights (the two currently don’t match in intensity) as well as some hardware for minor repairs.  On the way back, I took the exit the wrong way and wound up in a gas station to fill up and turn around.  All the pumps were locked and there was no gas.  Instead, there were a few people offering a car wash for $10.  Thinking I was going to go to a self-service wash later that day, this was okay.  The two fellows operating their business on one side of the gas station agreed to wash the bus for $10 and off they went.  During the process, I chatted with the one who spoke English.  He and his wife are from Venezuela and have been living in this country for 4 years working on getting their visa’s.  They’ve been paying monthly into the process for this length of time and hope to eventually become citizens.  He spoke of the issues in Venezuela, the political landscape there and losing their money in the banks when the government failed.  He was a very sincere, gentle man wanting only to raise his family in a country that would permit them to provide a better life for their children.

By the way, in Venezuela, he was an attorney and his wife was an accountant.  In America, he’s hand washing cars for $10 apiece and looking optimistically at their future here.  By letting this family get their documents and citizenship, this is how we can make America great.