The Traveling Steve's

DOS and I had a good weekend at home Friday and Saturday, and tonight we’re staying at the Hyatt Regency Orlando Airport once again; a frequent place for us to stay when I have an early flight on Mondays.

We were glad to get our favorite room on the 10th (top) floor with balcony overlooking the 6th floor outdoor pool and runways.  As much as we both fly (and DOS was a former pilot), we never tire of watching the planes take off and land; especially the international jumbo jets we can see from our balcony between 5 and 9pm.

On Saturday I worked on updating the blog from our recent Vietnam/Cambodia trip which still has quite a bit to update.  While on the February trip I tried to keep up with it, but the internet was abysmally slow to nonexistent in certain places, so I figured I’d do that when I got back.  When you look at the wiring infrastructure in some of the cities, you wonder how a phone call or Internet connection ever goes thru!

Right now I’m working on a video of the Water Puppet Show we watched in Hanoi, and hopefully can post that video this week, although I have a busy travel week with two different cities and six flights total – don’t know how much free time if any I will have in the evenings.

On Saturday evening we had a nice dinner at FishBones in Lake Mary, Florida with our good friends Ben and Tom.

Fishbones is always an enjoyable evening out, and their steaks are awesome, even though this time DOS’s steak was way overcooked (Very well done instead of medium rare.)  The manager apologized for that and the ‘kitchen backup tonight’ and quickly remedied the situation, after first bringing the same steak back even more cooked than originally!  Embarrassed by the second go-round, he graciously offered us two complimentary desserts, not that we needed them after the excellent meal!

We had a wonderful meal, and really didn’t want to complain much less ask for anything, but Fishbones customer service is top notch.  If the steak wasn’t cooked right they wanted it done right.  As regulars there, we really appreciate their integrity, and any place can have an exceptionally busy (and backed up ) night with large groups overwhelming the kitchen.

On Sunday we saw an outstanding Easter Cantata presented at our Church (First United Methodist) and it really was a fitting tribute to the upcoming Holy Week.  Everyone from the narrators, choir, band, to the lighting and video stage crew worked together to present this moving and thought-provoking and soul searching last week of the life of Christ thru his resurrection.  Quite a beautiful and uplifting Cantata!  Sorry I don’t have any pictures.

Now relaxing a bit in our Hyatt room before heading downstairs to dinner, after just taking a few laps around the Orlando Airport terminal for exercise and people-watching.  They are doing some major renovations in the terminal, and some of them I don’t understand why.  For one, they took out the four sets of moving sidewalks (two on each side) in the interior corridors by the food court which transversed the airport from one side of the terminal by the Hyatt end (Delta and international carriers) to the opposite side of the airport at the American/United end. Now it will be a bigger seating area, but it just means walking around more people and their luggage, instead of quickly going from end to end.  There were also many additional roped off lines for security blocking a clear walkable entrance across the lobby on the American side.  I guess the airport is expecting an Easter and summer rush of tourists, but it was confusing to me and I fly out of here nearly every week. We shall see. . .

But It’s fun walking thru the airport when you’re not rushing for a flight, and even though we’ve done it lots of times, it’s still fun to stop and take photos of the many displays they have by the various stores at the Orlando airport ; i.e. NASA, Disneyworld, SeaWorld etc.

Anyway it’s 6:30pm now and time for dinner.  We relaxed in the room a bit while I wrote this, and now we’re heading down to the fourth floor McCoy’s restaurant. We always enjoy having dinner in McCoy’s restaurant at the hotel, and breakfast in the morning at Hemisphere’s before I fly out, and DOS heads back to Sarasota for the week.

Yes another weekend has come, and is nearly over, not without some fun along the way.  Have a great week, everyone!  And for the Orlando Hyatt, we’ll be back a couple Sunday’s from now!