A few more days in paradise (almost a song in there!)

Friday 17th

Not a lot to write about today, I managed to sit out by the pool and read for a short while this morning and apart from that I am not really sure what I achieved, oh well just another day in Paradise!

Saturday 18th

And again not a lot to say, not sure what we really did but the day seemed to pass and then it was over!

Sunday 19th

This morning Katie and Rachel took Baggage out for breakfast, the three of them went to iHop, it was unbelievably quiet, I actually managed to read a good amount of my book, I am reading Duma Key, the Stephen King book that Baggage gave me for Father’s day.

This afternoon the Lisa, Baggage and I had a swim, it was a really hot afternoon, not quite so muggy as it has been.

After dinner Lisa, Katie, Rachel and I tried to watch There’s Something about Mary, unfortunately the DVD was not playing and we got an hour into the film and then had to give up!

A day at a waterpark

Thursday 16th July

Today we went off to Typhoon Lagoon, a Disney Waterpark. All five of us went. We headed off pretty early as the rain at the tail end of an afternoon would likely cut our day short.

We managed to ride on most of the rides: the lazy river; water based roller coaster (Crusher Gusher); the various raft rides and the tube slides, though only Baggage and Rachel rode the really steep enclosed tubes. Lisa, Baggage and I all had snow cones, though nothing like as good as the shave ice we had in Hawaii! By just after 4pm it was starting to cloud over and as we had been there for over 6 hours we decided to call it a day. When it came to getting out of the park I had no shoes, the ones I had bought with me as they can we worn in the water had disintegrated by the second ride, guess the chlorine had finally got to them the last time I wore them.

For dinner I picked up fried chicken portions from Win Dixie, that was fine, really did not want to cook anything or sit in a restaurant as all that fresh air had made us all very tired. When I picked up the chicken it was almost time to renew my beer so I picked up a six pack of Sam Adams Blackberry Whitbier. It was already chilled so I decided to have a bottle tonight, extremely refreshing, yes I really like that one!

A bit more going on!

Monday 13th July

We really do need to get into a better routine here if Baggage is to get through the schooling we still have to do with her before we return and I am to get any real ground covered on my book!

Today we spend an easy day in the house, a quick trip out this afternoon to get a few birthday presents to send back to people in the UK but apart from that not a lot going on. This evening I did do the token bit of home maintenance, I bought a couple of bags of bark chipping from Lowes and spread them over the front borders.

Tuesday 14th July

The first thing I had to do today was try to sort out our trip to Greece planned for this October, it should have been a simple case of cancelling one person and paying the balance, but nothing seems to be simple anymore hence this took up most of the morning!

Another bit of house maintenance, the pool lights have not been very bright since we got back, they are a fibre optic system so I thought it would be a simple job of taking the cover off, maybe changing the bulb and cleaning the lenses inside, wrong, after an hour I gave up as the screws holding the cover on are rusted solid, and one of them is pretty inaccessible, I have limited tools to work with here, will need to get the right tool and try again.

Lisa, Baggage, Katie and Rachel go off to Wonder Works, I get to spend the afternoon at the house, I actually get some writing done, one whole chapter and a bit of the next one.

For dinner I cook Lasagne, the girls are longer than expected and it ends up being in the oven for over two hours, luckily it is still fine when it comes out, in fact it goes down very well and I am asked to make it again for another evening!

This evening we watch Americas got Talent and and then play a few games before bed. I am still drinking the Sam Adams white beer, though one of the bottles I open tonight was completely flat and ends up going down the sink!

Wednesday 15th July - Endeavour

Today I decided to head over to Titusville to watch the launch of STS-127, Space Shuttle Endeavour, the launch in planned for 18:03 so I head out from here just after 15:00. I was surprised by how easy the drive was, how easy I got to park and how I managed to get a prime waters edge spot to set up my tripod less than 1 hour before the launch. I guess as this is Endeavour’s sixth attempt to get off the ground people are not turning out in such large numbers as is usual for a shuttle launch.

About 4 years ago we saw a Delta rocket launch from Kennedy Space Centre, but have never witnessed the shuttle go up and I am in prime position, about 11 miles from the actual launch site with a completely uninterrupted view and the visibility is pretty clear.

