Insomnia and Other Oddities of my Vacation
Insomnia and Other Oddities of my Vacation Day 1 It has been a life long tradition in my family to visit Orlando during vacation t...
http://phistars.blogspot.com/2012/03/insomnia-and-other-oddities-of-my.html
Insomnia and Other Oddities of my Vacation
Day 1
It has been a life long tradition in my family to visit Orlando during vacation time. This year we went to Mardi Gras parade at Universal (once again). We had learned our lesson of the last trip; this time we came prepared. Unfortunately, not prepared enough. It was mother's time of the month and she looked as if she had one foot in the grave. Only in the last day did she recuperate enough to embark on this family trip. Thus, we filled our two green traveling bags with clothing enough for week (this was her idea of not over packing for a two day trip). Around 2 AM, the preparations had been completed. We took a three hour nap and then off we go into the twilight. Mom had a coffee and a bagel. I hate coffee and bagels. I spent part of the trip starving to death. Luckily, in the first rest stop there was a dunking donuts (Mmmm!! Donuts...). I ate two and then we progressed with our 4 hour drive.
We had no problems in our arrival at Kissimi. This town is the usual stop for those seeking the amusement parks of Orlando or Disney. We went to our usual Quality Inn. This was where we struck our first minor setback. They had only one room available for one night. The rest where on reserve. While we waited for the room to become available at 3 PM, we decided to soak in the pool. We wondered and looked about. It was a ghost town... Part of us believed that the receptionist had been anti Hispanic or something of the sort; however, we were soon proved wrong. From all the rooms started appearing teenage girls in soft ball uniforms. Those sport amazons where staying in this hotel in preparation for an upcoming match. Both teams where hosted in the same hotel. Considering how many players each team had, its no surprise that there where hardly any rooms available.
Needless to say, we spent that day shivering in the pool. It had been ages since the last time we swam in one. Thus, we were easily chilled to the bone. Climate regulated pools are an expensive luxury. We would have tried the yakusi, however, the senior age coach and helpers had a monopoly of that place. After getting a few sunburns, we went to our room (it being now open at 3 PM). We unpacked our luggage and then proceeded to take a 4 hour siesta. I always loved siestas. Its such a pity that the monochromatic (strict schedules) American does not appreciate the benefits of Sietas. The Germans practice siestas, and should the EU union fall their drachma would actually be worth five times more than the US dollars.
At night, we went to the Applebees of Kissimi. I must say the service was bellow average. The gringos had like five waiters per capital. As for Cubans like us, we waited like an hour before somebody took our order. Out of the blue, a light bolt flashed up in my mind. I fiddle around my wallet and all were able to see that I had a credit union card. Not everyone gets one of these bank cards (I got it cause my university. Between you and me I had only 60 bucks inside the card). Needless to say, this changed the attitude of those racist Southerners (speaking of Southerners, I found it interesting that ,in Florida, one has to go North to find the "South". hehehehe). I always believed that prejudice could only be cured by Lincoln, Grant and Jackson. As soon as the illusion of poverty was dissipated we become one of the "regulars". We too soon had five waiters attending to us. In the end, I was mighty pleased to see that this Applebees was far cheaper than the one in Miami. The margaritas where simply awful. They had hardly any tequila. Heck, mama might as well have ordered a lemonade instead of a Margarita.Well, with this incident we ended the day.
Day 2
The next morning a new ordeal began. We had to find a new place to stay the night. Otherwise, we would have to drive back home after Mardi Gras. All the middle level hotels were full. We could not afford the high levels (we did not want to waste 500 bucks to sleep for 5 hours). The lower levels we avoided. You know, they are a favorite spot for pimps and street walkers. In the end, we resigned to our fate.
