Resting and Dancing in Orlando!

Another day, and more church business.  We were on our own for dinner tonight, and I was beat from the day’s events, so I decided to have a low key evening.  So I drove up Universal Blvd and found my destination, Miller’s Orlando Ale House.

The Ale House is a chain, and boasts some 50 different taps.  Unfortunately, most of the beers are Anheuser Busch products.  The bartender was great, and we struck up a conversation about IPAs.  I got a local beer, an Orange Blossom Pilsner, to go with my fish tacos while the bartender played a game with trying to guess a beer that I hadn’t had before.  The bartender, waitresses, and the kitchen staff were unsuccessful and my reward was a free meal.  It was a pleasant enough dinner, but the night was still young.  So I grabbed my computer and went back to Dr. Phillips WOB.

The WOB wasn’t crowded, and I found a safe location in the back corner, right in front of Phillies vs. Diamondbacks baseball game.  Great beer selection and free internet, I was able to chat with Jenn through Skype for most of the evening.  I had the Peak Weiss Principal (an imperial organic wheat beer) and a couple of local beers, a Holy Mackerel Panic Attack and an Inlet Monk in the Trunk (great beer for the Churchwide Assembly). The Phillies blew open the game in the late innings, giving Cliff Lee his 13^th victory on the way to a 9-2 win.  It was relaxing, and a good way for me to recharge my batteries for the rest of the week.

The final full day of the Assembly is where the majority of the business occurs.  Its probably done purposefully since the time constraints limit unnecessary grandstanding.  We had decided to go to Downtown Disney for dinner, hitting the Irish Pub Raglan Road, for a night out as a group.  It was pouring rain, and I had no luck picking out gifts for the kids.  I ran into the Fulton Crab House to wait out the storm (although it never went away) and tried a local favorite, a Toasted Coconut Porter.  I had to sprint to dinner, and we had our own area to listen to the singers and watch the dancers.  The shepherd’s pie was awesome, all meat and little potatoes.  And even though this was obviously a tourist trap, I did get to try the Kilkenny Cream Ale from Guinness on draft.  It was a great way to end our week together as a team.

The next morning we found out about the ELCA Good Gift program, an easy way to give gifts to those in need in the world.  So instead of bringing home junk to the kids, they each chose something for someone else.  Jessica picked a goat to give, giving a family, milk, food, and fertilizer.  Jacob chose a gift of 7500 water purification tablets.  The best part was that they each agreed that they wanted it this way.  If you are interested, check out https://community.elca.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=607. – 5795/11267

"I would like a great lake of beer for the King of Kings. I would like to see watching Heaven’s family drinking it through all eternity." – Saint Brigid of Ireland