I had come over to Titusville on my own, Lisa and the girls opting to watch the launch on the TV and then from the back of the house as the Shuttle rises into the sky, they did not want to make the trek on the chance it may be postponed again as when I left the house at 3pm the weather forecast was suggesting a 50/50 chance for launch. By the time I got here though the sky was clear and the launch looked definite.

Right on time the main engines fired and exhaust/steam billowed out under the Shuttle, it seemed to rise off the pad quicker than I remembered the Delta rocket having done and before you knew it it was little more than a bright speck in the sky, with a wavy vapour trail behind it. The noise hit a good thirty seconds after the launch was visible, a loud roar following the shuttle on its ascent to the International Space Station.

I had chosen to watch the launch from Space Park which houses the space walk of fame, a good choice as there was a small stall selling official STS-127 merchandise so I bought something for everybody before heading back to the car to drive back to Orlando.

The drive back was not as easy, firstly there was a lot of traffic returning from the Space Coast, then as I neared the junction with the 417 I drove into a horrific storm, lightning coming down pretty close to the car and torrential rain that almost caused me to pull off the road more than once, even when on the clearer road of the 417 the rain was keeping driving speeds down below 30. Later this evening I found out that at the heart of the storm had been a tornado that had touched down doing quite a bit of damage only a few miles away from me.

I eventually got back to the house at just after 9pm, just in time for a beer before thinking about calling it a night!

Islands and back to writing!

Friday 10th July

Katie went to a second doctors today as the one she saw last night gave her a pretty thorough going over but could not determine what was wrong with her. This doctor also cannot determine the cause of her pain so has recommended blood tests. The pain is not so severe today and at the moment Katie feels she will wait until we are all back in the UK to get checked out again and if she has to have blood taken do it at that time.

Since getting back to Florida we seem to have failed to be able to get back into the routine we had anticipated. I had seen myself getting up in the morning, having a swim before breakfast then doing some writing whilst Baggage and Lisa get on with school work. We had let Baggages schooling lapse during the back end of the trip as the intention was to run it through the summer whilst we were in Florida and not moving about. We have now been here nearly three months and the routine has not been established, in fact in many ways it feels as if we are just waiting for our flights back to the UK at the end of August.

Today I did get back to my book for the first time since we got to Florida, though I could not really settle to it and in the couple of hours I tried to write only managed to pen a couple of sides of A4.

Saturday 11th July

Today Baggage gets a day off school and we are going to Islands of adventure, Universal’s second theme park. With the weather doing what it has been recently we decide to make an early start and then if the weather turns at least we will have got a few things in before the downpour.

We get there just after the park opens at 9am and it is already pretty busy, our first ride ‘The Hulk’ requires us to queue for about 20 minutes. I must be getting two old for fast roller coasters, when we get of The Hulk I feel disoriented and have a thumping headache.

Before lunch we manage to fit in the two main water rides in the park and get truly soaked. Baggage and Lisa both bought spare clothes, I opted not to and would still be damp four hours later when we returned to the house.

After lunch we rode Spiderman and One Fish Two Fish, Baggage also rode Cat in the Hat, then we decided to leave the park. Baggage was tired and had been moaning about one thing or another since lunchtime and Lisa and I had enough of it, also the clouds were darkening and we could see a storm coming in from the west. Tomorrow morning we were to see on the news that a torrential downpour hit the area just after we left, though we missed it completely as the clouds skirted north of our house. I guess we chose a good time to leave.

Tonight we got Baggage into bed particularly early and she must have been tired as despite her protests she was asleep within 30 minutes.

Sunday 12th July

Today I am going to watch the Grand Prix, I have not managed to see one since the one I caught at Midnight in Ohope. Unfortunately the coverage in the US is split between Speed and Fox and today’s race is on Fox who chose to air it mid afternoon rather than live, never mind I will just avoid the result and it is better than missing it altogether.

This morning we go out to get a few presents as we have a couple of Birthdays coming up that we have to send things back to the UK for, we do OK and get what we had in mind when we set out.

This afternoon I settle down on the sofa to watch the race, Lisa does also but after about 15 minutes is asleep and stays that way until all but the final lap. As Grand Prix races go it is OK, there is not a lot of action on the track but the result is good, Mark Webber won his first ever race after 130 starts, this years season keeps on resetting expectations.

