Not happy with our Virgin Upper Class flight

We checked in for our Virgin Flight after dropping off the car and this airport is really organised and far better the Miami, Fort Lauderdale or Tampa in our view.
The delta lounge was not that great and clearly that is recognized as there signs everywhere to say it will be upgraded soon.

The Virgin Aircraft was an Airbus 330 but the layout of the upper class was very different to the Airbus A340 and B 747 where your feet head in the direction of the aisle. On this aircraft they run parallel to the aisle and so you are in danger of getting knocked by food trolleys and people going by, will avoid this aircraft and layout in future.

And to make it worse. NO BAR. Virgin that was not good and worst I have been on.
However we arrived on time and got home around lunchtime in the rain, not great but its due to improve over the next few days and we have our daughter and husband and two young kids arriving on Thursday , that's going to be tough....

Well I am writing this blog a bit in advance

Our day has been planned and so we know what will happen and so here goes.
This morning its repacking time, internal travelling by car and flying type packing is different and so it means a complete strip down of the suitcases and then reload to include anything new we have purchased which is not much. Jennifer has purchased some shorts and tops and two casual jackets whilst Noel some new razor blades!
We have arranged for a late check out at 12.00 which is not bad and so we will kill another hour in the lobby until its time to make the drive for initially a late lunch somewhere near the airport and then fill up the car fuel tank and return the car around 17.00 to Alamo at the airport before checking in for our Virgin flight back to blighty. The car rental return is right opposite the terminal and so will be easy to get from there to the check in which opens at around the same time as we return the car. With our upper class seats we can go to the lounge which in this airport is the Delta Sky Lounge as Virgin do not have their own lounge here.
We are travelling on a Airbus 330 tonight with the flight leaving at 21.00 and with arrival in London a 10.20 on Monday morning so hopefully by the time we are through Immigration and customs the taxi and us will miss the morning traffic on the dreaded M25 on the way back home.
We have a busy week ahead with Jennifer out to lunch with friends on Tuesday and Noel having lunch with family in Farnham and with Joanne and the children arriving Thursday for ten days, phew, just tired thinking about it.
Well that's it for this Florida Blog and its been a really relaxing trip and we have enjoyed the warm weather but now its time to go home and try to sell the house and move on to departures new.
Bi

A quiet day in Clermont-Orlando

With the ‘Do not disturb sign’ firmly planted on the door knob outside the room we settled in for a quiet day of rest. The previous day had been quite tiring and so today we would take it easy and catch up on three days blogging and Jennifer some reading. We had breakfast in the room as we had all that was required and then rested until mid afternoon until it was time to go out for a late lunch. We left the Hotel and it was roasting hot with the internal car temperature rather on the high side of 30C and popped back down to the restaurant we had been to the previous evening. The food was good and a late choice for Noel with his restrictions and reasonably priced and so it seemed like a good thing to do.
We returned to the Hotel around 16.00 and went down to sit by the swimming pool and Jennifer read and Noel listen to music to cover up the sound of mostly teenage girls running and jumping and throwing a ball around and so it was not entirely relaxing like the pool in the house. We had planned on swimming but both felt still quite full at 7pm and so decided against it for safety sake and returned to the room.
In the evening we watched a Netflix film made in 2006 about the East German Stasi, frightening really when neighbour spies on neighbour but a good film indeed and make you think. We had planned to watch also the latest ‘The Grand Tour’ but it was running a bit late and Noel still need to check in online and print the boarding passes which he did in the lobby of the Hotel. We still don't trust the mobile boarding passes and you can damn well bet that when we get there the battery on the phone will have packed up or something. You still cannot beat a piece of paper.
And so to bed and the beds are very comfortable indeed.

A long drive today to Orlando

Well it had rained pretty much all night and had stopped by around 08.00 and so we loaded the car and then sat and had breakfast whilst have a brief chat before we left and then the rain started again just as we were saying goodbye outside and we had to make a dash for the car as it was torrential.

