Thursday - March 19==>Yes, my loyal and faithful readers and followers, your favorite Big Apple blogger is back in Manhattan and settled in after a wonderful time down in Winter Park and then Orlando, with Bill III.
As reported before I left the city on March 6th, I didn’t post on this blog but did make timely posts on my Facebook Timeline ... so ... for the benefit of those of my loyal and faithful readers and followers who are not on Facebook, and to bring this blog up-to-date ... here are the summaries in chronological order, basically unedited ...
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Friday, March 6 - Day One==>It is 7:15pm and I am settled into my cottage in downtown Winter Park. The weather is kinda iffy but much warmer than you know where. Flight down sucked. Was almost 2 hours late. Oh well ... Bill III picked me up, took me to a Publix and then helped me get unpacked. The "adventure" has begun. Stay tuned.
Saturday - Day Two==>Mix of sun and clouds. High 76º. Going to be a major, and I mean MAJOR walk and wander day. Tonight seeing ELEPHANT MAN, with my Lakeland friend Larry Stallings in the cast, assuming I can figure out how to get to the Baggy Pants theater. I feel very comfortable in my cottage and in the general 'hood. Stay tuned.
Sunday - Day Three==>Yesterday was indeed a MAJOR walking and wandering day==>6.71 miles. Saw interesting apartments at The Lofts @ Winter Park Village and the new Paseo. Found my way to THE ELEPHANT MAN play via Uber. It was excellent. It was great seeing my friend Larry Stallings and his wife. Today’s weather is AWESOME so more walking and wandering. St. Pat’s Parade at 2:00pm. Stay tuned.
Monday - Day Four==>Yesterday was another AWESOME walk and wander day, 7.54 miles. Lotta stuff happening in downtown Winter Park, including St. Pat’s Day parade.
Today’s high will be 82º. Meeting Vivian Garfein, J. Hall’s longtime companion, for early lunch. Tonight, having dinner with my fraternity brother, attorney Stumpy Harris. Stay tuned.
Yesterday’s Pedometer mileage==>7.54 miles (16,492 steps).
Total mileage for the week==>29.76 (average 4.07 miles per day)
Total mileage for 2015==>272.89 miles (average 4.07 miles per day)
Tuesday - Day Five==>Monday was another walk and wander day that began with meeting up with Vivian Garfein, J. Hall’s longtime companion. Vivian gave me a highly informative tour/visit to the Winter Park Garden apartment complex. Then, for the evening had a great dinner with my fraternity brother, attorney Stumpy Harris and his wife Ruthie at Prato on Park Avenue.
Today the forecast is for a high of 87º. This afternoon will be more walking and wandering and tonight @ 8:00pm will be an AA meeting. Stay tuned.
Yesterday’s Pedometer mileage==>5.72 miles (12,518 steps).)
Total mileage for 2015==>278.61 miles (average 4.10 miles per day)
Wednesday - Day Six==>Yesterday was another great walk and wander day==>5.86 miles. Discovered there is a Trader Joe's and a Shake Shack in my immediate ‘hood. How ‘bout dat NYC? As planned, for the evening I attended an 8:00pm AA meeting.
Today will be more exploring, including the Scenic Boat Tour of the city’s lakes and canals. For the evening will be a movie, probably THE IMITATION GAMES at the huge cinema at Winter Park Village. Stay tuned.
Yesterday’s Pedometer mileage==>5.86 miles (12,806 steps)
Total mileage for 2015==>284.47 miles (average 4.12 miles per day)
Thursday - Day Seven==>Well, no Scenic Boat Tour or THE IMITATION GAMES yesterday ... nope ... instead it was Spring Training baseball and walking and wandering==>5.21 miles. Still another great day in WP.
Today will be AWESOME. At 8:30am having breakfast with Lance Smith, the owner of the mega-successful Cutting Edge Carpets, then, maybe, the Scenic Boat Tour. For the evening will Uber over to Orlando to Boone High School for the 7:00pm opening night performance of the musical EVITA, directed by my NYC friend David Lee. Stay tuned.