After dinner I had planned to watch the shuttle launch on the TV and then watch the actual ascent out the back of the house. On a clear day you can see the rockets lift off as they rise directly east from here so for anything other than a morning launch the sun will not be in the way of the view and tonight’s was planned at 19:29. The launch was scrubbed however due to thunderstorms at the cape, just as well for us as after dinner Katie suggested we all play cards and I completely forgot the launch until just after it was due to have gone up. Maybe I will have better luck next time, it is rescheduled for tomorrow.

July 9th - a few more days in Florida

Tuesday 7th July

Today we had a pretty quiet day in, this morning Baggage and I had a swim then she got on with some schooling and I made myself busy around the house. This afternoon Baggage spent most of the time on-line with her friends, they were playing hide and seek in Fantage which is a virtual world that they play in, Kids imagination is so great.

The weather is still pretty wet, we had planned on fitting in a few visits to theme parks before the British schools break for the summer and it gets really busy over here, but it has just been too wet, raining almost every day, some days raining on and off all day.

This evening we went for a drive up #27 to find a dark patch of road and see if we could see the International Space Station, it should have been visible to the naked eye for 5 minutes from 21:29. We could not see it there was just too much cloud cover.

Wednesday 8th July

Today Katie and Rachel are going to Kelly Springs, an area at Lake Apopka where there is a boardwalk and a fast flowing stream that you can ride in an inflatable hoop. Baggage has schooling to do and is not very impressed that she has to stay in. They are out all afternoon and do yet to ride the stream, though only just as when they got there the skies opened up and it poured, with intermittent thunder and lightning so they had to wait for that to pass before they could get in the water.

Baggage and Lisa did go out this afternoon, they went to the library where there was a craft session and Baggage came back with a tambourine she had made.

For dinner tonight we have roast beef, a good ‘ol British home cooked meal, though I did try to make Yorkshire pudding from a recipe I found on the web with a general purpose flour and that was a bit too stodgy! Never mind when I bought the beef it was buy one joint get one free, so I can have another go at it later in the summer and this time I will make it with self raising!

Whilst I was cooking Roy dropped in so that I could show him the alarm system, I now have to write out a set of instructions so he knows how to change the code as it is not like any system he is familiar with.

After dinner we all played cards, Baggage had bought herself some poker chips when she and Lisa stopped off at Win Dixie on the way back from the library. After Baggage had gone to bed we watched America’s Got Talent, then Lisa Rachel, Katie and I played a few more hands of cards.

I have now moved onto the case of Sam Adams White Beer, when I opened it I noticed the best before date was May ’09, but it tastes OK so I am not going to bother returning it.

Thursday 9th July

First job this morning, after a quick swim, was to clear the rubbish out the back of the house next door. I would not normally clear up someone else’s rubbish. but it seems as if the occupants moved out last weekend and they have left a couple of dustbin bags full of food outside their patio door and the smell has already become offensive, add to that the fact that in the night something rummaged through the bags and spread the rubbish and I had to do something.

Whilst outside I also replaced one of our sprinkler heads which was no longer popping up. Yesterday when it started to rain the sprinkler’s came on, could be a fault in the rain gauge that determines if it has rained and thus you do not need the sprinkler’s to come on, I will have to keep an eye on that.

Baggage and Lisa got on with Baggages school work, today was a role reversal day, so Baggage was the teacher and Lisa the pupil.

This afternoon the girls took Baggage to the cinema to see Ice Age 3, Lisa and I took advantage of having the afternoon off and went food shopping (exciting!).

Before we went out I had to phone the people we rented off in Hawaii as they had returned our deposit less $100 to cover the cost of getting out a plumber to unblock their drains, a problem that they blamed on us. When we were there we were aware of this problem however at the time were told we were not being blamed for it, so I was somewhat surprised to learn we were now being charged $100. After a debate on the subject they agreed to refund the $100, I do not mind being charged for something if it is my fault but in this case I am not sure it was and also do not like the way it was dealt with, they had plenty of time to tell us they would be withholding the $100 whilst we were there, after all they only lived downstairs. Even though we are getting our $100 back I am not satisfied with the outcome, it seems a pity that the memory of us left with the people we rented from in Hawaii is not a good one, guess we will not be renting from them again!

