Orlando.....The Land of Humidity

Last week, I had a tradeshow in Orlando. The show was actually really successful despite the economy, but the weather left MUCH to be desired.


As in: OMFG I can't breathe, can't walk and can't think when it's this hot. Every time you walked out of a nice air conditioned area...BOOM. A huge thick veil of heat is draped over you. This coming from a person who spend many a summers in 120 degree desert heat. But the humidity is something I just can not handle. I am not claustrophobic, yet after a day of set up I was starting to have trouble breathing.....I needed cool air to breathe!! And no, the a/c was NOT on during set up. They have the big bay doors open so the forklift drivers can move freight in and out of the building and it would basically be a waste of power. So for two days, me and my entourage had to work in those cruel conditions and precisely why we had to take 2 - 3 showers a day.

Have I mentioned why I hate Florida yet??


OK, on to the good stuff. This show really snuck up on me. Why? Because it was relatively stress free. Yes, I had some issues with the AE that set up the equipment before it shipped out and yes the booth was shipped without a couple of key items and had to be overnighted. But that was NOTHING compared to what other shows have been like. Even during the show, I got to relax a little - got to eat at fabulous restaurants (if you're ever in Orlando, I HIGHLY recommend eating at Salt Island....it's got a huge iron fish with big sharp teeth out front....you can't miss it!), got to hang out with my coworkers and even got to watch TV in my room.


After we tore down the booth (in a record breaking 1+ hours), we wanted to do a little team building by playing mini golf at this super cool pirate-themed course next to our hotel. But by the time we got there, we noticed that a) it was a bit expensive to be able to right-off, b) there was a huge waiting line, c) it was outside with no misters or fans, and d) no ingesting of alcoholic beverages was allowed on the course. So, we high-tailed it to the nearest and coldest air-conditioned bar that we could find (thank god for TGI Fridays).


And now I'm home.....in my delightfully humidity free, 80 degrees, slightly breezy home that is known as the state of California. I swear I almost kissed the ground when I stepped off the plane.