Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:
Each year Anne and I take one (1) road trip to a different part of the United States and see attractions, wonders, and events we didn’t have back home. One thing we rarely do is fly. We’d much rather drive than be flown unless we absolutely have to…or are given some pretty sweet incentives to do so. Fast-forward to December 2022 and a most unexpected opportunity: The Powers That Be at Anne’s rather large place of employment recognized her and several other employees nationwide for outstanding achievements in the field of excellence. Their grand prize was a Disney World vacation! We could at last announce to friends and family, “THE GOLDENS ARE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!”
For Anne it was officially, legally a business trip. Much of the time, she’d have to work. Not ME, baby…
Touring EPCOT solo felt less lonely and awkward as the day wore on and I got used to it. I couldn’t linger too much longer, though. Anne’s company had scheduled a celebratory dinner for all employees and their plus-ones at 5 p.m. The exact location was TBA, traditionally kept secret every year until hours beforehand. One of Anne’s coworkers was a previous winner whose shindig was held in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. There was no guaranteed hers would do the same, but if it were, that would mean we’d indeed get to see all four Disney parks in Orlando on the same trip. We crossed our fingers and hoped for the convenience.
In the meantime, I had a few more sections of EPCOT to see.
…and my one-man walkabout wrapped up around 3:00. I boarded the monorail and headed back to the Grand Floridian for some much-needed rest. Maybe I’d return one day, but I wept lightly inside, for there would be no new EPCOT worlds to conquer.
Well…at least I thought I would weep. At precisely 2:00 Anne had texted me from one of her mandatory work meetings to inform me the location of the celebratory dinner had been revealed unto all guests at last.
The night’s festivities would be held at EPCOT. So I would, in fact, return much sooner than anticipated, for better or worse.
To be continued!
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