Mouse Nation

I've spent the last few days in "Mouse Nation" (what I've always called Orlando). I generally go to a Microsoft Exchange gathering each year(ExchangeConnections) to learn all I can cram in my head about email.

I drove down to Nashville and went to worship at my 2nd church home (Lebanon Road church of Christ). Adam Faughn did his usual fine job with a lesson on the role of older ladies in the church. I went to the airport from there. Again, I used Southwest's curbside check in and got in and through security in less than 10 minutes. I got to again enjoy a leisurely lunch at O'Charleys. I was A34, so I got to grab a nice aisle seat and the trip went fine. I drove to the Hyatt Grand Cypress (right on the edge of Disneyworld) to register for the convention.

I checked into my hotel (Homewood Suites) and then headed for evening worship at Kissimmee church of Christ. This is where I attend when I am in the Orlando area. It's about a 20 minute drive from the Disney area and I heartily recommend it to anyone looking for a place to worship while in the Disney area.

I generally never stay in the host hotel in Orlando. One, its right on the border of the Mouse plantation so it's generally packed. Two, I really like staying in Homewood Suites and I can get a bigger room with free breakfast for less money. When I got there Monday morning, I was surprised to find many parking spots (this generally is never the case). I could tell upon going in that attendance was really down. I later found out it was about one third of what is normally is. There are always vendor displays each year. Normally, there are more than 30. This year, there were TWELVE. There were not nearly as many sessions as normal to pick from and several of the speakers whose sessions I always like to go to (Paul Robichaux, Devin Granger, Jim McBee and Steve Riley) were not there.

That said, I still picked up a lot of knowledge both from the session speakers and fellow attendees. The food they provided was really good. They normally do box lunches on the last day, but they did a cookout this year that was excellent. It was still a good conference but just not nearly up to snuff as previous years.

Random notes

• I went to Tony Roma's Monday night and couldn't resist the temptation of all you can eat ribs. It was great. I could barely waddle back to my hotel room afterwards though.
  
• I got to see the UK win over UNLV. It didn't start til 9:30 Eastern though so I was up til 11:30pm (way past my bedtime). I had to get up for a busy day at 6:30am, be there by 8:00 and stay til after 6. I was tired when I got back that night, but fortunately, Homewood Suites puts out a light dinner every night. I was able to get hot dogs and chips and that was fine for me that night.
  
• The weather was great. It was 90 when I got off the plane. It felt really good to be warm all week. Running outside in the warmer weather each morning makes it really easy to get loose. When I got off the plane in Nashville and was waiting for my shuttle to Economy parking, I was pretty cold (even though it was in the high fifties) since I'd gotten used to Orlando weather.
  
• I went to Kobe's Japanese Steak House before Bible Study Wednesday night. I found out that they are not kidding when they say that grill is hot! I was reaching for my container of sauces and touched the tip of my finger to the grill. Ye-o-ow. No lasting damage though..
  
• The crowds in Orlando in general were down as well. I guess all the talk of "the economy" has people scared.
  
• I managed to get A19 for my trip home so I got a good aisle seat again. The Southwest Terminal in Orlando is fabulous. Generally at an airport, people are scrounging for power outlets for their laptops. Not here. They had numerous counters with outlets and even USB connections to charge your laptops and phones (for free). They even had padded chairs with outlets next to them in great supply. And there was free wireless Internet (not the usual 4.95 to 9.95 you pay at other places). I still don't know why other airlines don't copy Southwest more. Right now, I'm sold on them. I am just about to the point of driving to Nashville for all my plane trips for the combination of attending at Lebanon Road and flying Southwest.

It was great to get home Thursday afternoon. I brought Zaxby's from Clarksville home for us (they have fabulous chicken strips). I wish someone would open one of these in Paducah.