Home for the Holidays-Wizards-Grinches and Sparkles. 14 nights @Royal Pacific Resort, Nov/Dec 2021

[schumigirl]

That lunch looked absolutely delicious!

It really was beautiful and I think we eventually did rank it as our favourite meal of the trip.....

 

[disneyseniors]

Loved your beach trip report! And, yes, hushpuppies are great! Only in the South is where you can find the real southern hushpuppies. We lived in Tennessee for years and I absolutely loved those hushpuppies and catfish dinners. Yum! But the really good ones can only be found in the South

 

[schumigirl]

Loved your beach trip report! And, yes, hushpuppies are great! Only in the South is where you can find the real southern hushpuppies. We lived in Tennessee for years and I absolutely loved those hushpuppies and catfish dinners. Yum! But the really good ones can only be found in the South

Thank you, we love New Smyrna Beach and that restaurant is simply the best!

Yes, I didn`t realise it was a Southern thing till after we tried them......I`m still not sure why I avoided them, not sure what I thought they might be......lol.......I avoided brandy snaps till I was about 30 as I thought they tasted of brandy.....true story!!

I`ll bet you miss those original dishes where you are now........

 

[Pumpkin1172]

That little place looks amazing!!! I might have to put that on a possible to do list of places to visit - especially if we end up testing positive before heading home and have to spend and extra 10 days in Florida to quarantine. I guess if we HAVE TO quarantine....It would be absolutely horrible to have to quarantine there

Dh is bringing his lap top, as he is able to work remotely. I don't know how much actual " work" he would get to do...but I sure wouldn't care. I have over 4 weeks of holidays unused, plus another 3 that I get this year. I told my manager to be prepared to do the basic part of my job for 20+ days in case this happens.

I also have a healthy respect for the creatures with sharp teeth!!!!

 

[schumigirl]

That little place looks amazing!!! I might have to put that on a possible to do list of places to visit - especially if we end up testing positive before heading home and have to spend and extra 10 days in Florida to quarantine. I guess if we HAVE TO quarantine....It would be absolutely horrible to have to quarantine there

Dh is bringing his lap top, as he is able to work remotely. I don't know how much actual " work" he would get to do...but I sure wouldn't care. I have over 4 weeks of holidays unused, plus another 3 that I get this year. I told my manager to be prepared to do the basic part of my job for 20+ days in case this happens.

I also have a healthy respect for the creatures with sharp teeth!!!!

Sounds like a plan pumpkin.....

It is gorgeous. Folks often say they don`t like the Atlantic side, but it is gorgeous.....we`ve seen the waters there rough and ready for surfers, and it was rough.....but we`ve also seen it as calm as Clearwater.......beautiful place where, yes, it would be lovely to shield there.

Yes, get your vacation time used up.....it would be a shame if you lost it if you didn`t use it.

Yes, never quite understood the Crocodile Hunter and his love for crocs, although never missed a show of his when he was alive. Crocs and snakes.....bleurgh........oh and large spider too......and I`m sure a few other things too lol.....I`ll never be a wildlife fan!!

 

[disneyseniors]

Thank you, we love New Smyrna Beach and that restaurant is simply the best!

Yes, I didn`t realise it was a Southern thing till after we tried them......I`m still not sure why I avoided them, not sure what I thought they might be......lol.......I avoided brandy snaps till I was about 30 as I thought they tasted of brandy.....true story!!

I`ll bet you miss those original dishes where you are now........

Yes, we do miss that good ole Southern food But my brother still lives there and we visit when we can. We also have good friends there to visit too. But I do miss the South, especially their warmer weather, LOL>

 

[Minnie17]

It was quite honestly, exceptional. And immediately elevated to being the nicest Key Lime pie we had ever eaten. I wished we had one each.......but my tummy would be grateful I hadn`t eaten a full one.

Well I’ll have to add the key lime pie as a must do this summer. Plan to head head JB’s multiple times this summer.

