Meeting My Sister in Orlando

The City of Disney

Orlando Megacon may have been disappointing, but the last day and a half wasn’t. I got to see my sister. Before I do though, I need to do one thing publically on this substack. I want to thank Travis Gibb for the opportunities provided. It didn’t work out the way either of us hoped for me, but I don’t fault you for going to bat for me and doing everything. If you’re reading this Travis, thank you.

The next day I left the convention hall to go to my sister’s hotel. My sister ended up being paired in Florida as well due to her job as a flight attendent. She was in the same place at the same time and it was too good an opportunity to pass up. So I took the bus out and found her hotel.

I gave my sister the wrong information about which bag I needed replaced, so that didn’t change (and wouldn’t until vegas a few weeks later). That said, I got a shower in, and a chance to eat and hang out with her for a few hours as she was between flights. I was taking a bus out of Orlando to Tampa the next day, so I wanted to enjoy this.

It’s always great to see her. My sister is her own person, and an adventurer in her own right. She’s helped me prepare for this, and I’m grateful for what she’s done for me. She’s been there, and she’s helped. So from me to you sis, thank you.

After I saw her, told her I was okay, and promised to let her know where I was (which I’ve been a lot better about since.), we departed. I decided to do some laundry, and found another outdoor laundromat. It was near my third favorite donut shop in the country, which I enjoyed the day I was leaving.

Orlando is a very touristy place. There are so many theme parks of all shapes and sizes here. Disney has a say in the city and you can see it throughout the city. The parks are at one end of the city, near the convention center, and the rest of the city almost is a separate entity or something that functions around the attractions. The fact that it still feels in parts like a small town is such a fascinating contrast. No other city in the states feels like this at all. Not one.

That night I found a laundromat like the one I found in cocoa, near said donut shop, and I found myself working there to the late hours. I found myself a space on the grass and went to sleep.

I’ve only had two incidents of being interrupted in my sleep while I’ve been out and about. One of those I covered earlier in Cocoa Beach. This was the other one. I had a drunken old man walk right up to me that night after the laundry was done, and say hi. I looked at him, as he approached and he decided to change his mind. I’m not the biggest or toughest guy, but I’ve seen a lot. I will not back down, and that keeps people guessing. The old man went away from me and chose to sleep elsewhere.

I woke up and helped myself to the donut place. They had an amazing glazed donut. I was impressed. Boston was still better, but it was pretty good. Once that was done, I headed to the greyhound station. I had found a couchsurfer in Tampa to stay with, and was excited to be going up north again. I was getting out of Florida, bit by bit.

First though, I had to visit Tampa, which I have to say, was my favorite place in the state. It was the break I needed after all this.