We had both looked at Google maps before we left and assumed that the Garmin would take us the same way but it did not which was actually good as one of the major highways suggested by Google ad loads of roadworks whereas we were on quiet country roads once we had left the Seaside conurbation. It was raining so heavily we had to keep the pace down and of course the spray kicked up by cars and trucks also makes it difficult to sea really clearly. We reached a point where we need to join the main motorway but the car Sat Nav was showing and accident and log tail backs and so we decided to not to go on this road and carry straight on only at the cross roads was a Burger king Restaurant and so we said how about a cup of tea and a comfort break. Whilst in the garage cum shop cum burger king a big policeman arrived with a gun on one side and a stun gun on the other and so as he appeared to be in a good mood I approached him starting with SIR I have seen on out car Sat Nav there are severe delays on the I-10 and he said No and then after we finished we turned round and joined the motorway and there was no problem.
By this time the rain had pretty much stopped and eventually we joined the I-75 going South and there were a few accidents , one Northbound involving trucks causing a ten mile queue and one that had just happened as we got to the scene just as the ambulance and police were arriving, good timing as they would have to shut  the road to move the damaged vehicles which could have caused us a long delay.
We finally arrived at the Hotel just outside Orlando in a place called Clermont and staying in a relativity new chain of Hilton Hotels called Home2 Suites and we both agreed they are very nice and this one has a nice pool. The room is equipped with a mini kitchen with all the cutlery and tableware and so we decided we would have our breakfast in the room as we had sufficient supplies with us.

For dinner we visited ‘Beef Brady's’ which is a sport bar with forty Televisions spread around the room showing baseball, tennis and many other games. This is the second time we have visit this chain and we both had the Surf and Turf, a six ounce sirloin steak with 8 grilled shrimp , fries and broccoli and a large salad bowl. Jennifer had two glasses of wine and Noel two beers and the cost was less than the my meal out in Seaside.
Back to the Hotel for a welcoming shower and then an evening watching called the ‘Highwaymen’ with Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson, good film and the it was time for bed.
We plan a quiet day tomorrow.

A quiet day in Seaside

Brian and Sheila left Seaside around 08.45 to visit the famous Pensacola museum whilst we decided to have a quiet day as we had a long drive on Friday. So most of the time Noel caught up with the usual bits of paperwork and communications with friends overseas and the day slipped by quite quickly really.
The weather today was not so kind in the afternoon and we did consider a swim but the temperature had dropped quite a bit in preparation for the rainstorm that was due to hit  mid to late afternoon and surely it did with a vengeance. We had planned to go for dinner at a restaurant on the beach where we could watch to sun go down but the rain was so heavy you got absolutely drenched in less than a minute but we were joined for dinner by a couple of friends that John and Denise had met since moving to Seaside. The restaurant was quite busy but the service was poor indeed and the prices extremely expensive, eg I had a bit of fish and cauliflower and one glass of half price before 18.00 wine for about £ 40.00 , quite ridiculous and  they added the 20% Service Charge, to save you time. As the service had been so bad we all went back to the house to eat up some of the Costco apple pie we had bought whilst the friends visited an ice cream parlous an picked up some to go with the desert.
Due to the restaurant being unable to handle my food allergies ,by the time I got home I was extremely hungry still and so demolished a large smoked salmon sandwich followed by yogurt and strawberries. Oh well we have a long day tomorrow and had an early night.

Park life

The weather was nice this morning and so after breakfast we sat around for a while while Brian and Sheila , John and Denise took the dogs for a walk and then we all sat around to have a chinwag about current events, places we have been, and a number of other topics.
When we first arrived at the house on Monday we had prepared a large canvas printed photo of John and Denise trip to France in 2013 and them standing in front of the famous bridge at Cahors in the Lot Valley. When you are buying a house warming present for a house that you have not visited and so we chose this lovely photo of them and by today it was hung in Johns office where it look really good.

In the afternoon we paid a visit to Deer Lake State Park hoping to see the azalea's but unfortunately we were to late in the season and also the main historic house was also closed as it was a Wednesday. However we did get the opportunity to walk down to the inlet where we watched the birds, Cormorants and Osprey in abundance, and also a small group of Dolphins having fun jumping about which is always nice to see.