Yesterday’s Pedometer mileage==>5.21 miles (or, 11,391 steps)
Total mileage for 2015==>289.68 miles (average 4.14 miles per day)
Friday - Day Eight==>Thursday was a totally exceptional day that started with a great breakfast with Lance Smith, who also gave me a very informative tour of Winter Park and downtown Orlando. The afternoon was walking and wandering and Spring Training baseball. The evening was a terrific production of EVITA at Boone High School in Orlando, directed by David Lee. I Ubered to and from the show without any problems.
Today is going to be a “winding down” day with some more walking and wandering and then dinner at 7:00pm with Bill III and our friend Randy Haag, at an Outback. Stay Tuned.
Yesterday’s Pedometer mileage==>4.56 miles (or, 9,959 steps)
Total mileage for 2015==>294.24 miles (average 4.14 miles per day)
Saturday - Day Nine==>Well, the Winter Park part of the “adventure” is now over. Checked out of the cottage last night and then had a wonderful dinner at an Outback with Bill III and our friend Randy Haag. The food and fellowship was super excellent. The time in Winter Park met ALL of my expectations, and then some.
I am now in Orlando with Bill, who will spend the afternoon golfing with friends. When he gets back we will start some serious discussions about ... well ... you know about what. Will be with him until Tuesday morning, when I head back to The Big Apple. Stay tuned!!
Yesterday’s Pedometer mileage==>4.30 miles (or, 9,415 steps)
Total mileage for 2015==>298.54 miles (average 4.15 miles per day)
Sunday - Day Ten==>Saturday was pretty much an “unwind and relax day” although I did record 5.40 miles of walking and wandering in Bill’s Orlando ‘hood. For the evening we had pizza and watched FOXCATCHER, starring Steve Carell and Channing Tatum.
Today is also going to be pretty much a laid-back day with lots of Spring Training baseball. Tonight Bill will grill us some steaks and that is always AWESOME.
And, yes, I am still mentally processing lots and lots of stuff ... so ... Stay Tuned!!
Yesterday’s Pedometer mileage==>5.40 miles (or, 11,811 steps)
Total mileage for 2015==>303.94 miles (average 4.16 miles per day)
Monday - Day Eleven==>Sunday was another relaxing day, with decent walking mileage==>4.39 miles. Bill and I had a serious discussion about ... well ... you know about what ... and then he grilled a couple of AWESOME steaks. The selfie is at a lake in Bill’s ‘hood.
This morning we are going back to two of the rental properties in Winter Park Village. Then in the afternoon we will go to the Bay Hill Golf Course for a Golf Clinic hosted by Bubba Watson. For the evening it will be BBQ. Stay Tuned. Oh ... some pretty AWESOME walking stats for the week.
Yesterday’s Pedometer mileage==>4.39 miles (or, 9,603 steps)
Total mileage for the week==>35.44 miles (average 5.06 miles per day)
Total mileage for 2015==>308.33 miles (average 4.17 miles per day)
Tuesday - Day Twelve==>Heading back to The Big Apple, ending my wonderful Winter Park adventure. My flight leaves Orlando at 12:55pm, arrives LGA @ 3:30pm, hopefully. Will stay in for the evening.
Yesterday was another AWESOME day in The Sunshine State, highlighted by seeing golf pro Bubba Watson give a Golf Clinic at the beautiful Bay Hill Golf Course, site of the upcoming Arnold Palmer Invitational Tournament. My final dinner was great BBQ, and deep conversations with Bill III, at Sonny’s. Stay Tuned.
Yesterday’s Pedometer mileage==>4.36 miles (or, 9,535 steps)
Total mileage for 2015==>312.69 miles (average 4.17 miles per day)
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On Tuesday it was 5:20pm when I opened the door to PHC. The flight had gone very well. On the way back to the apartment I picked up some pizza, so I stayed in for the evening and just basically mentally re-connected with The Big Apple.
In review ... the trip to Winter Park and then Orlando more than met my expectations. WP is a happening place, especially the Winter Park Village area and Park Avenue downtown. For your education here are a couple of websites ...
Winter Park Village
The Lofts of Winter Park Village
Paseo at Winter Park Village
Moving on ...
