Quick update before we start the trip for real tomorrow. Got into Orlando around a quarter to six yesterday (Tuesday, the 30^th), there was a limo driver with a sign waiting for us outside of security, very swanky. Had a nice dinner at Citron, the “American Brasserie” in the JW Marriott—we’re actually staying at the Ritz-Carlton next door, they said we were underdressed for their restaurants (just joking…Norman’s had a special function, and the steak place was of no interest to us). The food was nice and fresh and very well-executed: had a beautifully tasteful salad of frisée, bacon, apple, and goat cheese over a squash puree with just the lightest of dressing, and a tender arctic char with awesomely crisp skin on a bed of faro risotto. Frankly, it kind of caught us off-guard, we were not expecting so good for merely resort food, kudos to Marriott. Here is a picture of an art glass bamboo installation in the “JW” (as we like to call it) on our walk back to the Ritz after dinner—striking both for the glass coloration and mottling, as well as the characterful sculpting of the stalks (justice not properly done by my crappy phone camera):

Today (Wednesday) was just a lounging-around day before the reception and kick-off dinner for the trip. After breakfast, we took a walk along the waterway in back of the resort. Here’s a picture of Mom, with the golf course across the water (sorry, no Instagram).

It was actually only about 65 degrees around then, never got above 70 or so today, though it was sunny and nice out. All of the locals were complaining of the cold weather, don’t know if it was due to after-effects from the hurricane.

Speaking of hurricanes, this trip had been shaping up eerily like our planned trip to New York last year, which was canceled by Hurricane Irene. Mom heard about Sandy like a week before our departure and was fearing the worst kind of déjà vu, only more expensive this time. I looked at the weather maps and assured her that the hurricane would pass by Florida three or four days before we flew, so there was probably no worry there. But on further ponderation, after the trajectory of the storm became more apparently, it hit me that maybe the expedition crew and experts and other guests coming in from the northeast may be thwarted in the same way we were last year, and that would put a damper on the trip, if not severely cripple it. I actually called the travel company (TCS) on Monday to see if they could tell us how things were tracking for the trip, and was relieved to hear that they had a total handle on things. All experts and staff and just about every guest routed or re-routed as needed (only one couple from New York, an uncertainty). As it turns out, there was actually a couple that we met at the reception who said that they actually drove down from Philly once they realized that all flights down were going to be canceled, thus spitting in the eye of the storm (so to speak).

The reception and dinner tonight were nice, it seemed like more than the sixty something people (that’s number, as well as age, haha) that were supposed to be there, but I think that was due to generally lively interaction and overall energy. Had some very nice dinnertime conversation with a variety of folks. Tomorrow we get up early for breakfast and a flight to Guatemala. Any questions?

Edit: by the way, I know that “fearing the worst kind of déjà vu” doesn’t really make sense, you either have it or you don’t; I should have said that she was “fearing the worse kind of groundhog day” or something like that [told you I couldn’t stop editing]