The Little Brother Post

Jake visited me down here this past weekend for a short but sweet visit that we have both been looking forward to for a while. This was the first time he’d flown solo and I got the sense he was a little nervous, but he did fine and arrived with little issue (besides crazy people on his flight, but that’s his story to tell).

We had a great time hanging out, catching up, playing Xbox and going to theme parks. We hit Disney on Saturday and put a sizable dent in all 4 parks before putting a dent in some bangers and mash at the Rose and Crown restaurant in Epcot. I’ve never gotten the chance to eat at the pub before, only drink in the front area, so it was really nice to be able to get a reservation in early and plan around the meal (which was delicious incidentally).

Sunday we hit the Universal Parks and met up with Bruce and Stacy. Had a blast running about the parks trying out some of the rides Jake hadn’t had a chance to check out yet, plus all the classic coasters he loves. I went on Ripsaw Falls for the first time and got absolutely soaked. Unfortunately we waited till the end of the day to give it a whirl, so the sun was all but vacant when we needed it the most, and we stood around shivering and dripping wet until we made it to the gift shop to get some drier clothes. On a hot summer’s day the ride would be awesome. But in 50-degree January weather….not so much. we filled our faces with far to much food with the 'Meal Deal' plan they have at the parks (pay once eat whenever you want at specified locations). I don't want another cheeseburger for a year.

Took Jake back to the airport this morning before work. Shame to see him head back so soon, but nice to know he had as much fun hanging out with his brother as I did.

The Week O'Ferrara Post

This past week Eric has been here in Orlando. It’s been great to see him and I’m glad he finally made a trip down here. Coincidentally a buddy of his was in town also as well as a friend from college so it was a productive trip for him on the social front. I pooled my recourses at the office to snag some tickets to Disney and Universal during Eric’s stay, and while he wasn’t keen to go on as many rides as I would have liked, we had a great time exploring all the different parks and seeing all there was to see.

We hit Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure on Saturday then followed up with all four Disney parks on Sunday. Got some great food at Mythos, which was a first for me (the #1 rated theme park resultant for six years running). Epcot was awesome as always, wandering about the world showcase and checking out the German beergarten in particular. We caught ‘pirates at Citywalk on Friday and hit a few of the clubs there as well as grabbed dinner at the Hard Rock with Marlow and Antoinette. Somewhere out there, there is footage of Eric “repping the V” with light-up LED teeth (an early birthday present) so keep your eyes peeled and let me know.

The rest of the week was filled with random trips about town, checking out places like Millennia, Tijuana Flats and the Ale house and a lot of poorly orchestrated Davy Jones/debutant voice impressions for whatever reason.

Yesterday we went to Medieval times, which is a longtime favorite and family tradition of ours. Eric had never been, and I hadn’t visited in a fair few years. We were stuck with the yellow knight, who regrettably wath slain posthaste, but we cheered the hell out of him (and his horse) regardless. Any place where you can chug beer, eat half a chicken with your hands and yell statements as ridiculous as “I like your ponytail…I was being sarcastic!” (credit Eric Ferrara) I ok in my book.

All in all it was a fun week, and while we didn’t get to any beaches or downtown bars it was awesome to have Eric around, and I think he enjoyed himself as much as I did.