Preamble

My request to attend the Gartner Symposium was approved again this year.  This time, I got it approved early and booked the hotel right away.  No more bussing to and fro! I'm staying at the Walt Disney World Dolphin, which is a Starwood hotel.  I will get points for my stay, even though I'm not paying with my Starwood credit card.  These points might come in handy in the future, as I want to take the nieces to Disney in February, if I can work things out with my SIL.

This is a trip of firsts.  It's my first trip as a Florida resident.  First trip in a year!  I missed the Flower and Garden Festival in the spring, as I was busy moving (see Life In Lehigh).  First trip not at the mercy of packing only what I can carry on a plane - I drove!  So I packed in my own yogurt and bananas and water supply, and did not have to fret about going through security with two computers.

Driving meant I had to get the car serviced.  I'm really good about my oil changes, but I have not done much else to this vehicle, except for the tires and the front struts just before I left Long Island.  I bought it used, in the autumn of 2003, and it had spent the first year of its life as a fleet vehicle, a function which put 20,000 miles on it.  So I've had it all that time, drove it to the train station and errands, mostly, and when I took it to Fort Myers Toyota, it had only 32,800 on it.  Which means in three years, I'd only driven it 12,800 miles.  Still, it was due for a "30,000 mile checkup" and needed to have the oil changed, tranny and coolant systems flushed, AC serviced, blah blah blah.  It was also making a *thunk* noise when I drove over manhole covers and such, which turned out to be a bent sway bar.  This probably occurred either when the guys at Firestone on Long Island put the new struts on, or else it happened sometime during the AutoTrain experience on the way down to Florida.  At any rate, they didn't have the part, but rigged it for me so I could take it to Orlando.  I will bring it back in when I get back from this trip.  I just have to be careful, such as getting the hell out of the right lane on I-4.  Man, I have never seen a lane on a highway so stripped at the tire marks.  The whole top layer where your tires roll is all chewed away.

So I did all that to the car on Thursday, plus ran around doing other chores in preparation for this trip.  Friday I quit work at 4:00 PM and zipped out to Sanibel to go shelling and have dinner with some friends.  Then I beat it back to Lehigh, finished packing, and made my final preparations for the trip.

I'm very excited to be reunited with Da Mouse!

• Day One
• Day Two
• Day Three
• Day Four
• Day Five
• Day Six
• Day Seven