 

[schumigirl]

Yes, we do miss that good ole Southern food But my brother still lives there and we visit when we can. We also have good friends there to visit too. But I do miss the South, especially their warmer weather, LOL>

Oh my goodness I can imagine.......that weather would be the big draw for me as well and the food too if I`m honest lol.......

How lovely though you have family and friends you can visit and still enjoy all the goodies outwith of the Florida draw in the South. I love visiting Scotland for some food you only really get there, maybe not the healthiest of cuisine, but so good!!!

 

[schumigirl]

Well I’ll have to add the key lime pie as a must do this summer. Plan to head head JB’s multiple times this summer.

It was gorgeous!!! I very rarely eat a full slice of something like that, a few bites is enough, but my goodness we were crossing forks to get the last piece.......lol......

And glad to hear you`ll visit JB`s a few times.......I know there are other places we wanted to try in NSB, but we like it there so much, it`s hard to not go every visit. We are spoiled with so many excellent seafood options.

 

[schumigirl]

We drove a very short distance to further down the Boardwalk where our friend had told us about in 2019. He had said we would see manattees and we certainly did and dolphins over the other side of the river too, it is the most peaceful space and apart from the odd fisherman last time, we saw no one here again today.

My hat had to be on now as it was boiling hot now, we really couldn`t help but be amazed at the heat we were experiencing on this December day, but, needless to say we were loving every second.

This had to be one of the most peaceful places in this beautiful little town......and one of those hidden corners I think you could daydream your time away...

We passed around half an hour here before jumping in the car and again driving a very short distance to Bethune Beach car park which was right beside the beach. It`s so handy and never overly busy so we`ve always got parked easily.

This beach is so beautiful, and today it was fairly calm. There are a lot of surfers come here and we have seen the waves when they are wild, but today it was calmer than our last visit and just gorgeous.

Lots of fisherman were dotted around the coastline and they were all a friendly bunch of guys happy to chat about their day as we bobbed along the waterside.

I have always gone in for a paddle on every visit it was calm, despite hearing tales of sharks here.....and there are smaller ones that will come in and bite you. After one of our visits in 2019 a child was bitten in the ankle a few days after we left, small shark but would have scared the living daylights out of me......but I do like a paddle and the water is always so warm..........

Except today it wasn`t warm at all...........

OK, it wasn`t as bad as that......but as most of you know I detest the cold with a venom and this wasn`t fun at all.........I got such a shock as I naively didn`t expect it to be so cold.......yes, hello Carole, it`s December.........it gets cold!

I didn`t paddle for long.........and won`t post the picture Tom took of me rather alarmingly jumping about four feet in the air when the waves first rushed over my then warm feet......not a pretty sight!!!

Bracing is the word my mum would use.......

One of the fisherman was from Pittsburgh and was telling us how he spent most of his time at his place here in the winter, can`t say I blamed him at all. It is stunning here and with the exceptional temperatures I think I`d be doing the same thing. Well, not the fishing as it`s never interested me in the slightest. Tom had gone fishing many years ago and was completely and utterly bored out of his mind and vowed never to do it again.

This one man was very nice to chat to and he offered to take our picture as we had been unsuccesfully trying to take selfies, not easy with quite a heavy camera......and he took a few which we were grateful for.

We wandered back to the car which was about a mile away at this point, we could have walked forever though today.....it was so peaceful and with the warm sunshine we could easily have kept going.

Another uneventful drive home and we got there in time to meet someone else for a coffee from the hotel, so that passed an hour then we headed up to the Club Lounge for a while.

We were planning to eat in Strong Water tonight, so Tom could enjoy a glass or two of wine as he wouldn`t be driving tonight, so we got ourselves settled in the lounge.

I open my ipad and saw there was a Government and VA email waiting. My heart sank and dreaded opening it.....and yes, it was saying there had been more changes to the testing process for getting home.

So, we now needed to have a covid test before we would be allowed to fly home....this was new and went into force the day before we flew home, so we would have to get that sorted which was easier said than done. Looking back it seems so simple now......but this was brand new information and no one seemed to have answers as to what type of test, was it just the Antigen test which is called a Lateral Flow in the UK, or was it the full PCR that was needed. The emails weren`t clear at this point and they suggested you read up the full info on the Government website which might as well have been written in Aramaic for all the use it was at this point.

