High Q

It came to pass in those days, the early days in St. Cloud, that the Buinickas family was coming to Orlando on vacation. They were staying at the High Q on International Drive. We knew how to get to I-Drive becauise we'd been to the convention center once. So we packed for a long expedition, and drove down US 192 to the turnpike. We exited the Pike at Orange Blossom Trail, and proceeded north to Sand Lake Road, which we knew connected with I-Drive. First we went south on I-Drive, followed it to the end, turned around and headed north. The other side of Sand Lake Road was unfamiliar territory, but we forged ahead. Before long we were parking at the High Q, a tall cylindrical building very near the north end of International Drive.

We had (mostly) a good time with our friends, visiting Epcot Center and Disney Village etc. Then it was time to make that long, arduous trip all the way back to St. Cloud. But we made it.

A few months later I quit the plant nursery. After a week or so of casting about, I landed my first job as a professional scenic carpenter. It was a company called Image International, about twenty minutes from home. It was a block away from International Drive, within view of the High Q. I drove my motorcycle there six or seven days a week for six and a half years, never forgetting the first epic journey seeking out the far away, elusive High Q.