wilma-bride
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- Joined
- Jul 13, 2005
- Messages
- 22,681
Thursday 30th August Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig
And so it was that we woke this morning with heavy hearts. After almost 3 weeks in sunny Florida, the time had come to say goodbye and travel home to a cold and miserable England.
Since we were driving back to Miami to catch our flight home, there was no last day park visit and no time to do much of anything so we got up, showered and dressed and finished the packing before loading the cases into the car. We checked out of the Beach Club around 10.30 and set off for Miami.
Are we there yet?
It was quite a pleasant drive out of Orlando and it wasnt long before we were leaving the picturesque sights and hitting the concrete jungle of the I95.
We hadnt eaten anything this morning so it wasnt long before we decided to stop for an early lunch at Bob Evans.
Daniel and I shared the wonderful fried cheese bites. They really are delicious as much as I love mozzarella sticks, these just have the edge as they are a little more flavourful.
Ooey, gooey cheese bites
Gary had Chicken n Noodles. It looked like a hot mess but apparently tasted really good.
Oodles of noodles
Daniel was still feeling breakfasty so opted for choc chip pancakes with a side of bacon. There was no complaining from his side of the table so Im guessing they were up to par.
Savoury/sweet combo
I honestly couldnt decide what I wanted and I could tell the other two were getting annoyed with me so eventually I opted for the unadventurous (but surprisingly tasty) turkey and bacon melt. The turkey was thickly sliced and juicy, the bacon was crisp and the cheese was deliciously melty. All in all, a real winner.
Surprisingly tasty!
Gary and I both opted for dessert also. Gary surprised nobody with his predictable choice of pumpkin pie and I chose the apple pie a la mode.
Pumpkin pie!
Gary assures me that, despite appearances (it looks a little boring), the pie was delicious. The filling was sweet and not as dense as it looked, the whip of cream on the top just cutting through the sweetness.
The apple pie was tasty but obviously reheated (microwave?) and had that reheated-to-slightly-too-hot taste. Not sure if anybody understands what I mean by that but I always think microwaved desserts have a slight metallic taste to them or maybe its just me. Either way, it was OK. If Id been at home, I would have considered it a waste of calories though
An apple pie a day
We settled the check, which I seem to recall was very reasonable (sorry, have long since lost the receipt) and reluctantly got back into the car. Daniel and Pluto seemed very happy in the back.
Pals
The next few hours looked pretty much the same. Miles of straight road and lots of traffic.
At one point, as we got closer to Miami, there was traffic joining from either side and it got a bit confusing but Gary sensibly stuck in the middle and we were fine.
Scary
We were about 30 miles away from Miami when we started to panic as the in-car computer was showing that we had 34 miles left until the tank was empty. I finally persuaded Gary that we couldnt risk it and we decided to exit and get some gas, just to make sure we made it to the airport. We were also running a bit behind time as it was approaching 4.30 and our flight was due to leave at 7.35. Lets just say that things were a bit hectic as we hunted high and low for a gas station. We finally found one, put in $10 of gas (probably too much) to be on the safe side and rejoined the I95.
As we approached the airport, the traffic was at a standstill and I really started to panic (I hate to be late for anything). As soon as the traffic started to move, we realised we were in completely the wrong lane for the car rental return exit and so we had to go through the airport loop to get to the car rental return. I swear it was probably quicker that way though. Eventually, we dropped the car off and made our way to the terminal. There was a massive line for bag drop but it moved fairly quickly and we were soon at the departure gate.
Since we were so late arriving, we started boarding almost immediately. The flight home (as always) was long and boring. None of us slept a wink. There were two very loud and annoying children across the aisle, who were singing at the tops of their voices. I was very surprised that the cabin crew didnt seem too bothered and I thought somebody might have complained they didnt and I wasnt about to start causing a fuss so we just stuck our headphones on and watched films. Daniel and I watched Brave, he also played on his DS and we both read for a bit.
I really dont remember much about the food except that I (probably) didnt eat any of it. I do remember being given a kids breakfast box and one of the cabin crew getting a bit snippy with me when I pointed it out. I wasnt complaining, more worried that they might need it for another child (quite often they dont have enough kids meals on board as it is) and she seemed to think I was moaning about not having got my adult breakfast meal yet and told me I needed to be patient great service VA
Once wed landed, we had the interminable wait to get through passport control, then the usual panic when only two of our suitcases come off the carousel and we have to wait ages for the last one.
In actual fact, we were through very quickly which, of course, was typical as I had told the taxi driver to pick us up at 10 (and it was barely 8.30). We grabbed some drinks and pastries and sat and waited and, after what seemed like an entire week, she finally arrived, we loaded the bags in the car and set off for home. Ironically, neither Gary nor I slept in the taxi, although Daniel nodded off before we even made it to the M4.
We were home just before 12 another holiday over, the next one seeming very far off at almost 14 months away.
In summary, we really enjoyed this trip. It was fantastic to see some more of the State of Florida; the Keys were beautiful and very relaxing (although Gary, as designated driver, might not agree with the relaxing part). We still love St Augustine and will definitely go back there again, although not for a couple of years probably. I am not sure we will visit Bradenton, specifically, again but hope to see some more of the Gulf coast on a future trip.
For now, though, I will leave you with some of my favourite Photopass pictures below. Thanks for reading along, I really appreciate all of your comments as it does take a lot of work putting together a trip report (just getting the photos uploaded to Photobucket is a chore in itself
)
And so it was that we woke this morning with heavy hearts. After almost 3 weeks in sunny Florida, the time had come to say goodbye and travel home to a cold and miserable England.