Following that we headed of to Rosemary Beach where we sat and had a small snack and couple of glasses of wine and then walked through the town which looks to be partly modelled on German design and it was a nice little town and also there was a Hotel on the front which looked quite interesting. From there we drove home and had a pre dinner drink followed by another BBQ and there was far to much steak this time and we could see our friend Brian enjoying every bit of it.

To end the evening we watched the film about Queen and mostly Freddie Mercury which was really very good and it meant though’ we had rather a late night for us. Brian disappeared off to bed early as he had seen the film and they were leaving early the next day to go West to Pensacola and visit the naval museum, why he wanted to look at navels beats me.!!

A quiet morning and then a trip to a place called Seaside.

The hosts and the New Zeeland guest’s took the two dogs for a walk along the beach this morning around 07.30 which is a little early for Jennifer and I and so we finally arrived downstairs for breakfast at around 0915, which is our normal time.

With six people chattering away it was quite fun and then we all had things to do and split up for a while but at around midday when the dogs were being taken for their haircut we headed off to a place called Seaside which is where out hosts, for many years, used to rent a house for the summer break. The town was pretty crowded with Spring breakers’ as they are called, as the state of Georgia has a annual break time and all the kids then head down for the sun in Florida. Here you can lie on the miles of beach or walk around the shops and its quite a fun place. There are bicycle’s everywhere and the kids are pedalling all over the road and so you have to be quite careful when driving our reversing as they are everywhere. Anyway we walked around the town for a while and there some quaint areas which Noel took photos of and then we went down to a bar which overlooked the sandy bay and did some people watching,and had a drink and a snack, Jennifer and I had the Gulf bay prawns, really excellent.

Many of the young girls where wearing barely there bikini bottoms, not like Brighton at all. But clearly a place which is liked by kids and parents alike. Then back to house for a drink and then in the evening Jennifer and Sheila put together some stir fry which we all enjoyed with a glass of wine which is in abundance at this moment. In the evening we watched a film called ‘Vice’ which is all about the life and of George Bush’s Vice president called Dick Cheney and the nasty things he did whilst taking major advantage of the war to the benefit of his own company called Halliburton, a nasty bit of work indeed. We all agreed that most, if not all, politicians only sign up to take personal advantage and non of them for all their rhetoric help really the people that put them there. No wonder European Governments are struggling with local problems whilst at least in USA the arrival of Trump has stirred the mud quite a bit and he is really trying to change thing which is tough as the Democrats object to everything he does irrespectively.

Well that was a nice day with great friends.

Wow a free lunch

We left the Hotel around 09.00 and it was a bit grey and cold, less then 12 C which was bit cold for us but our destination promised around 19C so we put the car heating on and continued heading North to Tallahassee where we would visit and work on rather a long shopping list. We arrived at the store around 10.20 and it was not to busy, perhaps because it was a Monday and started putting our shopping list to the test. The list required two trolley as we were were know buying for our friends in Santa Rosa Beach, our New Zealand friends and also ourselves and so we tried to keep the shopping separate but at the check out with two people on the till it soon became I little disorganised, Oh well nothing to do but sort it out when we get there.

We then started to look for somewhere for lunch and found a Publix store but also next door was a ‘Subs’ place and so I waited in the car with all the valuable shopping and all our stuff as Jennifer went to check out what they sold and also the find out if anything was loaded with Garlic, anyway she had a brief discussion with the guys behind the very busy shop and they ensured her no garlic here, and here and here and so Jen came back an I agreed to have  Ham and Lettuce with mayonnaise on white bread roll. Jennifer then returned to the shop and explained again what we wanted and why so then Jennifer pointed the reason for the strict control (viz my bowel and Liver Cancer) and when the order was complete the guy said ‘Its on the house’ which shocked here but was well received.

