Driving up from Bonita Springs, FL to Orlando early on a Friday morning can be strenuous, especially during season. For those that don’t know, season is what we Floridians call the time of year that all the “snowbirds” come down to overtake our roads, restaurants and lives. It’s a very annoying period for most of us in the Sunshine State but for those in the tourism or service industries, it is a time for making serious bank. In fact, I remember the days when I used to work to service these often times nasty and irritable snowbirds. I pretty much hated life, as I worked in a few different top notch joints around Naples and Ft. Myers, and even though I busted my ass and made a boatload of cash, often times I had to work twice as hard because the tips were shit. Here I go venting about life a decade ago and getting off track.

Anyway, my trip up to Orlando was full of several near accidents, none of which were caused by me. The problem is that many of these glaucoma-afflicted snowbirds shouldn’t be driving. Additionally, they really shouldn’t be driving these ten ton M1-A1 Abrams tanks around like they own the goddamned road! It’s deadly on I-75 and I-4 with these people, especially when early morning rush hour hits! Funny huh? A libertarian trying to restrict these old birds’ freedoms. Whatever. Between having to dodge these kamikaze tank drivers with no regard for painted lane lines, I was also distracted by the countless billboards up and down the highway. It’s as if Disney, Universal Studios, Sea World and Anti-Abortion groups are in a competition to see who can plaster the Florida Interstate System with the most advertisements. When I was a kid traveling these roads with my dad, we had a better class of billboards. One in particular that comes to mind featured scantily clad women with bad 80′s hair with the words “We Bare All!” I know that these lovely signs still exist but they are seemingly far and few between. Let’s celebrate these hard-working beautiful single mothers and get away from sprinkling the roads with pictures of fetuses and Shamu.

So after three hours of dealing with all this madness, I arrived at the Embassy Suites near the Orlando International Airport; I’m not sure if that is the official name of the airport or not. The reason why I am at this hotel is to experience and cover the 2012 Libertarian Party of Florida Convention and Presidential Debate. Even more importantly than that, I came to meet and shake the hand of Gary Johnson. He doesn’t have the Party’s nomination yet but many feel that the thing is basically a done deal. Regardless of that, there is a debate to be held on the second day of this event, which will feature all of the candidates trying to get the Party’s nomination to run against Obama and whomever the fickle doublethinking Republicans choose between Romney, Paul, Gingrich and Santorum.

Now just because Johnson is known nationally and was even involved in some high-profile Republican debates last year, doesn’t mean he is just going to run away with this thing. There are several very qualified candidates in the hunt. First up is renowned author and documentary filmmaker Bill Still, who is best known for his films ‘The Money Masters’ and ‘The Secret of Oz’. Next is R.J. Harris, who has been building up a lot of steam online. He is an Afghan war veteran and a Kiowa Nation member. There is R. Lee Wrights who is a lifetime Libertarian Party member, as well as co-founder and editor of ‘Liberty For All’, an independent online magazine. There is also Roger Gary who is a former Texas Libertarian Party State Chairman. Last but not least is attorney Carl Person. I must admit that I really only know Still and Harris, apart from Johnson, but after recently reading up on the other three, I am psyched for the debate.

As I arrived at the hotel, not even an hour ago, as I type this, I met a delegate from New York in the elevator and he invited me to a meet and greet with Governor Johnson in his hospitality suite. Now I already had a meeting set up to meet Johnson later this evening with my friends from the Libertarian Party of Collier County but it looks like I will have the pleasure of double dipping and getting two chances to pick the man’s brain tonight.

As I am just over an hour away from the first encounter, I must wrap this up and start to get ready. Plus I’m looking down at the bar from my seventh floor window and it looks like there is a seat with my name on it right in front of an incredibly gorgeous bartender. Looks like it is going to be a whiskey night. Libertarian Party Convention, here I come.