A Weekend in Orlando

(Click on photos to enlarge or see view them on my Flickr page.)

I had a fantastic weekend in Orlando last weekend. I arrived on Friday night and stayed with Brian and Nichol like I always do. As usual, they were gracious and generous hosts and continue to offer me a warm welcome to stay with them anytime I am in town. Nichol's niece was staying with them and it was great to see her again too. I also had a chance to meet their new cat and two new birds for the first time. Of course, I got to see Millie and NugNug again too!

Saturday, I spent the day driving all over Central Florida to visit friends, many with new babies that I had never met before. I had lunch with Jeff and Liz and got to see Baby Matthew for the first time and then drove about an hour to go see Eric and Lynda and their new baby, Christian. It was such a delight to be able to meet both Matthew and Christian for the first time! I got a chance to hold both babies for quite a while and it's amazing how immediately you get attached.

After leaving Eric and Lynda's I drove to downtown Orlando for a quick stop for Karen's birthday part and got to see her and Nathan and their two kids as well as Lynda and Will and Katie and a few other friends I hadn't seen in awhile. Unfortunately, it was a much quicker stop than I would have preferred, but I didn't know about Karen's party until after I arrived in Orlando.

After leaving Karen's party, drove down near Disney to meet Gary, Brenda, Wee-Gee, and Jo for dinner. Gary brought his iPhone and it absolutely blew me away! We had a great time catching up, but I'm afraid Gary did most of the talking amongst us guys while the Wee-Gee and I sat in amazement of the iPhone.

Sunday, I went to church at First Baptist and went out to eat with Lisa, Colleen, Chance, Jaye, Sherri, and Sue after church and then coffee afterwards. Later that evening, my friend Brenda hosted a small get together for me at her place up in Lake Mary . Laura, Jennifer, Brenda, Fred, and Beth were able to make it out and it was great seeing all of them again. (It was my first time meeting Laura and Beth, but have known the rest of them for years.)

I was also able to rent a PT Cruiser for my first time, a car I used to drool over. It was a ton of fun to drive and a nice contrast to my truck back home. (Not that I'm complaining in the least. My truck has been the most reliable vehicle I have ever known and, while having taken a fair share of knocks, is something I hope will get me through a few more years of school.)

It is always such a blessing everytime I visit Orlando and reconnect with friends who are like family to me. This trip would have been worth it only for those two days down there, but I am thrilled to also be visiting Puerto Rico for the first time ever (where I am writing this from now) and seeing Marcy and Hector again and meeting baby Mareny for the first time.