Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

Desperately in need of a road trip but short on time and money I Pricelined a room in Orlando this past weekend. My girlfriend was surprised at how fast we got to Orlando since she hadn’t been there in years. It is tough to remember now, but the vast majority of construction on Interstate 4 (aka I-4) is completed and a trip that used to take as long as two hours now takes an hour or so (depending on the weight of your foot, of course).

Our first stop was to Friendly’s. I always eat at Friendly’s diner when I go to Orlando. In my opinion the Coffee milkshake is reason enough for the drive. Afterwards we cruised International Drive (aka I-Drive) checking out the $1.99 stores, the “outlet” stores, and the jaywalking Brit tourists that seem to glow white in the Florida sun.

That evening we planned to check out the night life. Even at 10pm, I-Drive is packed. Not wanting to deal with traffic between there and downtown, I called for a cab. Through the dispatch radio, we learned how the downtown crowd is too young for cabbies to make good money. Immediately I envisioned Ybor City style swirling fistfights and teens running from the police. It turns out the crowd was not nearly as I had imagined. Most people were a little on the young side, which suited us fine.

We spent most of the night at the Independant Bar (aka I-Bar). On Saturday we got a fun but somewhat played out selection of 80’s videos in the main room, and older Industrial in the tiny downstairs
“Pit.” You should know that the clubs close at 2AM in Orlando. I know that is early, but just get started sooner and you won’t even notice. The drinks at I-Bar aren’t cheap, but we found a little pub across the street with dark wood, cheap drinks and rugby on the flat screens - nothing wrong with that!

As the night wound down, Orlando Police block Orange avenue and shuttle cars out towards the ‘burbs. So we walked across the temporary pedestrian mall and grabbed a hot dog for a very reasonable two dollars before hailing a cab back to the hotel.

Back on I-Drive, we found a lot still going on. Many places remained open, so we walked over to Perkins for more food. Yes, more food! I am on vacation, people. And calories don’t count dammit!

Overall, Orlando is a nice change of pace from Ybor city. There is no violent tension in the air, just a bunch of locals out for fun along with tourists happy not to be working tomorrow.

Orlando provides a nice change of pace from Tampa Bay. Take the short drive to head over there and see for yourself. Shop at the outlets and eat at the only McDonald’s I know of that serves panini (whatever that is). Take in a Mystery Dinner Theater show and drive go-karts on a wooden track that soars over the street. If you go, you may want to even stop at Friendly’s and try the coffee milkshake.

One last thing: Try to be patient with your fellow drivers. Remember, nobody is really from Orlando, they are just visiting.

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