I arrived back at MCO at 5:20 PM. While I was in South Carolina my mom left Orlando for New Jersey to see her Dad and help her Mom and sisters. Pop developed pneumonia and was hospitalized. I waited at the airport until Dad’s meetings were over and he was available to get me. We then went to dinner before crashing hard back at the hotel. Monday morning I got up early to take Dad to the convention center. I then returned to the condo, slept some more and did a little bit of work. At 5 PM I picked Dad up from his meetings and brought him back to the condo to change and prepare for our evening at Universal’s Island of Adventure. One of the coolest things about when the AAO goes to Orlando is that it typically rents out one of the parks for the conference attendees and their guests.
The most interest from attendees, not surprisingly was Harry Potter’s section of the park. Dad and I decided to head their first. We got on the dragon ride with literally no waiting. We then looked at the castle ride, saw it had a half-hour wait and decided to return later when hopefully the lines had dissipated a bit. We then met up with Dad’s new doctor, Jason, and his wife Tina. We proceeded back to the front of the park and went all the rides that didn’t involve getting wet. At 10 PM we returned to Harry Potter’s Castle and were told that we would not be allowed to ride it because the line was so long that the park would be closed before our turn. We were told, however, that we could take a “Castle Tour” and just walk through and see the incredible sites. We decided that was better than nothing, so we went for it. The Castle was truly amazing. As we approached the end of the “tour” an opportunity presented itself to get in the ride queue. Dad and I jumped on it. The ride was pretty amazing. It was a mix of projected images, moving roller coaster and incredible set pieces. I’m definitely glad we didn’t miss out on it. After completing the castle ride at 10:45 PM, we snuck in a ride on the kiddy roller coaster through the pumpkin patch in HP’s World and then got on the dragon ride one last time. While we didn’t get in quite as many rides as I was hoping, we did ride everything on my to-do list. All in, it was a great night at the park and I look forward to doing it again when the AAO returns to Orlando!
Tuesday morning I attended the conference with Dad. I’ve been tasked with helping him choose an EMR. I spent the morning speaking with vendors and sampling demos on the trade show floor. I can now fully understand why this government mandated transition has many doctors overwhelmed. Picturing my dad trying to wade through all the technospeak is frightening.
In the afternoon I finally made it to an Orlando outlet mall. I’m certain Orlando has more outlet malls per capita than anywhere else in the world. I didn’t purchase much but had fun looking nonetheless. In the early evening I picked Dad up from the conference, took him to change out of his suit and tie and then we went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. We had a nice time discussing all I had learned about EMRs and office management. To walk off some of our dinner, post meal we went to another outlet mall. I thought we would just window shop and enjoy the warm evening air since it was past nine but it turned out the mall was open to 11 PM. This resulted in the purchase of a couple Christmas presents and a much needed new beige jacket for Dad.
It’s now Wednesday evening and by my estimation we’re somewhere over Idaho. We’ve taken the same circuitous route through IAD and PDX. One development that happened today is I found out this year’s Christmas ornaments have been released from customs and I can pick them up in Portland anytime. So while I was quite excited to sleep in my own bed and see my Chippy, I am going to delay that. My friend Mandy is a hero and agreed to pick me up at PDX, let me crash at her house and then deliver me to a U-Haul rental facility in the morning to pick up a truck that I can use to drive the ornaments down I-5 in the morning.
I am off to see Granny and Pop in week.
Until that adventure,
Katy
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
A Weekend In South Carolina
This morning Dad was nice enough to get up and take me to airport. His meetings started at 8 am, so he was a champ to run through his day on so little sleep for me. I flew from MCO to ORD to ATL. Those of you who know airport codes know this was quite inefficient, in the sense that I flew virtually directly over Atlanta to go to Chicago to then fly back to Atlanta. The reason for this routing was actually not a miles run but rather the result of last minute planning and the use of miles to get the ticket.
For now we’ll leave the details on this trip sparse. The super short version is that I met a friend who grew up in Walhalla, SC. We attended the North Carolina vs Clemson football game. It was awesome. The tradition of the Running of the Hill was really, really fun to see in person. It was a perfect fall day for football and Clemson kept its undefeated season alive.
After tailgating, football and more tailgating we went to the Walhalla Oktoberfest which was an experience unto itself. The people watching there was some of the best I’ve seen anywhere in the world. For those of you from Eugene, picture a small Southern town’s version of the Lane County Fair and your image will be close. For the rest of you there is a picture below.
