“Still alive, still wandering, still meeting all the most lovely people. Luck follows me closer than my shadow. How lucky that is.” – Old Sean
Airdrop
After a lovely few days traveling around the Miami area with my friend Ahmed, we returned to Orlando as quickly as possible. Ahmed had a flight leaving Orlando around 2:50 PM, so we strived to make it back by noon.
We almost sort-of made it. We stopped at a Cracker Barrel when our hunger became too much to bear. And we lost nearly twenty minutes due to a traffic mishap. There wasn’t an accident, per se, but while trying to pass a massive semi-truck, a Kia started matching the truck’s speed.
I flashed my headlights, tailgated slightly, and lightly honked my horn a couple of times, but the guy just started camping there for some reason. I don’t exactly understand the purpose. We hadn’t been anywhere near them at any other part of the journey and the guy had plenty of time to get ahead of the semi-truck.
Fairly quickly, we got boxed in. The cars piled in behind me, so I was effectively trapped in the left lane. The pickup truck behind me wasn’t having it and laid down on the horn. For a full three minutes, a constant blare ratcheted up my blood pressure.
Finally, the Kia pulled forward and moved to the right, in front of the semi-truck. Ahmed and I flipped him off as we sped up, but we were too late. Being trapped in the left lane had caused us to miss our exit by miles and it was a time consuming loop to get back on track.
Fortunately, we still made somewhat decent time. I dropped Ahmed off at the airport and bid him farewell. Then, I has a nice five hours to myself to drive around Orlando.
While that might seem like a lot of time, Orlando (like Miami, Dallas, Chicago, LA and other top tier US cities) is bloody huge. Getting across town easily takes upwards of two hours, so I was more or less sequestered in the south-east portion of the city, considering my time constraints.
Mossfall
After a little bit of thought, I decided I wanted to spend some time hiking locally, despite the heat. I love hiking, but it’s not really Ahmed’s activity of choice, especially considering Florida’s innate humidity.
I made my way further south to the Twin Oaks Conservation Area. A thin windmill marked the entry road and dozens of blooming lilies rested on Lake Tohopekaliga. I watched red-tinged Muscovy ducks doing laps in the water while legions of dragonflies glimmered past.
Once I started hiking in earnest, an activity that costed me a gallon or so of sweat, I entered the broad-limbed trees across the open plain. Spanish moss hung dense on branches creating natural shadow pockets which warded off the intense sunlight. Massive clouds of billowing white marched overhead, providing their own periods of respite.
Overall, it was a pleasant walk. But I was happy to return to my car’s air conditioner when it was all done. The rest of my time was spent relaxing at a coffee shop until it was time to return my mud-spattered rental car.
Scoured Skyland
Within an hour, my old friend from China, Jake, drove by to pick me up. He took me to his rental unit where we swapped stories from the past few years. I watched colorful houses slip by the lakeside and we sipped whiskey from crystal glasses. As we spoke, the sky began to glow softly, streaks of orange growing stronger as the sun sunk.
Florida, under the right cloud cover, has astonishingly vibrant skies with a range of colors. The rest of our evening was spent watching comedy sketches on Netflix and settling inn for a nap.
Magical Place and Etc.
Normally, I would spend a few days catching up on sleep. My trip from Barbados to Puerto Rico to Orlando to Miami had left precious little time for recovery. And while Jake’s guest room was a welcome place to catch up on sleep, it didn’t bring me quite back to one hundred percent.
But I wasn’t quite ready to call it a break. My friend Madison, a long-standing pen-pal of mine, offered to give me a firsthand tour of Disney World with her work passes. I haven’t been to Disney since I was very, very young, so I relished the chance to revisit some of my childhood magic.
We decided the park of the day would be Epcot. I didn’t want to head into the truly active parks with wild rides, considering my energy limitations. Plus, despite my hazy memories on the location, Epcot always struck me as the most personal and appealing of the Disney experiences, with maybe the exception of the Animal Kingdom.
So when Madison offered to pick me up bright and early in the morning, I woke up early and met an old friend for the first time.
