In a couple of days now, I'll be off on a week-long trip to (of all places) Orlando. This of course is the venue for DisneyWorld, Sea World, Universal Studios, etc. Back in the day, we took the kids down to Florida every couple of years, but it's now been a full ten years since I've been there.
It's not my favorite place on earth. Like Las Vegas, I find Orlando kind of interesting as a kind of cultural spectacle, an exercise in modern anthropology, for about 24 hours before I weary of it. A better vacation for me is somewhere deep in a National Park or holed up in a small Colorado mountain town where I can hike to my hearts content.
But I'm actually quite looking forward to this trip. The kids are going along again, now fully grown, and my son is bringing his girlfriend, who will be sharing a bedroom with him in the condo we're renting. I think this will be a much different experience, vacationing with grown kids, and I'm very much looking forward to it.
On the last visit to Florida when the kids were young, I discovered the secret to tolerating Orlando. I brought along a small but densely jammed backpack full of good books, and whenever Mickey and Minnie became too annoying, I simply parked myself in the shade and read or watched people while the family got their fill of vomit-inducing sweetness. One of the better vacations I've had in fact.
I've strong hopes that this one will be equally good. I've already put everybody on notice that the day they go to Sea World to see the cruelly confined sea mammals, I may very well drive out to Cape Canaveral and get my fix of great big explosive machinery. And I've already assembled the book collection: Redmond O'hanlon on his adventure in the Congo, some old and favorite John McPhee books, a new book by David Sedaris.
I"m also going to try something new. Now that I've figured out how to post blogs by cell phone, I'm going to be blogging this way for the next week. Expect a lot of Disney-flavored Iphone snapshot photos, and some rather succinct text.
5 comments:
I took a school trip to EuroDisney once. It brought out the misanthrope in me and the constant hard sell nauseated me. Never again. Never.
Puss
I *LOVE* Redmond O'Hanlon's stories. I discovered him when I was on a Paul Theroux kick--quantum leap in the travel/adventure genre. Have you read his other books?
I think I've read them all, except for the one where he's on...a fishing boat? Seems like kind of a departure for him.
Enjoy!
K's sharing a bedroom with the girl??!!
My, how things has changed since you and your bride were young.
Looking forward to the blogs. Do have fun, whatever ways you can.
j
K's sharing a bedroom with the girl??!!
My, how things has changed since you and your bride were young.
Looking forward to the blogs. Do have fun, whatever ways you can.
j
Have a great time. Looking forward to those photos.
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