Since our event started at 5 PM, we decided to visit the Orlando outlets. We first visited the shoe stores. In the Nike store, we bought two shoes for my brother. As for me, I always liked the Sketchers mark. I am not a shoe lace kind of person. Plus, my old sketcher shoes (that I worn for the past 3 years) were past their expiration date. I got a white and a black pair (like last time). We then moved onto clothing... however, I realized that the inflation was felt harder in the "southern" part of Florida. We ,in Miami, had outlet prices in comparison to the prices offered at these jumbo stores. After thinking it through, I realized that the terrible economy would be felt harsher in vacation cities like Kissimi. They only get a huge influx of sales during the vacation time. The rest of the period they rarely make ends meets. Thus, it makes sense that they would have bled this Spring Break for all it was worth. In conclusion, these where inflated "outlet" prices.
By this time it was 2 PM. We then decided to just go to Universal. It is a family tradition to always get lost on our way to the park. The roads in Kissimi and Orlando are a mess. They rarely tell you which way to go (and god help you if you stay on the right for too long). Those roads are always throwing you off in random locations. Needless to say, we got a lovely peripheral view of the State Prison at Orlando. I hope never to see the inside of those cells...
By four, we finally found our way to Universal. Mother went to buy the parking ticket. This time it was 15 bucks instead of 7. The attendant asked mother if she wanted the preferred parking. Mama's Southern English is a bit flimsy. Needless to say, she understood that this was " the Preferred Park of America". She said she knew and thus, we did not get the change for our 20 dollar bill (20 was the preferred parking price). We had our perplexed mother follow the directions to the preferred parking space. Frankly, I did not see the difference between both kinds of parking. Like last year, we stayed in Jaws. While we got out we explained to mother the confusion about the parking. After laughing at her for a bit, we rode the ramp toward City Walk.
Inside the Park
The sun was still up high when we finally arrived at City Walk. At least there was a gentle breeze from time to time. We did the line for the tickets. It had been two years since the fist time we went to the Mardi Gras event. Prices have changed quite a lot. Now the tickets are worth $64 instead of $52. By this time it was only 4 pm. We could not enter the park until 5 pm. We then went to have a bit of lunch.
We ate at a restaurant called Las Margaritas. They were played a song that went ... " in Island of Margarita". They had he best Margaritas in existence (or so mama says). After dinner, to kill some time, we went around City Walk. There was a new roller coaster in Islands of Adventure. This roller coaster serpentine around both parks. We sat beneath a tree with the camera and took some interesting photos. My camera has a video option. I wanted to videotape a scene of a roundabout (with some screaming) however, I ended up taping the brave group. They did not screamed. So, that was a bit disappointing.
The time to enter came, they seemed to be remodeling the entire Universal Orlando Park. We tried to enter the Mummy ride ,however, bro had a sandwich problem that prevented him from ridding the roller coaster. After wondering around aimlessly we rode the the Men In Black ride. I had recently bought a mad hatter red sparkly hat. They had me remove it cause it might fly off. The ride was itself pretty entertaining. After I got out, I bought for myself an ice cream cone and then I chose a good spot to film the parade.
The parade itself was pretty lively. The floats where colorful and the dancers quite interesting. The problem was that the bead throwers were regular Joes Smoes. Most fell on me and made filming rather difficult. However, I withstood the barrage (with some ill grace). By this time, my camera was running out of both memory and battery. I deleted some old videos and was able to get the gist of the parade.
After the parade was over, it was time to see the concert. Last time we did not see the concert on account of a swollen foot.This year I was wearing new shoes. I do not know of people's obsession with fashion and whatever. Its so stupid to force a person to wear some uncomfortable sandals just cause they look cute. Honestly folks, why dress up for strangers and tourist?
In any case, the guy that sang at the concert was Jcole. I had never heard this man sing (and frankly I am never gonna repeat the experience. No offense, but I am not a rap person). The thing that caught my attention was the design of his name logo (5 stars for the Logo). The O had horns and the E had a halo. Pretty neat. For being a concert, the music was not deafening (the ringing in my hears came as a result of all those screaming teen chicks). At a certain point, it became pandemonium when he threw his sweaty T-shirt at the crowd. The night ended with this tone of hilarity.
As we returned to Jaws, the lights began to fade, the air became strange. I gave a large yawn... It was past my bed time. At 10 PM, it seemed that preferred parking was the biggest ripoff in existence. We entered the car and started our ride home. Then the nightmare began.
