yesterday, i took a break from the devastation and destruction to mingle amongst the tourists.

i live in a neighborhood not too far from international drive, the “nicer” section of the road, closer to the peabody hotel than wet ‘n wild. so, i get the benefit of riding the 75 cent trolley around the area instead of paying $1.25 for bus fare. this day, i wound up riding with a small pack of seaworld employees. who knew so many of them lived in the apartment complex across the street from the trolley stop?

because i was feeling a bit lazy, i decided to visit pointe orlando, a small open-air shopping complex (not too far from the bad-ass). it was rather quiet and uneventful. after popping into a few shops in unsuccessful attempts at present shopping, i went down to the bookstore to pick up my favorite magazines.

after a long inner discussion with myself on where to have lunch, i settled on an oriental turkey burger at dan marino’s. the restaurant is pretty nice for being named for a football star. sure, the televisions are tuned to various sporting events, but it’s not overbearing. it’s a bit like sam snead’s. they even have an appletini (yes, they’re horribly out of fashion, or at the v. least overconsumed) that rivals sam snead’s downtown location’s appletini.

when i hopped back on the trolley to head home, it started raining. again with the laziness, i decided to stay on and ride the length to the orlando premium outlet. again, i was unsuccessful in finding birthday presents for my difficult to shop for boyfriend. but i did have a vanilla bean frappucino at starbucks for the first time. it’s my new friend.

if you’ve never been to the orlando premium outlet, you must go. not necessarily for the shopping (you’ve been to one outlet mall, you’ve been to them all), but for the harpist. i’ve seen him playing out in the food court numerous times, but i’ve yet to learn his name, purchase his cd, or form his fan club. he’s my hero, though. i can’t imagine hawking my wares in an outlet mall, where people are more interested in buying designer merchandise at supposedly lower costs than experiencing something new or supporting an independent artist.

i wonder who’s more successful- the harpist at the premium outlet mall or the artist with a shop up at the mercado. i can’t remember his name either. i shall find out eventually and give them a proper pimping.

posting will continue to be sporadic from me because i’m going on a big canada adventure next week. got any montreal recommendations?