Visiting Nutella and Moonpie and then back to Sarasota

I love having trail friends all over the place. Nutella is a young woman I met in Millinocket at the end of the trail. She "yogi'd" a ride from us back to her hometown in Camden Maine, but we got the best tour of the coast - what a wealth of information she has. Her family is living in Florida now. So when I knew I was passing through, I made a call to her and asked to crash on her couch or floor. Her place in Winter Park is adorable. I small but efficient one bedroom - and so well decorated. I pulled my air mattress, my silk liner, my pillow from the car and made a great bed on her living room floor. I love being able to sleep anywhere. Flexible, I am. We had a great dinner at my favorite chain, Chipotle, and then she drove me out to Big Tree Park where there are two ancient palmetto trees, one 2000 years old and the other 3500 years old. They were massive! Biggest trees I've ever seen next to the California redwoods. Then we toured downtown Orlando. When I think of Orlando, I think of Disney. But, guess what! There's more to Orlando than Disney! There were funky restaurants and art galleries. There were quaint homes on cobblestoned streets. Beautiful place. I could live there! The next day we hooked up with Moonpie for breakfast. He's a young man that I hiked with through New Hampshire and Maine. He saved the day for me at Zealand Hut in the Whites when, after my noticing that I had lost a croc and was moping around thinking how difficult life was going to be without it, he comes tromping it waving a croc about asking if anyone had lost it. Trail magic! I told him I loved him from that moment on!!! Moonpie used to sell cars in Raleigh NC before hiking the trail. After the trail he said he couldn't go back to that job and heard that Disney was hiring. He got a job down here managing their food and beverage carts. I may have to stop back and see him on my way out of Florida because he can get me in to the park for free. I'd love to see Universal studios! We'll have to see... Using my new toy, my iPhone, I found a favorite, funky breakfast spot in Orlando that neither Nutella nor Moonpie knew about: All American Cafe on Ferncreek Ave. Yummeeee! They have a breakfast buffet on Sundays that is to die for! A very rustic but real spot. Check it out if you're ever in Orlando - downtown.

Next stop after hugging my buds goodbye, for now, was to stop and see an ex-Xerox colleague who's moved to Palmetto FL. Laura Meyers is a changed woman. She's lost 50 lbs, hired a personal trainer, met a wonderful man, and is getting married May 2. I wouldn't have recognized her on the street - she looked fabulous!!! She's my mentor now. These extra few pounds have got to go. I want to be a lean, mean, sexy machine when I get back to Fairport. I really only have to work on the lean part, I think...and maybe some sexy lingerie would help. After a short, but sweet visit to Laura and Frank's new home, catching up on the news, sharing photos of the trail, and getting to know Frank a bit (loves the outdoors...my kind of guy!), I moved on down the road back to Kim's house in Sarasota. Here I'll pack my bike, store my SUV and canoe, get my new credit card (yup, right in the middle of this trip Citicards decides it needs to reissue my card to protect me...they did this while I was on the trail, too...thanks Citibank for making my life so easy), get my new battery-driven charger for my iPhone and iPod, and off I'll go, tomorrow. I'm chomping at the bit to get this show on the road. I'm ready for sun, sand, pedals, tents, and freedom - all by myself. I may get to Key West and not leave. Stranger things have happened!