I’m off to Jacksonville later today for the next stop of The Soccer Tour having spent an entire week in Orlando. But before I leave this wonderful city, a few “thank yous” are in order. So if that’s not for you, you best stop reading now (but thanks for stopping by.)

I was treated to an indescribable first-ever match at the new downtown Orlando City Stadium, made some great new friends around town, and was the recipient of help and support from some truly wonderful people.

First of all, massive thanks to my childhood friend Ashley Clark, who hosted me for the duration of my time in Orlando. Not sure how she managed to put up with me for that long, but I’m thankful I got to spend so much time with her. And thank you to Nick Perez — another friend of mine from South Florida — who has been a huge contributor to my project, especially TheSoccerTour.com, and for taking GoPro footage from inside The Wall.

I got to meet some really great people, like Tyler and Neil, who were in town for the match and will be hosting me in D.C. and Connecticut, respectively. I’m sure I’m (unintentionally) leaving off a few, but it was great to meet the likes of Johnathan, Eric, Jack, Alex, Rhianna, Tristan, Pieter and Arielle as well.

And during my trip down to Melbourne for the day, I saw four former players from my time with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. See you in San Antonio!

Shoutout to the amazing people at Orlando City S.C. and the PR/Communications team in particular on a job well done. Y’all are the best.

And finally, to the Orlando community: you have done an incredible job supporting what truly is a wonderful community-centric club. They deserve you, and you deserve them.