9 October 2014 - Orlando Temple

I made the choice today to forgo another shot at Disney World and, instead, visit the Orlando Temple. We have been to the temple several times, but always when it was closed or with kids and have never gone inside.  As I considered my options for today, I was looking at good, better or best and I felt the temple was best.  Mom agreed and to boot, I think she was achy and tired from traipsing around with me at Universal Orlando. So we did not rush, but took our time to get some clothes washed, have breakfast and then drive to the temple.  It is a beautiful edifice and sits on a rise so that when you approach from the south, it is almost standing in the air, above the surrounding trees and homes.  It is quite lovely.

We found the session to be peaceful and sweet and the time in the Celestial Room after the session calm and inviting.  It was such a contrast to yesterday.  At Universal, there was loud music everywhere and crowds jostling each other and rushing to get places in order to stand in lines.  The whole focus seemed to be selfish related or stressful. Parents where yelling at kids, shrieking laughter and confusion.  Since I work in an ED, I did not have any trouble with it, but it was a challenge for Mom.  Today was the exact opposite.  We felt renewed.




When we left the temple, we prevailed on the security guard to take a picture of us to verify that we indeed were there and in our correct attire.

You can see how nice the place is. If you do find yourselves visiting Orlando and wish to take a break from the commercialism and find some peace, this is the place to do it.  It was only a few minutes from

our hotel and we are staying near Sea World, about half way between Universal Orlando and Disney World. It is very easy to get to the temple.  By making this choice, I did not get to use the last day on our 2 park hopper passes, but if the chance presents itself again, I can still use them.

 After our session, we crossed the street to the east to get a couple of shots more of the temple from the ward grounds nearby.  There were some wires in the way, but we got a couple of shots. It was interesting to note that there were a number of similar cars in the parking lot, Toyota Corollas, Ford Fusions and Chevy Cruzes.  It seems almost all of them had bike racks on the back.

 I did not take long to realize that the mission was holding a meeting in this building and all the missionaries were in attendance.  It was kind of fun to see and we were impressed to consider how large a fleet of cars the Church must keep in order to further the work.  Also, they were of different makes, probably to not appear to be favoring one company over another.


We decided to  just relax after the temple and did some reading by the pool, went to dinner at Panera Bread and tomorrow we will head south, planning to stop in Fort Lauderdale.