Flights of Fancy

The last 4 days have been some of the best times I have had in ages. I was invited to go along to Orlando with my closest and dearest friends and their four children. I flew out to meet them Sunday afternoon. I flew from Toledo to Detroit (airtime a total of 17 minutes… strange) to Orlando International Airport (total airtime 2 hrs. and 2 mins). On board the flight from Detroit, I shared my row with a family of four from Detroit. The mother and 4 year old daughter shared my half while the father and little boy were across the aisle. The little boy had a heart condition which caused him to need an oxygen tank. And he slept the entire flight. “He can sleep through anything.” On the other hand, the precocious girl kept peering around asking all the pertinent questions (“Are we there yet?”) and looking out the window. She even commented that the could see her house the we left behind hundreds of miles ago. Adorable.

Before leaving, I wanted to take something to read to pass the time. While approaching the gate for my flight in Detroit, I looked into the Borders Book Store to see if anything caught my eye. I found Ian Fleming’s complete James Bond short stories in a volume entitled Quantum of Solace
. AHHA… that is from whence the new movie takes its name. I have gottem through the first couple of stories and find it interesting that many of the movies are spliced together from plot lines from these stories. The movie For Your Eyes Only is derived from the story of the same name as well as another entitled Risico.

Onto Orlando… Upon arriving, I decided to check in with my hosts. After claiming my bag, I proceeded to the shuttle service and ATTEMPTED to get a transport to Old Town. Unfortunately for me, the people at the counter knew nothing about where I wanted to go. An older gentleman did not know the area at all. His female counterpart acted like I was from outer space. Via cell phone, Chris attempted to locate a stop at which the shuttle could drop me off, to no avail. In the end, I took a cab to the amusement area that was reminiscent of a county fair or small amusement park.

After arriving at Old Town, I walked through the park rolling my suitcase and my carry on bag. I’m sure that more than a few strange glances were given. I did not care because I was about to join my friends and have a great few days. I did get to ride the roller coaster that was very similar to the Wildcat at Cedar Point (I think the ride is still there), and the giant pirate ship that swings back and forth. I’m glad Lisa and I decided to ride in the middle of the boat because she said that she was unsure if she would have been able to survive the ride closer to either of the ends.

Before we left the park, Chris and I looked at a ride that seemed to sling shot its riders high in the air. Although the ride looked like a lot of fun, the $25 ticket price was more that I wanted to spend. One thing though, I left my folder containing my flight info needed for my return on a bench inside the park. Thankfully, some good soul found it and we were later contacted.