The original plan was to drive to Blountstown [1] to surprise Joe for his birthday, but due to existent plans his family had, we couldn't do that. Joe then expressed interest in meeting at MegaCon [2] the following week, but we all told him that no one from South Florida would be able to make (in truth, with the help of his wife, planning on meeting him for a surprise birthday party in Orlando [3]).
So at the ungodly hour of 11:00 am, Bunny, Gregory, Kurt, Keith and I started our drive northward. We needed to start out early to ensure we would arrive at the hotel first and set up the decorations and get the cake.
[Joe and Kurt crammed into the back of a sport utility vehicle] [4]
Joe (left) still giddy at our little surprise, even stuffed into the back of a sport utility vehicle with Kurt.
Joe was totally surprised by us, and was rather giddy the entire evening. Just being there was the best gift we could have given him.
[1] http://www.blountstown.org/
[2] http://www.megaconvention.com/
[3] http://www.cityoforlando.net/
![[4] /boston/2010/03/12/joe.jpg](/gemini.conman.org/boston/2010/03/12/joe.jpg){kind=link}