Florida roadtrip

There we are, Hondo and me, on the infield at Daytona International Speedway, Daytona, Florida.

It was an amazing trip. More so for him, because he's way more into NASCAR than I am. It was fun to watch the excitement course through him as he decended the steps and put his feet on the track of the raceway. He was actually standing on the track his hero, Jeff Gordon, has raced and won on. For him it was just shy of Neil Armstrong stepping onto the surface of the moon.

Then we walked across the infield, and stepped onto Pit Row, and we were off and running. Once we hit FanZone, he was like a kid in a candy store, let loose. So much to see, so little time and he just wasn't sure what he wanted to see first. Once we got there, I almost ceased to exist. My job from that point on was to just keep up. It was like chasing a 3 year old. Sounds like a bad thing, but it wasn't. It was fun to watch him enjoy this trip, this gift, so much. It meant a lot to me that he shared it all with me.

Watching the race was more of the same. Although he was contained to a seat, or at least a section of seats, once they said 'Gentlemen, start your engines' he completely forgot about me. Every time the cars would round turn 4, he would jump up out of his seat, and watch with eager anticipation for them to come flying past us.

Orlando was my playground. We went out Saturday night, to Universal CityWalk. It is a boardwalk of sorts, with everything from the Hard Rock Cafe', the NASCAR Cafe', Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville, Pat O'Brien's (the best, Kick-your-ass hurricanes), Emerill has a restaraunt there. It was amazing. We could sit and stare out over the water, listen to the Bob Marley Experience, and later, to Kid Rock who was performing in Universal Studios. So much to see, and yet so little time to do it all in. Regardless, it was a wonderful time. It was fun to be out 'on the town' with Hondo.

This trip was either going to make us or break us, and I'm thinking it solidified us. We survived a 74 hour road trip, a whirlwind vacation, and we're still together. In fact, we've moved from being friends to dating and being in a relationship. (his words, not mine)

We did OK this trip. Even on the way home, tired and exhausted, and probably a bit cranky, we still managed to be friends and find things to laugh at. When we ran out of things to talk about even the silence was comfortable. That says something.