We then left and headed out in to the country in the direction of Santa Rosa beach but en route we passed through mile after mile of hurricane devastated properties with loads of old roofing and building material and TV's and kitchen appliances piled by the side of the road awaiting collection. There were also many houses still with blue tarpaulins cover missing roof panels and also many tress were lying over with the roots pulled out of the ground, such was the force of the Hurricane.
We finally arrived at around 15.00 hours as we had passed the state time line and lost one hour and our friends from New Zealand had arrived about thirty minutes earlier and so the rest of the afternoon was spent catching up and chatting about all the usual things, Politics and travel etc. John cooked up some of the steaks we had brought from Costco and so we had a great evening but we were both very tired when we went to bed. Their house is rather beautiful and quite a change form the house they had in in Georgetown near Austin in Texas.

Why did the Alligator Cross the road- to get to the Christmas tree

Strange title I know but more about that later. An early start and we finished the last bots of cleaning and Noel did the bathrooms and then finished loading the car with our overnight bags and all the last bits of food that we were going to take with us. Jennifer made the sandwiches for our journey and by 10.00 we were ready to go when the chap who monitors the cleaners and check on property turns up and so delays us for a few minutes.
We left the house shortly after 10.20 and headed down to the petrol station to fill with with fuel for our journey and then headed off to the I 75 towards Tampa. The motorway was quite busy really considering it was a Sunday although perhaps less trucks than usual. We continued North and then left the motorway to travel on more country roads. Its strange when the Sat Nav says turn right in 98 miles and then 98 miles later is says turn left for 58 miles, that's how you the distances you travel.

Anyway you get in to a routine with these roads as there is 98 miles of pretty straight road and so you put the car in auto cruise and just keep going with few cars around and the suddenly out of the blue a small alligator appears from the side of the grass and starts walking across the road about 40 yards ahead and were were travelling at around 65 mph and so a quick manoeuvre around it as no chance to stop and a couple cars behind me had the same difficulty but by this time I had put my warning flashers on for the cars behind. So on we continued through the odd interesting old towns with the occasional nice views but we have no time to stop and take photos unfortunately.Then further down another road which was about 60 miles long and miles from anywhere was a four foot Christmas tree covered with decorations and heavens knows what it was doing there, but again travelling to fast to take a photo.
We finally arrived at the town called Perry which approx. 35 miles South of Tallahassee and we checked in to the Hampton Inn and we were so lucky as just as we were unloading the car the rain started and then came down in torrents as soon as we arrived in the Hotel reception, gosh that was close. After a nice cup of tea we looked in to restaurants and several were closed as it was a Sunday but there was an Italian Restaurant down the road, actually it was a lot nearer than we thought and we could have walked there but by  we we had already gone by car.
The waitress at the restaurant appeared at out table and I explained some of my food challenges and said it really was important that the instructions are followed, and she I am the owner and boss so the kitchen staff will be told what to do, and it worked out well for us. Then back to the Hotel and we some some Tv before going to bed.

Last complete day here

Well this is last complete day in this house and we have had a great time with really good weather and lots of swimming in nice warm pool.

Its been good take the time to to relax before going home and continuing with the house sale and all that entails. However today we finalised most of the cleaning and packing the car and so we can have a good start tomorrow without delay.In the afternoon we BBQ’d some loin pork steaks , some for a late lunch and one to make in to sandwiches to be used on our travels tomorrow.

We watched some tV and and went to bed early as we would be having an early start tomorrow.

Nearly there

Another nice morning with the sun shining down although overnight it was little cool, but not cold in any way.
Today is our packing day and so after the usual breakfast and washing up etc, Jennifer did some washing and Noel after cleaning one of the bathrooms started packing his case and of course after using loads of pills etc there is now more room in the case so should be no problem for when go home. With our plan to meet friends we are all now ending up in Santa Rosa beach for three nights for Brian and Sheila and four nights for us and so it should be a good time for chats.
We decided that when heading to Tallahassee it would be a good idea to do some last minute shopping at the Costco Branch there and I mentioned it to both other couples and so now we have a shopping list which is quite large and will probably take us a couple of hours to complete, but we don't mind. So by mid afternoon both cases were packed evening the overnight ones were nearly there and so all we have to do is add the jammies and washing gear and away we go and hopefully it should be a quiet day with a mid afternoon BBQ of Pork Loin Chops and then leave the Barbie to cool down and then give it its final clean. I am not sure if this is usual in the USA but it seems that people really don't clean Barbie’s except by scraping a rather crumby looking brush up and down the grill which can only add germs and not take them away. So when we first got here Noel spent about half an hour cleaning up all the bits that he could but some of it in the depths was to bad to even attempt but as those bits don't come in to contact with  food we had to leave it. Our UK BBQ outfits are always spotlessly clean and always following a party or whatsoever  the first thing we do is clean up..

