Orlando in February

Monday wasn't a great day for air travel around the country but I actually did pretty well. The first leg of my United Airlines trip from Palmdale (PMD) to San Francisco (SFO) was delayed for about an hour because of weather in the SF Bay Area. I was a little worried about my connection to Orlando (MCO) but as it turned out, it was delayed as well. This gave me some time in the airport to do some email and work on my blog. The good news was that my United Airlines First Class Upgrade went through for the long flight across the country which meant that I didn't need to worry about buying food before I boarded the flight. We left San Francisco around 4:00PM, by the time we actually left the ground, and arrived in Orlando just before midnight. Orlando's United Terminal has always had very fast baggage claim so I was outside and in a cab within 20 minutes of disembarkation.

I arrived at my Marriott Courtyard at around 12:30AM. The night receptionist informs me that he has upgraded me to the King Suite on the fourth floor. I'm thinking, whatever, it's a Courtyard. I head over to the excruciatingly slow hydraulic elevator and eventually reach my "Suite" on the fourth floor. The two room suite is directly across the hall from the ice machine and directly outside my window is Highway 4 which basically never sleeps. I don't have the energy to change my room so I unpack an get some sleep. It turns out that the room isn't that bad if I shut the door to the bedroom. I now have plenty of room to spread out and work in the front room.

I wake up Tuesday morning around 8:00AM, have some coffee, and head over to my job at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort which is about 2 miles away. I have never worked at this property before so it is always nice to explore a new venue. Once I have confirmed that all my freight has arrived and my electrical is down, I am basically free for the rest of the day until the exhibit is built and the electronics are ready to install.

Before heading back to my hotel to work, I want to explore and take a few pictures. Behind the hotel is an enormous golf course surrounded by the wetlands of Orlando. As I am walking the path around the links, I see a sign for a Nature Trail. It is about a mile and a half trail that surrounds part of the golf course with a small red sign warning not to approach alligators, snakes or other dangerous animals. Now I am hoping for a picture of an alligator to put on my site. The only wildlife I saw was a White Ibis and a Sandhill Crane. Anyway, it was nice to be outside in this beautiful weather because the rest of my week will be very occupied.

After working a few more hours in the room, I headed over to The Capital Grille for dinner and tried the Porcini Rubbed Delmonico with 8-Year Aged Balsamic and a side of Asparagus with a glass of Melbac. Basically, it's an awesome Ribeye Steak with some Argentinian Wine. Now I am back in my room on the computer finishing up a couple of things before getting some rest. Tomorrow will be a long day.