Glimmermind
We started with a powerfully hearty breakfast at Perkins Restaurant & Bakery before making the trip to Epcot. Madison is well-attuned to nature, with a loving amount of attention heaped on the natural creatures and animals of our world. As we drove, she continuously pointed out birds flying overhead or scampering critters in the trees.
When we finally arrived at Epcot, we parked at walked inside, the enormous Spaceship Earth geodesic sphere marking the entryway. Once we entered, the entire park sprawled out before us.
I was fantastically excited. Disney has gone through substantial overhauls and upgrades, so the scenery had advanced considerably. We started with a long walk through The Seas with Nemo & Friends where Madison knew plenty of the staff within.
The best part about exploring Epcot with Madison is the educational windfall. She knows practically everything about all aspects of the park with a deep amount of knowledge regarding different creatures within. Inside the aquarium, she pointed out bowmouth guitarfish, spotted eagle rays, stingrays, hammerhead sharks, shovelnose sharks, loggerhead sea turtles, drifting fish, blank-eyed eels, invasive lionfish, vibrant shrimp, fish which stood on coral with clutching fins, needlefish bobbing up and down and dozens of ghost shrimp.
We lingered in long fascination within the aquarium before finally moving on.
Penny for Thoughts
Now, I had arrived at Epcot with a certain mission in mind. My sister had requested I find a penny crusher displaying the Epcot logo. Penny Presses were a popular American tourism feature found across the country in the 1900s. These machines would use a penny and numerous pressure-inducing gears with a large crank. Back in the day, a person would input a penny and two quarters before hand-turning the crank until a crushed penny would tumble out.
Needless to say, cash and coins are a bit rarer these days, and many national parks have phased penny crushers out. But Disney has kept them intact for nostalgic tourists like my sister. They now have a card-scanner that allows guests to obtain three or four flattened pennies for a three bucks.
I happily gained a small collection of pennies to send along to my sister at a later date. And afterwards, Madison and I began our full loop of the park’s numerous countries.
We started with Canada and wandered counterclockwise, occasionally pausing to greet people Madison knew. (She’s understandably popular). We browsed Canadian maple syrup candy, walked through United Kingdom pubs, sought out French pastries, fawned over Moroccan geometric designs, enjoyed a lamb-and-chickpea kabab, listened to the soft clatter of Japanese bamboo, took photos of classic Italian statues, told jokes while walking past German steins, watched Mulan take photos inside a recreated Chinese Temple of Heaven, learned about Viking mythology while inside the Norway pavilion, enjoyed a Donald Duck-themed ride alongside the two other band members José Carioca and Panchito Pistoles, checked out glass blowing shops, bought giant pretzels in the shape of Mickey Mouse’s face, glanced at Native American totem poles, fawned over old school Disney live action costume designs and watched the firework boats move out to bay.
Overall, the Epcot World Showcase loop is as top-tier as ever.
All Across the Land
After our loop, Madison suggested we spend a chunk of time at The Land, a geography themed series of rides and performances. We started with a compelling water-rail ride through experimental gardens called Living with the Land, which showcased new technology innovations in farming, environmental restoration, food production, hydroponics and more.
Afterwards, we went on a personal favorite ride of mine. Back when I was a wee tot, there was a ride called Soarin’ Around the World which had guests lift off the ground in a full-immersion seat harness in front of a curved screen. This display would do an amazing job of simulating real flight, as though a person was hang-gliding. Scent ports would let citrus smells waft out and light breezes would brush across people’s faces. Likewise, there was often a light misting of water while flying past waterfalls or through clouds.
Soarin’ Around the World has long featured in my imagination, half-remembered and disconnected from other memories. It’s odd how childhood memories, despite their potency, are usually regulated to flash points rather than continuous narratives.
While the original ride I took allowed guests to digitally fly over California, the newly updated ride was more of a world tour. Patrick Warburton announces safety regulations in his thrumming voice, giving me flashbacks to Kronk, Joe Swanson, Brock Sampson, Jeff Bingham, Kim Possible’s Steve Barkin and dozens of others.