Dinner tonight was a chicken stir fry with rice and then we finished the UK Detective series which attempted to prove a lot but actually seems to have achieved nothing. Whilst flicking through the Netflix lists we came across a film about the ‘Rolling Stones’ South America visit in 2016 and so we watched that for a while and it is very good and the director a Mr Paul Dugdale has made a number of films about pop groups including Coldplay and many others and is a very talented English guy who has won quite a few awards.
Oh well last full day tomorrow with final clearing up and possible start packing the car.

A complete day of doing almost nothing but laze around

When planning our last few days and knowing we would have to pack up our clothes and also clean the house and take all our bits and pieces away we decided that we would do this on Friday, tomorrow rather than having a busy day on Saturday and then a long day driving North. So as part of that plan Thursday would be a day in the sun buy the pool and we fully succeed in achieving this.
So what with the usual breakfast most of the day was spent relaxing by the pool and with the occasional burst of sitting in the sun to to[p up the tans before returning to the safety of the shade. During the day sent off a couple of Birthday wishes and also completed the letter of condolence to a ex colleague. Yes unfortunately another one bites the dust.
in planning our visit to Santa Rosa we asked our hosts if they wanted something from Costco Tallahassee and of course being Coscochololics ! a bit like us the list has grown a bit but no worries we have a large enough car, we hope.
For dinner we are finishing off the fish and prawns and together with a beer was nice. Watched an old BBC programme on an ex detective who runs his own investigation company where he is looking for a young girl who went missing in the early 70’ without any trace of her car or her body, quite interesting but they always keep repeating bits just to make the programme longer it seems. 

I wont mention the UK Parliament otherwise the blood pressure will blow the top of my head off I fear.

Oh well off to bed

Shopping and another quiet day

Needed some fuel for the car before we leave this weekend and so went to the garage nearest to us only to find they had run out. There is another garage with different brand but not sure the credit card trick will work and so will need to try again this Sunday when we leave here. We visited our local Publix Supermarket probably for the last time this year to purchase some basics which we will need over the last few days of our stay.
Not sure if I have mentioned this before but Publix, probably others, employ elderly and disabled people to assist packing of your food bags and helping you carry same to your car if you need help. This is a great idea as it give employment to the over 60’s and 70’s and sometimes 80’s also those in a electric wheelchair, one guy in his wheelchair was collection used supermarket carts in the car park to return them to the storage area. There is an added benefit is that they help speed up the bag packing process thereby reducing waiting time of those people in the queue. We also noticed that certain supplier, like Coca Cola and certain other suppliers come and top up the shelves of their products with their own staff which means the supermarket does not need to store any product as the main supplier come each day with own staff and do the job for them. Not sure of any UK supermarket chain using this method?
So we have enough stuff to last us until Sunday having worked out a daily menu and hopefully that's it.
The rest of the day was spent relaxing by the pool and enjoying the sun and in the evening spagbol for dinner followed by the remaining episodes of the series called ‘Delhi Crime’ and then early to bed.
On the political front I would say that Trump seems to have come out of this enquiry quite well although many democrats still cannot accept the Muller report, more fool them. And as for the UK PM and all the member’s of Parliament from all parties they should be fired for incompetence. I still cannot get over seeing the photos of Mrs May arriving in Brussels for important Country negotiations with a smile on her face and kisses and cuddles for EU Presidents etc, Mrs Thatcher would turn in her grave as she knew how to fight