Sunday afternoon I flew back to Orlando on a direct flight from ATL...
For now we’ll leave the details on this trip sparse. The super short version is that I met a friend who grew up in Walhalla, SC. We attended the North Carolina vs Clemson football game. It was awesome. The tradition of the Running of the Hill was really, really fun to see in person. It was a perfect fall day for football and Clemson kept its undefeated season alive.
After tailgating, football and more tailgating we went to the Walhalla Oktoberfest which was an experience unto itself. The people watching there was some of the best I’ve seen anywhere in the world. For those of you from Eugene, picture a small Southern town’s version of the Lane County Fair and your image will be close. For the rest of you there is a picture below.
Sunday afternoon I flew back to Orlando on a direct flight from ATL...
Friday, October 21, 2011
Orlando: Part One
This week Dad’s annual AAO meeting is taking place in Orlando. On occasion I like to tag along for his meetings, especially when they are taking place near the happiest place on Earth.
In typical Dad style we did not fly a very direct route to MCO but rather a route that maximized miles. We went from Eugene to Portland to Washington Dulles to Orlando. Needless to say this took the better part of day Wednesday. Thursday Dad wanted to rest up before the start of his meetings. And as we all know, I never mind sleeping in. When I woke up around noon I was told my tech support skills were needed. Unfortunately the Grand Lakes Marriott Viista does not allow anyone to print anything on a USB anywhere its grounds, and its grounds are HUGE. I eventually was able to secure what I needed with Jason’s help through a few emails and six dollars of computer usage fees.
After finishing the necessary paperwork for Dad and Mom, Dad wanted to go to the conference center to register and pick up his supplies. By the time we finished this task it was after 5 PM. Our next stop was FINALLY the happiest place on Earth aka Disney World and more specifically Mickey’s Not So Spooky Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom.
Mickey’s party is an evening at the Magic Kingdom requiring a special admission ticket that gives extended hours and the ability to trick-or-treat around the park. Party goers are also are encouraged to dress in costume. It was amazing how many people did. One of my favorite ladies dressed as Miss Piggy in scrubs. The best part was that she was pushing Kermit in a wheelchair. The funny part is that there was no one in the Kermit costume. He was just a VERY large doll. We decided this was a brilliant way for this woman to cut all the lines. There was also a family dressed as The Incredibles. The picture of them below is blurry but you get the idea of who cool this family seemed to be. Finally the last picture below shows our haul of candy for the evening.
Mom, Dad and I didn’t end up getting home from Mickey’s party until 1:30 AM. This was less than ideal since I had to leave for the airport at 5:30 AM to catch a flight and I hadn’t yet packed a bag. Regardless the evening was boat loads of fun and well worth the fatigue that was likely to bite.
In typical Dad style we did not fly a very direct route to MCO but rather a route that maximized miles. We went from Eugene to Portland to Washington Dulles to Orlando. Needless to say this took the better part of day Wednesday. Thursday Dad wanted to rest up before the start of his meetings. And as we all know, I never mind sleeping in. When I woke up around noon I was told my tech support skills were needed. Unfortunately the Grand Lakes Marriott Viista does not allow anyone to print anything on a USB anywhere its grounds, and its grounds are HUGE. I eventually was able to secure what I needed with Jason’s help through a few emails and six dollars of computer usage fees.
After finishing the necessary paperwork for Dad and Mom, Dad wanted to go to the conference center to register and pick up his supplies. By the time we finished this task it was after 5 PM. Our next stop was FINALLY the happiest place on Earth aka Disney World and more specifically Mickey’s Not So Spooky Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom.
Mickey’s party is an evening at the Magic Kingdom requiring a special admission ticket that gives extended hours and the ability to trick-or-treat around the park. Party goers are also are encouraged to dress in costume. It was amazing how many people did. One of my favorite ladies dressed as Miss Piggy in scrubs. The best part was that she was pushing Kermit in a wheelchair. The funny part is that there was no one in the Kermit costume. He was just a VERY large doll. We decided this was a brilliant way for this woman to cut all the lines. There was also a family dressed as The Incredibles. The picture of them below is blurry but you get the idea of who cool this family seemed to be. Finally the last picture below shows our haul of candy for the evening.
Mom, Dad and I didn’t end up getting home from Mickey’s party until 1:30 AM. This was less than ideal since I had to leave for the airport at 5:30 AM to catch a flight and I hadn’t yet packed a bag. Regardless the evening was boat loads of fun and well worth the fatigue that was likely to bite.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)