Insomnia
We had failed to find a hotel. We did not want to take a nap in any random parking lot. Places like this become dangerous at night. Slowly we made our way toward the Turnpike. The ride was going smoothly until the road dropped us at St. Cloud. That place is darker than black. It was so dark that I could make out clearly the large band of the Milky Way. We tried to get back inside the Turnpike however, it only allowed us to go North (as in backwards). After spiraling around those dark roads (and running over Possum that was playing Possum. May he Rest in Peace), I said to mother, " Lets Just take North and get off in a different area. Any place is better than St. Cloud". I had seen such a setting in hundreds of horror movies (plus isolated places like St. Cloud are the perfect spot to be abducted by Aliens). The roads there had only two lanes. The last thing we needed was to out maneuver another possum and end up stranded in the Swamp.
We took the road back and we were finally able to take Turnpike South at the Kissimi exit. Ah... we where back to square one. By this time it was 12 AM, exhaustion was starting to kick in. Mother insisted on driving because she had more experience (Plus, a new driver would not have made any difference. We had all slept the same amount of time) . Thus, in a swinging, slow sort a way we retook the path back to Miami. Around mile 200 marker, mother was struck by a dilemma. The sign said, "Turnpike South Miami : No Sun Pass" the other Sign said, " Turnpike North Orlando: Sun Pass". Mother believed that because we had Sun Pass we should go through the Sun Pass lane. After yelling at her to go South, we avoided tragedy. Allow me to explain, from time to time, people from Pinal del Rio get random burst of stupidity. They can be a neurosurgeons but during those rare moments they refuse to process the simplest information. This was what happened to mother.
I started dozing off by this time. Mother had recently entered a rest stop and bought coffee. I was so relaxed by 2 PM that I was planning to sleep for the remainder of the trip. Fate had decided to deny me the gentle embrace of Morpheus ( the Dreamweaver not the black guy from the Matrix). I have always learned to trust my instinct. Around 3 AM, I had a strange feeling. I felt that a tragedy was afoot. It turns out that mother was falling asleep and we had no more coffee. From her speech, she told us that she saw the clouds passing quickly and the trees swallowing her up. I feared that perhaps she had fallen asleep with her eyes awake. To break the hypnosis of the monotonous road I gave her a cookie. I learned that a sugar rush is a good substitute for coffee. The Sugar Cookie saved the day.
For the rest of the ride, I did not feel confident about falling asleep. My bro shared my same sentiment. He spent the rest of the ride talking to mother trying to keep her awake. By this time, I too was getting into a similar Somnambulist mood. Their voices started to feel so far away... I was so impatient to get home and take a nap. Long story short, we made it home without any further incident. I finally was reunited with my pillow. And I drifted quickly to sleep. This was my trip to Orlando.
Editor's Note: I did not take any photos after the concert. My camera memory was completely full and the battery dead by the time we got out. Oh, all the photos where taken by yours truly.
Copyright Teresita Blanco
No way in hell do you have permission to use my photos without my express written consent. Hell knows no fury as a lawsuit from me!!! (To do so you will incur the wrath of Ezili Danto!!!!!Just kidding, or am I. hehehehe)
Description: My Adventures in Orlando • About: Us getting lost and Mardi Gras • Accountable Person: Fernando Blanco • Author: Teresita Blanco • Awards: None • Content Location: journalism • Content Rating: 5 • Contributor: Fernando Blanco • Copyright Holder: Teresita Blanco • Copyright Year: 2012 • Creator: Teresita Blanco • Editor: Fernando Blanco • Genre: Humor • Headline: Insomnia and Other Oddities of my Vacation • Keywords: Applebees', bad review, copyright, drinks, humor, jcole, Journalism, liquor, margaritas, music, night, park, photos, restaurants, shoes, store, teresita blanco, traveling, vacation, • Mentions: Fernando Blanco, Esmeralda Cruz,Jcole • Provider: Me • Publisher: Phi Stars • Publishing Principles: Teresita Blanco • Source Organization: Phi Stars • Version: 7 • Item Reviewed: Vacations • Review Rating: 5 •
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