Got a call back in December from old friend Mitch, who I've known for 30 years... he was thinking that he and I and another old friend, Steve, who all have birthdays in January, should get together in Florida to celebrate, probably in Orlando, where Mitch lives with his wife Karan.
Sounded good to me... haven't seen them in a few years, Florida is pretty warm this time of year, and I wasn't busy... so I got one of the loft-dwellers, Andrew, to tag along and share expenses and driving duties, and off we went. Brought along my new HTC EVO 4G, and used only that for photos and video. Not bad, except for the battery life...
The big birthday meet-up didn't pan out (Steve was too busy in Miami to join us), but it was great to visit M. and K. again. Wound up staying two nights, as "Lil Bandit" got cranky after 1000+ miles nonstop hard driving, and insisted on getting new front bearings, rotors, and calipers. Blew a coolant hose, too.
But I can't complain- these problems were lurking regardless, and other than those items, the Mustang performed very well, considering its high mileage.
While in Orlando, we visited Split Oak Forest Park for a short hike... very nice. Used The EVO at one point to find a shortcut off the path to the stream (GPS-referenced Map view with satellite overlay), that was pretty cool! that thing proved very useful for the driving, too, backing up the TomTom with more info.
From left to right: Mitch, Andrew, and yrs truly... I am anticipating the EVO falling off the fence post where I'd propped it.
Fortunately, it stayed put.
That evening, we went with Mitch and his buddy Troy, who used to be a USMC pistol instructor, to a local shooting range to put holes in some silhouettes. My shooting experience was limited to BB guns and some archery, so it was a treat to borrow Mitch's Glock and shotgun and try my hand at some real shooting. And it was very convemnient to have a USMC shooting instructor around to teach me how to shoot!
Here's a video grab of me firing the Mossberg- first two were wild, but by the third I was demolishing the center of the silhouette. Fun!!!
After waiting around at the auto repair place most of the second day, we motored down to Miami to see Steve. He'd offered to put us up at his place for a night, so we wound up camping in his 1 acre back yard. It was good to see him- it's been about 10 years!
I had to show Steve's vintage auto fleet: a Dodge D100 with custom aluminum platform rack, and a '65 Barracuda. Believe it or not, both vehicles sport the same slant-six powerplant. Both vehicles are roadable, but currently not insured, etc.
Steve's 12-yr-old pit bull, Finian. He is a nice old fellow, but not too good with most other dogs.
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