I went to Truckpocalypse on March 23rd at Lake Eola Park (195 N Rosalind Avenue, Orlando, Fl.) From the write up in the Orlando Weekly, I expected to see chrome hub capped monster trucks and a crowd of moaning zombies. My wife walks around Lake Eola every afternoon for exercise. When I got to the park I saw her walking up ahead of me. She walks fast and I wasn’t sure I could catch her. I fired off a text that said, “Look back!” She reached into her pocket to check her phone. She paused then turned to see me walking up behind her. She laughed. Chance encounters are rare and you have to appreciate them when they happen. She had already done a lap around the lake and when I asked about Truckpocalypse she said she noticed some trucks at the south east corner of the park. She changed course and we walked that way together. She hadn’t noticed any zombies other than the regulars in the park.
She stopped to see some baby swans. The little fur balls had just hatched and mom was watching over them with care. Truckpocalypse wasn’t what I expected. The Trucks and Tech event was a mashup of two cultures , foodies and techies. It was the only Orlando event that combines discussion from leaders in the Central Florida tech community with top local food trucks to fill attendees’ minds and stomachs with the best of the best. Survivors and zombies went head to head in an epic costume contest. I only saw one couple who made a lame attempt to look like survivors. The only zombies I saw were on the Swede Dish food truck.
Terry and I decided to order from the Swede Dish food truck. I had to order the “Thor” which is a hot dog smothered with mashed potatoes and crunchy onions in a wrap. It was a unique and unexpected taste combination. Picnic tables were set up, and Terry and I sat down to have dinner together. It was a romantic meal among the undead. Terry returned to work when we were done, and I decided to sketch the Swede Dish food truck. A zombie had a meat hook jabbed through his eye and his loose black fabric fluttered in the breeze. I sketched the food truck proprietress handing a sandwich to a costumer. It looks like she is handing him a legless zombie. I consider that a happy accident.
