The past few days have been such a blast. So many milestones on the trip have occurred. I hit 1,000 miles since I left Vermont on Friday and I hit 2,000 the very next day!
So for those who weren't aware, I decided to make the long trek from D.C. to Orlando in one day. After only a few hours of sleep at Kaylan's home, I departed at approximately 6:30am. Several hours and seemingly endless 'South of the Border' signs later, I arrived in Orlando to visit my buddy Ty and his girlfriend Jess. These two are simply the greatest. Upon arrival they showed me their new place which is gorgeous and I met their dog Piper. They were gracious enough to treat me to dinner at an excellent steak house only minutes away by foot. Afterward, we grabbed beer at a small wine bar and had the opportunity to catch up and laugh about the old days.
The next morning, we woke to the sweet aroma of blueberry muffins. Jess had prepared a smorgasbord of delicious treats for a trip they were taking later that day. Luckily, Tyler and I got to reap the benefits and call it breakfast. Then we took a stroll through a Jazz and Art Festival that was taking place nearby.
As Ty and Jess headed west to Tampa, I took off north to Pensacola to visit the Florida DeLaBruere's. I hate to sound redundant, but these guys are the greatest too. Though Joel and Desirae were both working when I arrived and Uncle Ivan and Nikki were together at a retreat, I went to the house and spent the evening with Reagan and Lianna. As the night passed, everyone came home one at a time (except for Nikki who stayed over at the retreat).
So between getting pizza with Desi, playing video games with Lianna and learning about CityVille with Reagan, I certainly got my fair share of one-on-one time with the gang. After Lianna went to bed, we got hooked on watching The Green Mile. The movie was so long and it didn't get done until 1am. That meant with Daylight Savings that it was really 2am when the movie finished. Joel had come home from work at that point and we chatted as he packed for his week-long road trip with his girlfriend Sylvia. By the time everyone else had gone to bed, Joel had packed and I brushed my teeth, it was almost 4am.
8am came pretty fast. Uncle Ivan took the typically fatherly role of waking the family up for church. So I got up and got ready. We went to mass at their church where I saw Nikki for the first time. Uncle Ivan did not mention that I was here so it was a surprise to her. After church was a fellowship where I met so many people. I enjoyed talking to the people after the meal while I was doing the dishes. Always gotta pitch in.
The afternoon was spent at the mall shopping. I had to get a pair of sandals badly. Then it was spaghetti dinner at home. Lastly was an evening with Desi and her friends. They were enjoyable to be with. They reminded me of friends from home and it was great to meet them all. Tomorrow starts with a morning kayak trip with Uncle Ivan and Reagan. I fear that the wake up call is going to be crazy early. It's after 1am now and with the little bit of sleep I got last night, we'll see how energetic I feel. I'll try and post again tomorrow not that I know I have internet here at the DeLaBruere abode.
As always, thanks for all the comments. Keep checking in. I'll be heading to Texas for about a week starting Tuesday...
No comments:
Post a Comment