Since we were driving back to Miami to catch our flight home, there was no last day park visit and no time to do much of anything so we got up, showered and dressed and finished the packing before loading the cases into the car. We checked out of the Beach Club around 10.30 and set off for Miami.
Are we there yet?
It was quite a pleasant drive out of Orlando and it wasnt long before we were leaving the picturesque sights and hitting the concrete jungle of the I95.
We hadnt eaten anything this morning so it wasnt long before we decided to stop for an early lunch at Bob Evans.
Daniel and I shared the wonderful fried cheese bites. They really are delicious as much as I love mozzarella sticks, these just have the edge as they are a little more flavourful.
Ooey, gooey cheese bites
Gary had Chicken n Noodles. It looked like a hot mess but apparently tasted really good.
Oodles of noodles
Daniel was still feeling breakfasty so opted for choc chip pancakes with a side of bacon. There was no complaining from his side of the table so Im guessing they were up to par.
Savoury/sweet combo
I honestly couldnt decide what I wanted and I could tell the other two were getting annoyed with me so eventually I opted for the unadventurous (but surprisingly tasty) turkey and bacon melt. The turkey was thickly sliced and juicy, the bacon was crisp and the cheese was deliciously melty. All in all, a real winner.
Surprisingly tasty!
Gary and I both opted for dessert also. Gary surprised nobody with his predictable choice of pumpkin pie and I chose the apple pie a la mode.
Pumpkin pie!
Gary assures me that, despite appearances (it looks a little boring), the pie was delicious. The filling was sweet and not as dense as it looked, the whip of cream on the top just cutting through the sweetness.
The apple pie was tasty but obviously reheated (microwave?) and had that reheated-to-slightly-too-hot taste. Not sure if anybody understands what I mean by that but I always think microwaved desserts have a slight metallic taste to them or maybe its just me. Either way, it was OK. If Id been at home, I would have considered it a waste of calories though
An apple pie a day
We settled the check, which I seem to recall was very reasonable (sorry, have long since lost the receipt) and reluctantly got back into the car. Daniel and Pluto seemed very happy in the back.
Pals
The next few hours looked pretty much the same. Miles of straight road and lots of traffic.
At one point, as we got closer to Miami, there was traffic joining from either side and it got a bit confusing but Gary sensibly stuck in the middle and we were fine.
Scary
We were about 30 miles away from Miami when we started to panic as the in-car computer was showing that we had 34 miles left until the tank was empty. I finally persuaded Gary that we couldnt risk it and we decided to exit and get some gas, just to make sure we made it to the airport. We were also running a bit behind time as it was approaching 4.30 and our flight was due to leave at 7.35. Lets just say that things were a bit hectic as we hunted high and low for a gas station. We finally found one, put in $10 of gas (probably too much) to be on the safe side and rejoined the I95.
As we approached the airport, the traffic was at a standstill and I really started to panic (I hate to be late for anything). As soon as the traffic started to move, we realised we were in completely the wrong lane for the car rental return exit and so we had to go through the airport loop to get to the car rental return. I swear it was probably quicker that way though. Eventually, we dropped the car off and made our way to the terminal. There was a massive line for bag drop but it moved fairly quickly and we were soon at the departure gate.
Since we were so late arriving, we started boarding almost immediately. The flight home (as always) was long and boring. None of us slept a wink. There were two very loud and annoying children across the aisle, who were singing at the tops of their voices. I was very surprised that the cabin crew didnt seem too bothered and I thought somebody might have complained they didnt and I wasnt about to start causing a fuss so we just stuck our headphones on and watched films. Daniel and I watched Brave, he also played on his DS and we both read for a bit.
I really dont remember much about the food except that I (probably) didnt eat any of it. I do remember being given a kids breakfast box and one of the cabin crew getting a bit snippy with me when I pointed it out. I wasnt complaining, more worried that they might need it for another child (quite often they dont have enough kids meals on board as it is) and she seemed to think I was moaning about not having got my adult breakfast meal yet and told me I needed to be patient great service VA
Once wed landed, we had the interminable wait to get through passport control, then the usual panic when only two of our suitcases come off the carousel and we have to wait ages for the last one.
In actual fact, we were through very quickly which, of course, was typical as I had told the taxi driver to pick us up at 10 (and it was barely 8.30). We grabbed some drinks and pastries and sat and waited and, after what seemed like an entire week, she finally arrived, we loaded the bags in the car and set off for home. Ironically, neither Gary nor I slept in the taxi, although Daniel nodded off before we even made it to the M4.
We were home just before 12 another holiday over, the next one seeming very far off at almost 14 months away.
In summary, we really enjoyed this trip. It was fantastic to see some more of the State of Florida; the Keys were beautiful and very relaxing (although Gary, as designated driver, might not agree with the relaxing part). We still love St Augustine and will definitely go back there again, although not for a couple of years probably. I am not sure we will visit Bradenton, specifically, again but hope to see some more of the Gulf coast on a future trip.
For now, though, I will leave you with some of my favourite Photopass pictures below. Thanks for reading along, I really appreciate all of your comments as it does take a lot of work putting together a trip report (just getting the photos uploaded to Photobucket is a chore in itself
)
Awesome TR!!!
Can't wait for the next one! 