Yesterday I posted about my 25th AA Birthday. I really appreciate the responsive texts, emails and postings.
I met up with some of my AA buddies (you know who you are) and we attended the 12:30pm Beginner’s Meeting at the Citicorp Building over on the Eastside. This has been a tradition for me on my AA birthdays. My usual meeting is a weekly Speaker's Meeting.
For the evening I treated myself to a Broadway musical, in previews ...
IT SHOULDA BEEN YOU - “When a bride and groom from wildly different backgrounds come together to celebrate a wedding, an unexpected arrival turns the special day into hysterical chaos. Plots are hatched and secrets are exposed – as the bride’s resourceful sister is left to turn an unmitigated disaster into happily ever after.” (Broadway - Discounted TDF ticket)
The “unexpected arrival” is the bride’s former boyfriend, Marty, played by my Facebook friend Josh Grisetti. He does a great job.
The cast is stellar, headed by Tyne Daly and Harriet Harris, and directed by David Hyde Pierce.
The music is catchy and the staging is excellent.
My only quibble is the running time. It is listed as 1:30, without intermission, but last night it was 1:50 and that is way too long. It needs to be trimmed.
So ... Billi Pod’s report card==>B.
It is playing at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on West 47th Street, opens on April 14th and is an open run.
Moving on ...
Today’s entertainment event is going to be something very different ... a event at FacebookNY downtown ...
5:30pm==>”FBNY Speaker Series welcomes Lori Levine, founder of Flying Television, a Celebrity global activation firm offering a wide spectrum of services including Public Relations, Talent Relations, Advertising, Branding, Experiential Marketing, Digital Activation will participate in a fireside chat with Facebook’s Scott Reed, former Flying Television Director of Operations.”
“Join us for an interactive discussion with Lori, peeking behind the curtain into how the business of Hollywood actually works. How a female-founded business is born in (what was) a man’s world 15 years ago, and how determination, necessity, and sheer force of will, can lead to redefining true success.”
“Stick around for more conversation + beer, wine & food provided by Desimone's at FacebookNY afterwards.”
Yeah ... something very different for your favorite blogger. Looking forward to it.
Moving on and ... we are close to bringing this way-too-long posting to an end ... so ... just a bit more ...
Weather update from The Big Apple==>At 8:30am it was bright and cold ... 29º, wind chill down to 20º.
And ... dammit ... snow is in the forecast for tomorrow.
On this happy note will close this out with a breaking news alert==>something very very important will be revealed in tomorrow’s posting ... so ... stay tuned.
STAY WARM EVERYONE IN THE TRI-STATE AREA!!
Yesterday’s Pedometer mileage==>3.57 miles (or, 7,821 steps)
Total mileage for 2015==>318.75 miles (average 4.13 miles per day)
Billi Pod
“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”
Friday==>Well, my loyal and faithful readers and followers, take a deep breath and read on as your favorite Big Apple blogger shares some very important personal information.
On Monday, March 16th, while in Orlando with my son Bill III, I made the following decisions:
I want to initially live in one of two apartment complex’s in Winter Park Village, either:
So, my loyal and faithful readers and followers, there you have it. 
I think it is very ironic that on the day I am posting about this decision it is the first day of Spring and @ 12:30pm it is fucking snowing here in The Big Apple, The Greatest City In The World. Yep ... snowing on the first day of Spring. I rest my case!
“FBNY Speaker Series welcomes Lori Levine, founder of Flying Television, a Celebrity global activation firm offering a wide spectrum of services including Public Relations, Talent Relations, Advertising, Branding, Experiential Marketing, Digital Activation will participate in a fireside chat with Facebook’s Scott Reed, former Flying Television Director of Operations.” 
8:00==>JOHN & JEN - “This chamber musical looks at the complexities of relationships between brothers and sisters and parents and children. Set against the background of a changing America between 1950 and 1990, it tells the story of Jen and her relationships with the two Johns in her life: her younger brother, and his namesake, her son.” (Off Broadway - discounted TDF ticket)
So, my loyal and faithful readers and followers ... you are now up-to-date.
