Orlando, Day 1

So I left work at 4 pm and Mom showed up shortly afterwards to pick me up and we headed down 90-east towards O'Hare. The security line took about an hour to get through and I headed towards the Garrett's stand to by some popcorn for Mark and Marianne. A one-gallon tin Of Chicago mix cost $31! And a gallon is a lot less than it sounds. Mom encouraged me to go back and exchange it for a large bag, after some slight begging and pleading, I managed to come back with large bag of Chicago mix and a small bag of cashew caramel crisp.

We weren't feeling too good about our chances to make the 7 pm flight, even though I was dressed to fly first class. Turns out, we barely made it and we were separated. As we took off, I looked out towards downtown Chicago from my window seat. I was impressed by the incredible brightness of the lights of the city. I could never really appreciate it in the daytime. I sat next to a single cropdusting farmer from Fargo, originally from Milwaukee. We have different backgrounds to be sure, but we had a pretty good chat about places we've been, football, Christmas in America, etc. Didn't exchange numbers with him like I did with someone the last time I flew...

Anyway, with no dinner in coach, I wound snacking on the corn and that was all I ate for about 11 hours. The flight didn't take too long, I spent most of it working on the Sudoku puzzles. Got the first two, and almost aced the Diabolical. So we got landed around 11 p.m. and with a shortage of workers in Orlando, we had to wait 20 minutes at the baggage claim for our luggage to show up. Not the most enjoyable wait. Then, our hosts, Mark and Marianne picked us up for our 45 minute drive northwest to their home in Winter Garden. I rarely spoke, I was pretty worn down from a long day of work and flying.

We got to their home and we were immediately greeted by Daisy and Lilly, their two dogs. Lilly is a little brown and white cavalier who is very spoiled, loves her own spot on the couch, and belly rubs. Daisy is a 12-year-old golden retriever who put Hogan in his place 4 years ago when he and Mom visited. He was sniffing her just a little too closely. Now, she is dealing with some arthritis and isn't walking to well. And she sheds like crazy! M and M offered me a late-night meal, Boar's Head roast beef with horseradish on rye bread. I wolfed it right down.