Celebration VI (Wed)

by Darth Danno
on 2012-08-29, 07:05:21

 Alrighty! Here we go!! Wednesday morning I got up at 6:00, threw the last of my toiletries into my suitcase, locked it up, and headed out to be picked up by my friend from work as he was going with me on the trip. He picked me up and we headed into work, was a stressful day trying to get everything done as we got there at 8:00 am, but were leaving at 3:30. Once that time rolled around, we said our goodbyes, got into the car, and headed to my friend's house so he could finish packing, then his father would take us to the airport. Got to O'Hare, checked our bags, went through security, and got something to eat. Our take-off time was 7:20, and everything was running on schedule so we boarded the plane, I got the window seat, and soon we left Chicago far behind.

Got into Orlando @ 10:45 their time, got our luggage, and headed off to catch the Mears shuttle which would take us to the Marriott Grand Vista Resort. Were dropped off at the front desk area and my friend Cris Macht drove down to pick us up and take us to where we would be staying. The room was beautiful!!! Our friends Sean and his wife Lisa were already there, as was Cris' cameraman Ian. Sean's friend Alfie would be staying with us as well, but wasn't coming in until Thu. We said our hellos, then headed off to get some shut-eye as Thursday promised to be a busy day. Sean and Lisa were in the adjoining room, Cris had his own room, as did Ian, and my friend Barry and I shared a pull-out couch. Cris and Ian were getting up extra early to shoot some footage for “The Force Within Us”, so they would be gone by the time we awoke, but we would catch a ride with Sean and Lisa as we didn't rent a car. It was hard to fall asleep knowing what was coming up the next day, but I knew I had to get some semblance of rest if I was to survive the next 4 days. At least I didn't have a sinus infection like I did for CV, which was one good point. The rest of the trip proved to be quite interesting, to say the least, but you'll have to wait until next week to see how it all played out or at least the Thursday portion of it!