A bougainvillea bower was dropping magenta flowers into the aqua pool and a short waterfall burst from rocks overhead. OK, the rocks were fake, but we are terribly near Disney World, after all, in Orlando, FL. Nevertheless, the water and colors together made me happy.
The American Pie Championship is being held here and the big pool at the convention center hotel invited me in. It felt good to get moving, swimming in that blue pool after sampling…how many pies today? Granted, I probably consumed less pie today than most of the 3 year olds there, but I tasted at least 12 pies.
Part of the championships is the pie festival, held nearby in a park. I’m not much for crowds anymore, but this was worth it. About 30,000 people descended on this park today and ate to their hearts’ delight (well, maybe to their mouths’ delight) as commercial pie companies shared their goods. For a price of only $10 for adults and $5 for kids, people could walk up and sample every pie there.
The street was lined with pie pushers! There were probably 10 different pie companies, all sharing individual servings of several different kinds of pie up to every comer. Chocolate, cherry, pecan, apple, blueberry with no sugar added, lemon meringue, “Dixie” pie, Key Lime pie, peach pie, rhubarb, pumpkin, strawberry, you-name-it pie.
My favorite part was watching the baby strollers go by – full of babies and pie samples stacked up high enroute to a seat in the shade. People enjoying pie and each other, making new friends over pie. Even more beautiful than magenta bougainvillea in an aqua pool.
