falling harder in orlando.

We had an incredible time on our trip last weekend. In addition to the perfect balance of doing touristy activities and relaxing, enjoying God's nature while kayaking, the time I spent learning about DK and more of his history was mind blowing.

We flew out to Orlando after my shift on Friday night to meet Brandon and Gil, who had flown in from London (where they live). They'd been traveling around the states visiting friends and family and were headed south to meet up with us before heading further south to scuba dive in the Keys.

We were looking forward to Saturday's shuttle launch amongst a lot of other excitement but I have to say my favorite part of the entire weekend was watching DK with his very best friend Brandon, my heart doing flip flops as I saw how endeared he was by Brandon and likewise. To see these two guys with such great love and understanding of one another... DK will probably laugh when he reads this because of the overwhelming mushiness factor, but it was truly a beautiful sight to see.

I loved finally getting to know Brandon and Gil (short for Gillian) and catching up on so many years of memories, stories and hilarity. It's amazing what you can learn about someone in this environment and I was constantly astounded and enlightened, re-realizing all these new depths to DK's creativity and character. Brandon is hilarious, Gil is brilliant, her brother Simon and mother Jen, two of the most witty people I've ever met. That and I can't get the Brittish accent out of my head now, not such a bad thing! We toured Universal on Saturday and never had to wait in any lines for rides, thanks to our nifty Express passes. I got to be an extra in a production for the Distaster ride, we toured Jurassic Park, rode a roller coaster with The Simpsons, and battled mummies on The Mummy ride, to name a few. Apparently I scream my head off on roller coasters, the evidence found on the aftermath photos, my blue tongue standing out amongst the other coaster riders. (Mmmm, blue raspberry icies.)Sunday was a beautiful day and we spent it on the river kayaking and swimming. We saw tons of alligators, turtles and wildlife along the route and ate the best hoagies I've ever tasted in my life from the grocery store, Publix.

Monday morning we bid farewell to Brandon and Gil as they dropped us off at the airport on their way out to the Keys. It was tough to say goodbye but good to know we will for sure see them again, hopefully in London!! And don't be surprised if I come back with a full on British accent, either.