The feeling of panic was genuine as no one seemed to have answers.......I looked on a British website and to be honest everyone on there was as confused the next as to what was actually required.

The feeling of calm after our lovely and peaceful day was completely shattered at this point. My alcohol level for the next few days would be through the roof at this point!!

I spent some time researching and thought I had it worked out what we needed......then came the question of where to go. There were countless options available, but every time I thought I had it worked out, someone would come along and post that the place wasn`t on a list of Government approved places they`d accept for use!!! I was ready for tearing my hair out at this point.......this seemed like being on a merry go round and getting nowhere fast.

To be honest I was annoyed at the same time and believed that they shouldn`t be allowed to spring this on people at the last minute on a Saturday night letting you know you had till Monday to get this done. I said if you left the UK under certain rules and conditions you should be able to return under those conditions......but there is a lot of money to be made on making folks take these tests.....cynical......me......no, just observant.

After what seemed like forever, I worked out where we needed and where we could go. There were a few options close by us and both were around the $100 each for the tests that would enable us to fly home. So, we felt ok at that point that we could do no more tonight.

I then turned my attention back to Tom who had been chatting to the couple who had sat beside us and the two men were bonding over a conversation about explosives of all things.

Yes, it `s an odd one, but this guy had also been in explosives, I`m being forgetful but it may have been in the Military.......I had missed some of the conversation, and of course Tom and I were both in the explosives industry and one of my degrees is an Explosive Ordnance one, so very much a subject close to our hearts. And to be honest both agreed it`s not a subject many get so passionate about or even interested in to any degree.......lol.....some folks think it`s dull, but not to us. And they were chatting merrily about it.

I got talking to the lady who then said she knew me from the Disboards. I can`t remember her user name or even if she does post, but Sam and Bill were there names and we did have a lovely chat with both of them that evening. I think they were leaving the next morning which was a shame, but a very nice couple.

At that point one of the supervisors handed me a very large wine as she had seen the panic I was having and thought I might need it........lol......she knew me so well already.........we were heading off at this point to go for dinner in Sapphire falls, so I did drink it before we began to walk over.

It is a quiet walk to get from one hotel to the other, you occasionally pass the odd person and several security guards who I think must wonder why we are always wandering back and forwards all the time........I think we have worn our own little path on the carpets through the ballroom and convention areas!

We took our seats at the bar and still had to decide what we would be eating, but first Lenny had one or two drinks for us to try again........I forget which one this was, but I really enjoyed it while regaling him with my tales of woe of our last couple of hours, and Fernando too got the whole woeful story also......I think I was still angry at the speed in which they were bringing in thse new rules.

But, it soon faded as we always have the best time over here and Lenny`s nature is so infectious as he has the greatest sense of humour and everyone is just so lovely. If you`ve never been to Strong Water, give it a try......amazing place.

And another one to try.......

This was one of their cocktails that I said had been too sharp last time I had it, so he made it sweeter for me and boy was it perfect. They make all their own syrups and juices, so it can be slightly different but always lovely.......I think everyone knows we are the biggest fans of this bar for many reasons.

They welcome everyone in here and in the nicest ways, always with a smile, albeit behind masks right now, but they have the friendliest and warmest of TM`s of anywhere.....and the food and drinks are amazing too!

Now with the help of one or two of Lenny`s creations I in particular was feeling slightly more mellow and relaxed. Tom was ok about it as he tends to know things will fall into place, and he`s always right. Things like that I just worry about as so many things can go wrong. But, as everyone reminded us they will want us out the country when we`re supposed to leave......true.

So, we ordered a couple of dishes to share as usual, first was the Camarones which are shrimp in a garlic broth and again, Lenny remembered no extra cilantro, he is a star......and the bread here is also exceptional, I don`t usually rave about the bread anywhere, but this was lovely.

