Florida Blog – June 2015
When is ‘quiet’ not quiet? When you are at the ‘Quiet pool’ in Florida. Fortunately we have a man in a light green shirt holding a walkie-talkie who is on hand to remove noisy pool users. They have the walk of shame back to the main pool. There was once a time when our own kids used to create a certain amount of noise around the pool. But we are old now and have no patience for other people’s kids’ noise.
The next day we have a different kind of family visiting the pool – a family of ducks. They act like they own the place, swimming across rather than walking around.
We are in Florida, back in the resort we first came to in 2003 and more recently in 2010. It’s the whole family with the notable exception of Jason and his fiancé Alex who are busy making final preparations for their wedding in August. But we do have Tom with us so it is 6 altogether. Our trip was a long one including a slight delay at Gatwick and lightning disruption at Orlando International Airport which meant we had to wait an age for our cases to come through. So it was safe to land a plane but not for a guy to unload the bags from the hold?
But I am not complaining – even though I am past 50 and naturally fit into the role of grumpy old man. it is great to be here and great to be with the kids that we see so much less of these days. They can be as noisy as they like.
How is it that this girl in the picture below is now driving around Florida by herself?
I am already feeling I am on my way out after Anthony nearly beat me at our first round of mini-golf and after he had to help with loading my Kindle. And I am already one down to Mrs K in scrabble despite scoring one of my best scores. She is stiff competition.
We are here to relax and will leave most of the park stuff to the kids which made me think there is little reason to write a blog. Probably not, though I suspect there might be a couple of incidents to report as usual.
Last night we went out for a special meal to belatedly celebrate Anthony’s 21st birthday. It got slightly lost in the special 50th celebrations for Mrs K but mostly because he was ‘busy’ in Birmingham squeezing every last bit out of university life. After this holiday he will have to start thinking about making his way in the real world We went to Charley’s Steakhouse having had a memorable meal there many years ago. Our waiter is Frian and he gives us the steak ‘preeezentation’ with great pride and with the aid of a torch to highlight each hunk of meat he is referring to. Most of the cuts are in excess of 20oz which is a horrific amount of meat to consume. Mrs K and I go for the 8oz filet but the kids dive in for Porterhouse and Kansas City strip….and still have room for dessert. Legendary performance. We are still on UK time to some extent so it is home and in bed by 10.30pm to sleep it off.
The weather has been strangely mixed. Obviously it has been hot and humid mostly but we have also had relatively mild evenings. There have been quite a few thunderstorms which light up the entire sky like nothing we get in the UK. Maybe I was being a bit harsh on those baggage handlers.
Apart from that everything has gone to form. We have probably eaten too much, spent too much at the outlet stores and Sian has got sunburn. Off out for a meal now (Wed eve - I think) but it looks like our 2nd round of mini golf will be shelved due to the storm which is raging outside. Just like being at home.
Part 2
It’s another day in Florida and another forecast of thunder and lightning. But we soldier on.
The kids have booked a day at Disney and are all togged up with ponchos and mickey mouse ears (even Tom) whilst Mrs K and I have taken the opportunity to take a drive and see a bit of Florida away from the sanitised and insanity of International Drive. We take to the freeway en route to Mount Dora which is nothing special, just a small town on a lake about an hour away. On arrival we get pretty much what we expected which is a very quiet little town with a small Main St. of boutique shops and not much else apart from a lot of “slow down” signs. One driver didn’t pay attention and is pulled over on the grass verge by the Sheriff. As we drive past a 2nd car screeches up as back up. It’s a busy day for the local police department. We find a nice coffee shop on Main St. where we can sit on the first floor balcony and watch people go by. But there aren’t any. People out here don’t walk, they drive.
We survey what there is to do in Mount Dora and they boast the “most beautiful one mile of canal in the world”. So we are compelled to go see and book the 1pm tour with Cray Cat Cruises which means we get to drive our own 2 seater ‘thing’. I say ‘thing’ because it was a small craft I hadn’t seen before. Basically two seats stuck on two boards and a small outboard motor at the back. Looks like fun.
We arrive down at dockside and meet Dave who will be our tour guide. We are kitted out with life jackets and a walkie talkie and Mrs K is getting a bit nervous now. In front of us is the wide expanse of a huge lake and no small canal in sight. There are 5 other Americans in the group. Apparently they had tried to go out the other day but it was raining heavily and had to turn back. Today is beautiful and the lake is like glass. We are a bit overburdened compared with everyone else. Mrs K has got her CK handbag and I have got my Nikon and various other electronic devices that I didn’t want to leave in the car. The first problem is getting Mrs K onto the craft which is bobbing all over the place but she manages it. The second is where to stow our baggage. Dave provides some assistance and then tells me that he has given us the ‘ferrari’ of the fleet. “It has an extra 5 horse and rides real smooth”. We get a lesson on how the controls work which lasts about 15 seconds and we are away. We already signed disclaimers onshore.
I take the Cat out a few hundred metres onto the lake and try to get used to the controls. It’s pretty easy but I am trying to avoid the wake of the other Cats in an attempt to stop Mrs K’s whimpering. Soon Dave is out to meet us in his own Cat (he has got a Ferrari style too) and tells me to follow him. Then without warning he is off across the lake and we are after him. I open up the throttle to the max in an effort to keep up with him and we are shooting across the still water at 30 knots. It’s an amazing ride. I think Dave is right about our engine because the others are struggling to keep up.
