Here we go!
Trip Start
Nov 01, 2001
1
2
9
Trip End
Apr 04, 2002
Orlando,
Florida,
United States
Friday, November 9, 2001
-$35 Days Inn is as adventurous as I would get tonight.
LESSON LEARNED: It's rough and dangerous on the streets. If you have a bed and a warm place to crash, BE VERY GRATEFUL.
11/10/01- Still in Orlando. Explored the UCF campus. Cool enough. Great fountain. I'll tell ya what... I love college girls. I'll admit it. They look younger and younger every year, but God bless them. Anyway, met a couple of DJs at the school's internet broadcasting station called: The Knightcast. I dropped off the S. Fla underground CD package with them. It seemed like they were interested in what I was doing, but you never really know. I've learned that most people are more interested in what they are doing then what you are doing. It's hard to make an impact. After all, what have I done so far? Drove from Miami to Orlando. Big whup.
After exploring the campus and using the library's free internet access, I walked around downtown Orlando and went from store to store trying to sell some CDs and some Score Gear backpacks. Didn't have much luck. Apparently, Orlando is a little down on it's luck lately. As I was to learn, the layoff of thousands of people in the area because of the lack of travel and tourism has really hurt the economy. You can tell. As I took in the essence of downtown Orlando things didn't really look like I had remembered them from a few years back. The town looked a more than a little ragged and abandoned. Storefronts that once housed trendy bars and clubs were put up for rent. Church Street didn't look as well kept as it once had. Shit. I needed money too. I started getting a little depressed. Had to pay for a hotel the night before because I was too chicken to camp out. Couldn't sell crap today because Orlando is in the midst of a depression. Obviously it was time to drink.
I headed to a bar I noticed earlier that was about a mile away from the UCF campus. The sign on the door advertised that tonight was college night. It might have been college night but it was definitely redneck hour when I walked in. Nothing wrong with that, but I wasn't really in the mood to play darts, watch NASCAR, or sing Garth Brooks on the Karaoke machine. I didn't feel like driving anymore that evening so I chilled. I was trying to make eye contact with the only attractive woman that didn't seem to have a man. It was the bartender. Maybe I should have flirted a little more, but I just asked for a cold one. Guy next to me starts a conversation. He starts telling me about his mom and his refrigeration business. We talk and drink and I smoke cigarettes. I tell him about what I'm doing and how I'm gonna try to drive around the country in 90 days and stuff. Last call comes and we chug the remainder of our brews. Long story short he buys a set of back packs from me and all five of the CDs. He said he'd make em into Christmas gifts for his kids. Made some money and a new friend. Cool. I spent the night parked at a gas station sleeping in my car drunk, content and amused with life.
LESSON LEARNED: The night's not over until it's over.