We love lamb......we eat a lot of lamb.......but call it goat, despite being a similar meat, Tom will not touch it.......I have tried goat many years ago, but it was in someone`s home and they just didn`t cook it properly......but, I had wanted to try this dish but never got it. So talked him into trying it, well to be fair Lenny and Fernando talked him into it tonight, and I reminded him Chef Carlos had created it so he`d enjoy it regardless.

I loved it......it is full of flavour and the meat although more dense than lamb, was cooked to perfection. Tom was not convinced he`d order it again.......lol......I told Chef Carlos if he had named it lamb he`d have loved it.......lol.......it was delicious though and I`d get it again on my own.

But, we do tend to choose dishes to share, even at home we go out for meals a lot and always choose dishes the other would like too.....yes even some of our friends shake their heads at us as they all order what they each like......well, we like to share and don`t mind folks find it funny.

But, I`d be on my own with this one next time!

For our next drink I did tell Lenny again to create something out of the blue......and again, I forget what was in this one, but it almost blew the top of my head of as it was strong......but delicious!!! They do know their rums and what goes with what in here........

I just liked this little arrangement on the shelf.......

Aside from the stress of earlier, we ended up having a wonderful evening in the company of Fernando, Lenny and co......we got chatting more tonight to the newest member Anthony and he is another who knows his stuff along with most of the other staff. There were a few we hadn`t interacted with, but one of the guys came up tonight and said thank you for all the chocolate we handed in, it was the first time he had seen us since we dropped it off......we appreciated him saying. Most folks love British chocolate

Soon it was time for us to hit the hay......and as always for us, Tom calls it my Frank Sinatra farewell goodnight tour.......takes forever, but I don`t like to miss anyone.......and once we had said goodnight to all, we walked back home and I swear that walk was longer tonight, but Tom laughed and said it was that last rum........lol.....he might have been right!

All in all we had enjoyed a lovely day, but we somehow got the feeling that the stress we had experienced tonight wasn`t over.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Well first I must say I am shocked you aren't fluent in Aramaic. I guess education isn't what it used to be...

Your lunch looked amazing! You could tell just visually that it was going to be a symphony of flavor. Nice choices all around! But that large wine...I'm surprised they offer that with a straight face.

I love you had some quiet time in NSB and were able to walk on that beautiful beach. I've never been but now I think it's calling my name

I am so sorry you went through all that craziness around the testing to go home. That is kind of ridiculous to not have any adjustment period for people to learn the rules before you expect them to follow them. Thank goodness you were able to relax at Strong Water! Every drink you share here seems to be a creative concoction anyone would enjoy. I can't say that I'm interested in trying goat, but good on you for being adventurous!

I am just loving how hot your trip was. What a wonderful memory to warm up a cold winter day. It's 12 degrees right now for me

 

[schumigirl]

Well first I must say I am shocked you aren't fluent in Aramaic. I guess education isn't what it used to be...

Your lunch looked amazing! You could tell just visually that it was going to be a symphony of flavor. Nice choices all around! But that large wine...I'm surprised they offer that with a straight face.

I love you had some quiet time in NSB and were able to walk on that beautiful beach. I've never been but now I think it's calling my name

I am so sorry you went through all that craziness around the testing to go home. That is kind of ridiculous to not have any adjustment period for people to learn the rules before you expect them to follow them. Thank goodness you were able to relax at Strong Water! Every drink you share here seems to be a creative concoction anyone would enjoy. I can't say that I'm interested in trying goat, but good on you for being adventurous!

I am just loving how hot your trip was. What a wonderful memory to warm up a cold winter day. It's 12 degrees right now for me

I do know one word in Aramaic....but so does everyone so it doesn`t count......lol

We always laugh at what some places offer as a large wine.....nah, come to our house and we`ll show you what a large glass of wine is!! It was ok though but the waiter knew, I think he had heard it before somehow!

Beautiful beach, you`d love it and only just over the hour to get there too. I think we may wander back to Dunedin near Clearwater in May, but we`ll try to get to NSB too, mainly for that food!