For the last few days Katie has been complaining about pains in her shoulder and abdomen, tonight Lisa had an idea that it might be related to a collapsed lung which has been prevalent on her side of the family and once she had that idea could do nothing but take Katie to a doctor. As I am writing this I am waiting for them to get back from a visit to a paediatric care centre, I have spoken to Katie on the phone and she tells me they gave her a pretty good check over and they do not know what is wrong with her, they have suggested she takes herself down to the hospital in Celebration in the morning. We have to wait to find out what is wrong with her.

July 6th - Cars crashing & Independence Day

Thursday 2nd

Today we stayed in. Billy came round to fit the external siren to the alarm system. The girls spent a bit of time in the pool and I managed to get a bit of Baggage web site work done.

Friday 3rd

Today we stayed in all day and again Billy came round, this time to install the remote keypad and get the alarm system connected up to the phone line. We are off out this evening though, leaving to go to Crash-a-rama at the Orlando Speedworld at 5pm. Lisa had decided not to come with us, she was staying at the house for a bit of peace and quiet and the chance for an earlier night.

The racing did not start until 8 but by the time we had got there and found a seat, plus had a ride in the racing school bus that was going round the track we only had an hour to kill. I had never experienced anything quite like this, it was motorsport on steroids. There were a number of events and they were all very much a contact sport. The races were: 50 Lap endurance; Auto roller derby; Cars with back wheels replaced by skids; School Bus figure 8 racing; cars towing trailers; Monster Trucks; and a Destruction Derby. The School Bus racing was the most fun, though they were all pretty good, when I asked the girls if they wanted to leave about an hour before the end they most definitely did not. The racing did not end until after midnight and it was nearly 2am by the time we got back to the house. For a better understanding of what it was all about visit www.beingbaggage.com and take a look at the video diary entry for Crash-a-rama.

Saturday 4th - Independence Day

The plan had been to get up and go to the Celebration Independence day parade which was at 9am this morning, sort of missed that one! Eventually got up at just after 10 and decided it was best to spend the day in as we wanted to go out to Celebration tonight to see the fireworks. Lisa and I got to spend a bit of time in the pool on our own this morning, very relaxing. For dinner we had chili and rice, which we ate at about 4pm just before we left for Celebration.

We were so glad we had decided to go to Celebration rather than one of the theme parks for 4th July, the whole place had been converted over to a 4th of July party. The road along the lake front was closed to traffic, in the centre of it there was a stage with live music playing all night and there were concessions everywhere, mostly serving up food or drink. At the end by the cinema there was an inflatable play area and we bought Baggage a wrist band for it and she kept on going back to it all night. The big girls had decided to go to the cinema before the fireworks, however it was so crowded when they got into Celebration that they did not manage to park in time to get to see the show so they watched the band and looked around, we bumped into them a couple of times.

The fireworks were spectacular, though they did have a bit of a false start when due to technical difficulties they could not be started on cue. The went on for about 20 minutes and the sky was ablaze. Were they better than Hong Kong for Chinese new year, I cannot say, the memory is now too distant, but they were great and I got some really good video footage and pictures.

Getting out of Celebration after the fireworks was a bit of a challenge, the traffic was intense and did not seem to be being managed. Katie gave us a lift back out to our car as we had used the park-and-ride to get in and it still took us half an hour to get there. Whilst in the back of Katie’s car Baggage managed to split a glow in the dark headband making the inside of Katie’s car look a little like a glow worm cave!

We eventually got back to the house a little after 11pm, another late night for Baggage.

Sunday 5th

Another change of plans, we had intended to drive into Kissimmee today for a dog agility show, but after two late nights none of us really felt like it. Instead we had a fairly lazy start to the day and then we got on with a bit of cleaning, stripping beds etc. This afternoon Lisa, Baggage and I went into Downtown Disney as I wanted to check out what days we have left on our Disney park tickets before we try to use them, it turned out we had exactly what I thought so we are good for a few visits before they run out. Whilst there we looked for a couple of birthday presents but did not find anything and in the Ghiradelli chocolate shop I managed to lose the filling I had put in whilst in Ohope on a square of chocolate, probably judgement for going back into the shop for a 2nd square!

