Gaylord Taco in a Bag

Yes, I know that the title of this blog post looks like a weird combination of words. But it actually describes one of the highlights of this weekend's "Relay for Life," held at Lakeside Park in Celebration.

The Relay for Life is a fund-raiser to fight breast cancer. Various teams have walkers who participate in an overnight relay event. Here in Celebration, the teams set up tents at Lakeside offering food, games, raffles, silent auctions, movies, and various other ways to raise money. Team members also set up tents to camp out for the all-nighter.

I didn't even realize that any festivities were going on until a friend called me. I had thought it was simply a walking event. Once I found out there was more to it, I hopped into Crush and headed downtown.

Ah, the delights of owning a NEV! Even though parking was rather atrocious, I found a spot that was too small for a car but perfect for my little Neighborhood Electric Vehicle. It was still a bit far from Lakeside, but I figured that if there were food booths, I could use the extra hike to justify an extra calorie or two (or 200).

So what does all this have to do with Gaylord Taco in a Bag? Well, one of the booths was sponsored by the Gaylord Palms resort hotel (that name alone conjures up all sorts of vivid mental images). They offered Mexican style food, including something with the intriguing name "taco in a bag." That name is even more interesting than the name of the hotel itself!

Since I hadn't had dinner yet, I decided to go on a culinary adventure. I had seen others with taco in a bag, so I knew it was a creation prepared in a bag of Fritos. Apparently they open the bag, toss in typical taco fixin's such as salsa, sour cream, lettuce, etc., and shake the whole mess up. Tada! A portable taco facsimile.

I forked over $2 and received my official Gaylord Taco in a Bag. My friend, who was immortalizing Relay for Life via digital camera, snapped a photo as I stuffed the Frito-laced mix into my mouth. The photo is below, and please note that the word alongside my head does not describe my personal orientation (it does, however, appeal to my warped sense of humor):

We then decided to do a Flat Stanley-style photo-documentary of my experiences with Taco in a Bag. It was disappearing quite rapidly, but we did manage to get an artsy-fartsy shot of me and my Frito bag posed in front of the lake at sunset that will be featured at next year's Art Festival:

Alas, my portable taco sack didn't last much longer. I had managed to fish out the condiments, and all that was left was a clot of soggy Fritos at the bottom, so I put it out of its misery in the nearest trash can.

I had a cupcake for dessert and tried my luck at some of the games. My favorite was the Easter egg game, where you chose two eggs for $8 and received the prizes named inside. Every egg was a winner, containing a gift certificate for at least $5, so at the very least you'd come out $2 ahead. But the amounts ranged all the way up to $25, so you had a chance to triple your initial investment. While I didn't manage that, my investment in four eggs ($16) yielded two $10 IHOP gift certificates, one $10 Village Merchantile certificate, and a $5 Starbucks card, for a total of $35. In Celebration, the value of plastic eggs shoots up almost as quickly as the house prices!

By that time, night was falling, and colorful party lights twinkled on the tents, adding to the festive air. Unfortunately, the bugs were out in force to enjoy the human blood buffet, so I decided that it was time to return to Duloc Manor. I'm glad I discovered that Relay for Life is more than just a walk around the lake, and you can be sure that I'll be back next year.

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Learn more about Celebration on my website: www.celebrationinfo.com