Worldly Wednesdays – Orlando

It has been a while since I posted a Worldly Wednesday post so I think it is about time that I post a new one. If you are new to my blog, this is where I tell you about some of my travels where I get to travel to a nice location (and usually one someone else’s dime). So you should go back and check out some of the other posts from this series to see some of the nice places that I have been lucky enough to travel to.

Back at the end of 2009 I got a chance to travel to Orlando, Florida for New Years with my good friend Miley (who paid for the trip and since tomorrow is her birthday I was ordered obliged to write this post for her).

Why of all places would I go to Orlando for New Years you ask? Well we went because there was a college football game there on New Years Day. And you all know how much of a college football fan that I am. You see my favorite college team is Penn State and they were selected to play in the Capital One Bowl against Miley’s favorite team LSU.

So on Wednesday evening after work, I drove the 4 hour trip from Houston to Baton Rouge to meet Miley at her parents’ house. We crashed the night there since it was too late to start the drive to Orlando that night. The next morning we got up way too early and head to down I-10 to Orlando. On the way there we stopped a few times for coffee and food. I actually told her to “make me a damn sammich” and low and behold she had packed me a damn sammich in the cooler for the trip. And to reward her for the sammich, on the way there I rolled her finger up in the window. No it was an accident and not on purpose. I was trying to roll up my window and accidentally rolled up her window as she was smoking.

Actual broke finger.

After a long ass day of driving (I forget how long it was but it was at least 10 hours) we finally got to Orlando and our hotel which was right near downtown in front of some lake (well there is a shit ton of lakes there). It looked like it was something straight the hell out of Miami Vice because it was all multi-colored and looked like it belonged in Miami. The hotel was decent I guess as it had a huge living room, kitchen, and a big bed room. There was a nice note on the bed side table from the housekeeping staff which asked for feedback and a tip for good service. Now normally I am a good tipper, but when I find 20 pairs of boxer shorts in the dresser left by someone other guest from god fucking knows how long ago, I kind of got the opinion that they don’t clean that well.

 Miami Vice hotel.

So after dumping the bags in the hotel we headed out for dinner and some drinks since it was New Years Eve and all. We ate fried alligator at some cheap sports bar type place and then walked around the block to the block party which the city had set up a few blocks away. We were not really impressed with the party or we were just dead ass tired from the drive into town. Needless to say we were back at the hotel and asleep before long.

I wonder if their service is a good as the Fourth Second Bank?

The next morning we woke up to driving rain, 30 mph wind, and freezing cold. It rained for 5 straight hours before we had even left the hotel. Needless to say I was not fucking amused at all. We checked out of the hotel and got on the road for the whopping 3 mile trek to the stadium. Yes it was still raining. We sat in the car for 30 minutes before deciding to head to the stadium. We got thoroughly fucking drenched before we had even got near the stadium. Did I mention that it was FUCKING COLD? Yea it was about 32 F, 30 mph wind, and driving rain.

We managed to get into the stadium without being blown the hell away and it was BEYOND crowded. We trek up to our seats (which were awesome by the way) and we were facing into the wind which is blowing faster than a car can drive in a school zone without getting a ticket. And it is raining hard right in my face to add insult to injury. I am shivering so bad that I can’t even manage to drink my damn beer because I am shaking. Can you say 10% theory for the weather?

The ticket taker looked like Joe Pa!!!

The first half of the game was good but as it had rained for 8 hours prior to kickoff; the field was a complete mud bowl. And as a result of the mud, the game was kind of slow and limited because of all the players slipping around everywhere. Penn State jumped out to an early lead which they held onto through half time.

Some first half action.

We ventured down stairs to try and find some warm food since we were beyond cold at this point. I managed to find a vendor that was selling delicious fatty gyros. But as I only had plastic and no cash I was shit out of luck. Yes the vendor did not take credit cards. At. The. Fucking. Capital. One. Bowl. Can you sense the irony here? Apparently it didn’t matter to them what the hell you have in your wallet. Thankfully Miley had cash and we were able to eat and get back upstairs for the second half.

Kicking the extra point after first touchdown!

The second half saw LSU come back and take the lead 17-16 with about 4 minutes left in the game. It was then at that point that Joe Pa cooked up a comeback. Penn State drove down the field and was able to kick a field goal with a minute left to take the lead 19-17. And that was how the game ended with Penn State winning a thrilling game. I was happy about the outcome, and Miley was fucking angry, pissed off, bitter, bitching about it ie happy with the game.

 A sad as hell Miley when her team lost. Poor LSU fans.

A happy as hell Penn State fan.

As soon as the game was over, we bolted Orlando and headed back to Baton Rouge with me driving all night long. We had to leave asap as I had to pick up my car and drive to Mississippi the next day to pick up my kids from the grandparents, (which Mississippi is halfway between my home and where the their grandparents live in Georgia) as my kids had spent their Christmas break with them.

Even though we only spent a total of 24 hours in Orlando, it was a great trip. I got to see my favorite team play and so did Miley. I also was in dire need of a small vacation and that is exactly what this was. And Miley was a great sport about getting her finger broken, paying for the whole trip, and her team losing the game to my team.

The scoreboard says it all.

I hope you enjoyed this post from my series of my worldly travels, next time I will tell you about one of my travels to South America.

 The stadium on the way out.