Vacation

Orlando is funny because you can easily tell the tourists from the locals. The locals are wearing the only heavy jacket they own when it's 60 degrees outside. The tourists (myself included) are wearing t-shirts and shorts because 60 is so much warmer than home.

I don't mind being a tourist. In fact, we have a great time in Orlando. It's the closest I get to being a kid all over again. I'm not a huge fan of all the screaming, crying children at the airport, on the plane, at the hotel, in the restaurant, at the pool, etc. On the other hand, the whole place is set up to be like Vegas in a kid-friendly format.

Last time in Orlando, we went to Epcot and it was genuinely great. Disney does a great job - can't deny them. This visit, we went to the Kennedy Space Center. It's pretty cool standing next to rockets that have been out of the atmosphere. Plus, we saw two alligators and an armadillo on the side of the road on the way there.

I felt compelled to watch the Bears game at the Orlando Ale House. It was a total disappointment other than the fact that they had Paulaner on tap. I mean, the bar was great - the Bears offense was a problem. I'm the only one in my family that likes football and beer, so I was saddled up with strangers. Naturally, there were about five Vikings fans (also wearing shorts) and a group of Steelers fans. On the Chicago side, there was me and one other guy. Again, the Paulaner was delicious.

We did some shopping, ate at a buffet (Golden Corral - good stuff!) and the Waffle House (2x), sat in one of the three hot tubs on the property, and walked around a lot. It was essentially a two-day trip but we packed in a lot and really enjoyed it. Time to get back to being an adult without a job...