On the way back to the house we stopped at Walmart to get a few bits and pieces including the steak for tonights dinner, steak with a green been salad.

I am still working my way through the six pack of Sam Adams Cherry wheat, but have bought myself a half case of Sam Adams white beer to see me through when it is gone, whoops another wheat bear! The Cherry wheat is a very refreshing drink, you can taste the cherries which surprisingly complement the wheat beer taste and make it best drunk very cold which is what you need in this heat.

Monday 6th

Today Katie and Rachel are off to Islands of Adventure and we are staying at the house. First thing though I get hold of Danny on Skype, it has been a while since we have talked to him and it was good to hear his voice, he is staying in Guildford for most of the summer, though next week he is down to Devon as he has a couple of gigs with his band, the last ones before they split up and stop working together. This morning Baggage and Lisa get on with some schooling whilst I concentrate on getting the backlog of Baggage videos out of the way, by the end of the day I have completed 5 new videos to put up on the web site.

Billy comes again this afternoon, his last job on the alarm system which is to get us hooked up to the central monitoring station, this takes a couple of house and now we are all set. Whilst he is here Lisa and Baggage head over to the library to return some dvds and come back with a bunch more for Baggage to watch.

For dinner we have a Chinese take-out, a good time to do it as neither Rachel nor Katie like Chinese food and this evening Lisa and I watch Windtalkers which I bought for Lisa for her birthday as large amounts of the film were shot on Kualoa Ranch which we visited whilst in Hawaii. We were supposed to be able to see the International Space Station pass overhead this evening, though there was too much cloud cover, maybe we will have better luck tomorrow when it is also visible.

July 1st - a few more Floridian days

On Monday morning I was got up and out of bed by Billy phoning and saying he would come round to fit another sensor and locate the alarm box in its final position. He turned up at around 11am and was here for a couple of hours. Katie and Rachel went out today, up International Drive and then to the cinema to see Transformers 2, Baggage got a solid morning’s schooling in and then after spending a bit of time on MSN went to the library with Lisa. I spent most of the day getting the house tidied up and sorted out, I was just fed up with the state of disorganisation we were living in and have been since we got here, after 6 months living from cases I wanted to feel everything was put away and tidy.

After supper Baggage and I went in the pool, the first time I have been for a swim in it since we got here a week ago. Lisa had bought water pistols whilst they were out earlier and we played with these, and various other things.

I am catching up with the backlog of videos and getting the photos on the website, today I added a further video, ‘Biking the Bridge’ and our photos from our road trip to Vegas and from Hollywood.

Tuesday bought the rain, it was raining when we got up and rained on and off all day. We decided to go to Florida Mall as we needed a few things plus had to take Baggage’s Macbook back to the Apple store to get a crack in the shell fixed. They are happy to fix the crack under the warranty, though it had to be sent away and will be about a week before we get it back. Whilst at the Mall we got Baggage a bear from Build-a-bear, she chose the bear though we dressed it in a graduation gown and mortar with a class of 2009 sash, the bear is her reward for putting up with ‘class of mum’ this year! For supper we stopped off at Cracker Barrel on the way back along #192.

Wednesday 1st, Lisa’s Birthday. We are all up much earlier this morning, though Lisa goes back to bed as she has a splitting headache. The plan was for us to go to a Disney Park this morning, though it is raining and the forecast is not good, so even though Lisa gets in free as it is her birthday we decide a theme park in the rain is not the best way to spend the day. Lisa eventually gets up at nearly 11 and is feeling a little better, she opens her presents and we decide to go out and play crazy golf. We head down the 192 and go to Bonanza golf, there is a lot of choice as to where you can play crazy golf here but we quite like Bonanza as it is not too dressy but the holes are fun to play. After the golf (which I win!) we head into Celebration for dinner at market Street Cafe, though before we eat we walk around the lake and do manage to see a couple of alligators in the water, one up close and a much bigger one a little way out.

After dinner we head back to the house and watch one of the dvds I gave Lisa for her birthday, West Side Story. I finish off the last two bottles of Michelob Wheat Beer. I already have my next beer lined up, Sam Adams Cherry Wheat, must make sure I do not buy a wheat beer next time!