Orlando International Airport, late afternoon.
Queues survived, forms signed in triplicate, keys handed over with an over-rehearsed smile and one last sales pitch.
The air greets you, the skin knows it before the mind does. Warm, clingy, a quiet nod, you’re here now. The bags are in and the road’s ahead, air-con blasting out something close to arctic, buckled-up in a in a rolling fridge.
Outside, the landscape starts to unfold.
Blinding light. Low. Beautiful. It bounces off the bonnet, flares in the wing mirrors. The road shimmers ahead — wide, straight, lined by palm trees that have seen it all before.
Sandhill cranes patrol the verge like they own it — tall, grey, prehistoric. A heron stands frozen beside a drainage ditch, still as sculpture, eyes fixed on something only it understands, ibis take flight.
The billboards come thick and fast. Jesus saves. Injury lawyers. Exit now for Parks. A dozen ways to be forgiven, sued, or sold a thrill.
It’s cinematic, but the film’s got scratches.
We take the Interstate 4 ramp and instantly regret it. Brake lights shine, indicators lie. The road is vast and humming. Lanes multiply, and the traffic fills them - aggressive politeness with a sunroof. We’re going nowhere fast — and my body reminds me it’s five hours ahead and only eaten aircraft food all day.
The crawl off the interstate took an age. Already, the sun was sinking low.
The lobby was bright and over-friendly — piped music, glossy brochures, a desk pushing tours, park tickets, and dreams on a payment plan. Families clumped in corners. Kids in mouse ears bouncing with sugar and cartoon noise. Parents already halfway to defeat, juggling rucksacks, snacks, and the fragile remains of a plan.
An old guy pushes past, wrapped in a pool towel, flip-flops slapping, still damp, a scent of sun cream and chlorine trailing in his wake. He looks like a day that started by the pool and never got much further.
We’re thankful the check-in desk is quiet.
Another over-rehearsed smile. Another sales pitch to upgrade.
We decline. Again. Just give us the key.
Shower, room service, sleep.
Shower, room service, sleep.