Thursday March 12: I arrived in Kissimmee from St. Pete at about 10 a.m. and proceeded directly to the first watch show (World Wide Traders) at the Park Inn by Radisson Resort and Conference Center. There were 104 tables, which was actually larger than their Miami show in February. I bought three watches, two of them Tavannes (one of which is 14kt solid gold) and an Alpina sport watch. It appears I have the two Tavannes already sold to one of my customers, after I have them cleaned and serviced.
For lunch, I refused to eat the overpriced garbage that was catered in by the hotel, so I went off premises to an Asian fusion restaurant that did a little bit of Chinese, Thai, and sushi. I had a delicious lunch of sesame chicken, spring rolls, and a diet Coke, all for around $14 including tip. Then back to the show to look around a little bit more, then to a Motel 6, where I had a booked a cheap room ($50) versus the host hotel (Radisson) at $120, which was supposedly WWT's "bargain rate." I chilled down the room and took a little nap, then headed out to dinner. I was so looking forward to eating Italian at a place called Tarantino's (no relation to Quentin) where I had dined before. However, Tarantino's is once again in the process of moving (they have moved twice since I started eating there) and so they are not operating. Bummer. I was SOOO looking forward to their chicken Parmesan, which is sublime. So instead, I ended up at a place called Pacino's Italian Restaurant (no relation to Al), which is family-owned and been in business 28 years. Despite fairly high ratings by both Yelp and TripAdvisor, I found the chicken Parmesan there a poor substitute for the heavenly dish they prepare at Tarantino's. The chicken breasts were overcooked, and the marinara sauce bland.
Back to my hotel room after that, and got a fairly good night's sleep.
Friday, March 13. I checked out of the Motel 6, and had breakfast at Perkins. Uninspired, I realize, but they were handy (right next to the motel) and I knew what the food would be, and besides I do confess to liking their apricot syrup on my pancakes. Then, headed over to the Radisson for the second day of the WWT show. I bought a dozen "project watches" from a dealer in Pennsylvania. I stayed until lunch time and socialized with various dealers, then left. For lunch, I ate at a Krispy Kreme donut shop, which I know is a terrible choice, but I am a sucker for Krispy Kreme, especially when you find an actual store and the donuts are fresh and still warm out of the fryer. I had two donuts and a pint of milk, so at least I got a little protein from the milk.
From there, I checked into my room at the Heritage Park Inn at the far eastern edge of Kissimmee, in preparation for the second watch show, the mid-winter regional by the National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors (NAWCC). This room was comped for me by the NAWCC as part of my compensation for an educational talk that I gave on Saturday. The motel was nothing fancy, your typical budget motel of the variety that dot State Hwy. 192 through Kissimmee like so many bug splotches on a windshield. But it was perfectly adequate, and both the Internet and the air conditioning worked well. I went down for another afternoon siesta, then searched out something local for dinner, and chose the "Cheesesteak Factory," which was a tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant with seating for about 12, attached to a 7-11 convenience store on Hwy. 192. For about ten bucks, you get a nice big Philly Cheesesteak with 11 ounces of sirloin steak, roughly chopped on a flattop grill, with cheese, onions, and peppers mixed in, served on a home-baked hoagie roll. I let it cool so as not to torch the inside of my mouth, and then dug in. Delicious.
Saturday, March 14. The first day of the NAWCC show at the Osceola Convention/Expo center, which was also hosting a wrestling tournament. Many of the wrestler boys and their coaches/chaperons where also staying at the Heritage Inn, so the free breakfast bar was quite a donnybrook, with the big beefy boys stacking their plates high with pancakes and sausage patties.
The doors to the showroom opened at 8 a.m. for dealers, 9 a.m. for regular entrants, and it was a slow going show for me as far as selling anything. But, like most shows of this type, I make my money on my "buys," and it wasn't long before I had about six nice watches to sell, plus a watch for my personal collection. My presentation at 2:30 p.m. was well received, and I had about 18 people attend.
For dinner that evening, the show chairman, Joe Cohen (from Miami), took nine people from the show (show volunteers, guest speakers, a couple of VIPs from the association) out to dinner at an Outback Steakhouse up the road in St. Cloud. Joe is a bombastic, larger-than-life character, who likes everyone to know he's the smartest and richest guy in the room. He irritates many people with his blunt demeanor and use of foul language, but he is the only one who steps up to the plate every year to be chairman of this show. Failing health may prevent him from chairing future shows, but for now he's the man in charge when it comes to this show. And if there is any doubt, just ask him who's in charge. He held court at our table, forking large hunks of steak and lobster into his pie hole between bouts of pontificating, punctuated at one point by slamming his fist onto to the table. Anyway, the dinner was free (paid for by proceeds from the watch show) and my Porterhouse steak, prepared medium-rare, with a baked potato and house salad, was delicious. Joe even bought a round of drinks for everyone, so I enjoyed a Jack Daniels on the rocks. In addition, many of the other people at our table of 10 were very interesting and I enjoyed the brief moments of conversation I had with them between Joe's oratories.
Sunday March 15. After a good night's sleep, I had a little sampling of the motel's breakfast offering that morning, which was sausage gravy over biscuits. The wrestlers were gone (or sleeping in late) so I did not have to compete with them. Not being a huge fan of biscuits 'n' gravy, I stopped a Burger King on the way the conference center for a breakfast sandwich with some egg on it. The show was even slower the second day, but I hung around until noon talking with different people and got a couple of leads on possible stories for the NAWCC magazine. Then, a 3.5 hour drive back to Ft. Myers. Had to get a few groceries because I was out of everything, get unpacked, do laundry, etc., so I was pretty beat by about 9:30 and about 15 min. later headed to bed.
My overall impression of Orlando/Kissimmee was not favorable. Not having been there the last couple of years, I had forgotten about the special blend of madness and mayhem that goes on there. I mean, it's busy practically everywhere in Florida this time of year, but it takes on a special flavor of its own in these parts. Minivans loaded with mom/dad and the kids darting in and out of traffic because dad has no idea where he's going. No one seems to be from here; rather they just ended up here. It is a city without a soul, similar to Las Vegas in that way I guess. I am so glad I had the good sense to choose someplace else as my winter headquarters after my brief obsession with all things Disney!
Hope everyone is well.
Bruce
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