I adore Patrick Warburton. He built a thriving career on a distinctive and blessed voice but he still makes plenty of time for children’s shows and movies. I remember truly appreciating that as a kid and even more so as an adult.
Regardless, the Soarin’ ride took us on a much more disjointed but visually stunning journey. We passed from the Artic, to Paris, to the Taj-Mahal to the Pyramids of Egypt to Matterhorn to Neuschwanstein Castle to the Sydney Opera House and a fair few others.
I admittedly got over-excited. Sometimes I could point out the exact places where I had once lived or stood. I recognized the pyramid I took a picture upon, the profile of a mountain I had driven past in Utah’s Monument Valley and the riverside of Paris where my brother and I had walked a couple of years ago.
Madison was very patient with me. I found the ride incredibly uplifting and fortifying.
Space Lines
Our final Epcot attraction was the entirely new Guardians of the Galaxy ride, which hadn’t been invented during my last visit. Madison ensured that we had digital check in which sped things along considerably. There were still some pretty dense lines, but things moved along easily enough.
It’s best to do Disney with someone you enjoy talking with. It accelerates everything considerably.
We eventually reached the immersive “teleportation device” and enjoyed the introduction screen which included the Guardian’s cast and Terry Crews. I don’t want to give away any of the shock value and joy of the ride, but suffice to say, it’s high-paced, musically compelling and plenty of fun.
I will say that the villain of the ride’s narrative took me a moment to place. Disney’s Eternals landed with such little impact, they were scrubbed from my memory. Madison had to remind me that he was a pre-existing character, not a generic bad guy insert.
But even with that minor mental hiccup, the ride was fantastic. Rocket’s and Drax’s witty or oblivious play-by-play takes a prize.
Rock and Smile
Madison and I finished the evening by having a large plate of nachos for dinner. Rock & Brews located in Sunset Walk proved to be the perfect wind-down place. There were plenty of old-school rock song music videos playing behind the bar, hitting both of us right in the nostalgia.
I had my first real beer since leaving the US, but my tolerance is so low, it hit me like a brick.
Overall, I can’t thank Madison enough for the full Disney experience. It’s something I have the utmost love for and a rare treat in my life.
Hammerkeys
Naturally, after staying mobile for so long, I needed a chance to breath. My next couple of days were pleasantly defined by work and sleeping in.
Eventually, the weekend rolled around and plans started to get a little swifter. On Saturday, Jake took me to Disney Springs, a large Disney-themed shopping area filled with lakes, live music and little stores.
Sadly, the crowds were crushing, so I didn’t spend too much time walking around. However, we did stick around to see the enormous drone show in the distance. The Disney nightly fireworks crackled and thundered in the distance. In the meantime, walls of drones rose into the air, tracing strange shapes in the sky.
We spent a little longer taking photos and shopping, but there comes a crowd level where too many people make visiting uncomfortable and hemmed in. The only shop I especially enjoyed after walking around the lake was The Spice & Tea Exchange of Disney Springs.
Following our night at Disney Springs, we woke up early the next day for a long drive. Stopping at a Wawa for gas and coffee, Jake drove us all the way out to Silver Springs State Park. The preserve area is a biosphere-historical site with access to the various landscapes by boardwalk or boat.
Jake brought a set of paddleboards to drift along the river and the activity became my favorite in Florida this trip. Sea grass waved under the sea. Turtles and baby alligators lounged on logs and in dense patches of reeds. Anhingas (which I know as snakebirds) dove through the waters and popped onto branches, holding their wings out to dry. Ducks paddled cheerfully through the shallows and a soft sun shone overhead.
Afterwards, Jake drove us to an all-you-can-eat sushi buffet (Sushiyama) to indulge in full gluttony.
That effectively sums up my time in Florida. It was a lovely visit filled with lots of interesting moments. I’m looking forward to the next leg of my trip after finally returning to the United States.
Until then,
Best regards and excellent trails,
Old Sean
Written July 23th, 2024