We cross the lake which apparently was 8 miles but I was having so much fun it didn’t seem like it. Mrs K has settled down a bit and has released her grip a little bit. The only problem is the water that is splashing around the deck near my rucksack and my sandals are soaked. But we slow right down as we enter the canal which is a natural habitat for all sort of wildlife including alligators, turtles and various birds. It is a beautiful sight. A world beater? I’m not sure. But we are soon out on the open lake again. Mrs K has got the hang of it a bit now and has relaxed her grip enough to take some movie shots – which I have put together in this small movie on Youtube. I now want one of these – with a bigger engine.
Mrs K’s only comment at the end of the 2 hour trip is “my hair!”
On the way back to Orlando we drive into thunderstorms. The rain is so heavy I am struggling to see through the windscreen even with the wipers on double speed. We have to slow to 30mph and we see a trail of car wrecks as we creep down the freeway. We hope the weather at Disney is better – for the kids’ sake. We are looking for a diner because it is 4pm and we haven’t eaten since breakfast. There are a lot of ramshackle looking places which we are not sure about so we have to drive some way until we find something which looks ‘safe’. Ruby Tuesdays – I heartily recommend it. As we are shown to our table we pass an old timer who is sitting by himself. He looks at me and points at Mrs K. “Is she English?” “Beautiful voice, I love it” he says. We are in the next booth and he spends the next few minutes telling us about himself. He comes to this restaurant by himself because his wife has mild dementia and is in a facility. He is known as Mr Trouble but they all seem to love him here and he gets a cuddle from the waitress before he leaves. Sweet old man.
Apologies to the vegetarians out there.
Part 3
On Saturday night we taken out for a night at American football by Holly and Tom. It is out of season so this is an indoor version on a pitch just 50 yards long and quite narrow. So narrow in fact that there is no room for the team’s benches or the coach. All the players are in a pen (bit like ice hockey) and the coach seems to have free rein to wander around the pitch. With 2 coaches and 5 referees and 8 players on each side there is not a lot of room on the pitch but we do see a touchdown where a players weaves his way past about 5 or 6 players. It reminds me more of a primary school playground game – but without the crunching tackle at the end. To be fair none of us are really into NFL that much but there is plenty going on to keep us entertained. Almost between plays there are random things going on such as a pizza eating contest, catapulting t-shirts into the crowd and random people trying to kick a ball through the window of a car (and missing by miles). It’s all about the advertising. But the thing that gets my attention is the hot tub demonstration going on below us just behind the goals. It’s not so much that they have a couple of models in skimpy bikinis in the tub but that there are a couple of hugely overweight old farts in there with them. Mrs K is appalled. So am I.
Play lasts an hour though with all the stoppages the first 3 quarters last well over 2 hours. The attendance is just over 10 thousand which isn’t bad for a spin off version of the main sport.
On Sunday, 4 of us tried our own form of sport with a visit to Escapology which is an attraction which is gaining popularity. Apparently there is one in London. Our chosen theme is the Cuban crisis. We are put into a small room and our mission is to find a way out of the room by finding the clues and solving the puzzles. It’s all about teamwork and we smash it in 42 minutes which is not far off the best ever time. If you haven’t tried it, give it a go.
We have been happily enjoying all things American here, like using a drive-in cashpoint machine, throwing coins into a toll booth coin bucket, driving 4 miles on the freeway to get somewhere no more than half a mile away. I am still trying to get my head round filling up the car with ‘gas’ for just over £20. Anthony proudly shows his ID (21 years plus 3 weeks) to order a cider but Tom (27 and going on 28) is also asked. When he produces Holly’s passport from his pocket and not his own he is refused a drink. He takes it as a compliment and my complaints to the waiter are shouted down by the girls. No drink if you look like you might be close to 21 but you can buy a shotgun in a supermarket!
The ‘kids’ enjoyed Hollywood Studios last week and we are all set to go see Mickey on Monday. It is an early start so we can get to the park ahead of the crowds. Our first stop is a photo session with Mickey Mouse. We are all freaked out a little bit when he talks to us in a squeaky voice – a bit creepy. Next is Space Mountain but Mrs K decides to sit that one out with the bags. We have to cope with a thunderstorm which lasts a couple of hours and means a few rides are closed but we are all well prepared with ponchos ($4.99 from Walgreens) and typical of Florida it clears up very quickly and gets very hot and sticky again. By the evening, you can imagine what state we are all in when we turn up for our special character dinner with Winnie the Pooh and his friends. Thank goodness for air-conditioning.
Mrs K and I have taken ourselves off on an overnight escape to St Augustine which is a 2 hour drive up the Atlantic coast towards Jacksonville. It is apparently the oldest town in the USA having been discovered by a chap called Ponce – poor guy. It’s a charming town full of small shops a narrow streets and is definitely a Starbucks-free zone. We are staying in old guest house looking over the marina with a hammock on the front lawn and a gazebo where we will enjoy our breakfast tomorrow morning. Complimentary drinks on the veranda between 5 and 7 so Mrs K is driving tonight.
Mrs K is looking at the local real estate and has picked her spot and the house – a place called Summer City. Really nice, though probably a bit breezy during hurricane season.
Tomorrow we plan to drive back down the coast and find a quiet spot on the beach, probably at a place called Flagler Beach. There is about 40 miles of beach to choose from.
Scrabble is not going well at all. I am 4-2 down and struggling in game 7. It will have to be the best of 11 then.