Oh I needed that relaxing night, yes, it wasn`t fair to just spring it on tourists like that.......we heard some amazing stories of folks who didn`t know until they got to the airport, and one man at the pool stopped us to ask if we knew about it and he said he wasn`t doing it.......good luck with that one!!!

The goat was nice, and it was just spicy enough for most, but I certainly liked it more than Tom did. Last dish that happened with was when Lori and I shared the octopus dish in Strong Water......lol.....Tom`s face was a picture as he doesn`t like Octopus either......I love it! First time I tasted it was with school in France......hardly anyone else liked it, but it was delicious........anything seafood and I`ll have it....

That is cold......I hope you don`t have to go out anywhere Maria...stay warm and cosy inside.....

 

[macraven]

Disboards thread of the Day
January 21 2022

Home for the Holidays - Wizards - Grinches - and Sparkles
14 night@ Royal Pacific Resort

Nov/Dec 2021

 

[I-4Bound]

I love the photo of you wading at the beach - just a lovely shot of you!

I can only imagine the level of stress you must have felt, especially trying to arrange just the right kind of test at just the right time. Our turnaround time for PCR testing is horrible right now - should be 24 hours but taking 4-5 days. Very stressful if you need it in a hurry. I have completely scrapped my idea of flying to California this summer because of the possibility of testing stress, etc. I'll just wait until things settle down a bit, I guess.

Loving all your updates!

 

[schumigirl]

Disboards thread of the Day
January 21 2022

Home for the Holidays - Wizards - Grinches - and Sparkles
14 night@ Royal Pacific Resort

Nov/Dec 2021

Thank you mac.......never noticed that one!

 

[schumigirl]

I love the photo of you wading at the beach - just a lovely shot of you!

I can only imagine the level of stress you must have felt, especially trying to arrange just the right kind of test at just the right time. Our turnaround time for PCR testing is horrible right now - should be 24 hours but taking 4-5 days. Very stressful if you need it in a hurry. I have completely scrapped my idea of flying to California this summer because of the possibility of testing stress, etc. I'll just wait until things settle down a bit, I guess.

Loving all your updates!

Thank you Andrea........

I`m so sorry to hear you`re not flying to California....... But, I completely understand your thinking with waiting. It is stressful for sure. It`ll be worth it once you do get back, I know that much.

4-5 days is a long time when it should be 24 hours, not really what you want.

I hope by the time we come back in May they aren`t having us do the tests within a day of flying out to the USA.......we were at 3 days out for this trip, then it changed to one day which must have been dreadful for people, I know how we would have felt if our trip had been pulled 3 days before, but one day is horrific. Yes, doesn`t leave people a lot of time to get travel insurance claims sorted out.

But, good to see you and hope you`re all ok.......

 

[Dynamoliz]

That does feel a bit like 'dirty pool' doesn't it, changing the rules on you mid trip. I think I'd feel the same ... that I should have to adhere to the rules in place when I left and not have to worry about them changing whilst away, but hey ho what about covid has been fair. I suppose we can't blame governments for continually reacting and adjusting as they feel needed but sheesh, we just want to have a stress-free holiday! I'd have been right beside you tapping furiously on my laptop and downing the red wine lol ... probably would have suggested we shift the operation to the bar, ha! I have to say that NSB fish restaurant looks delicious. Could do with that lovely weather too ... is currently -13C here in Ontario and that's an improvement!

 

[schumigirl]

That does feel a bit like 'dirty pool' doesn't it, changing the rules on you mid trip. I think I'd feel the same ... that I should have to adhere to the rules in place when I left and not have to worry about them changing whilst away, but hey ho what about covid has been fair. I suppose we can't blame governments for continually reacting and adjusting as they feel needed but sheesh, we just want to have a stress-free holiday! I'd have been right beside you tapping furiously on my laptop and downing the red wine lol ... probably would have suggested we shift the operation to the bar, ha! I have to say that NSB fish restaurant looks delicious. Could do with that lovely weather too ... is currently -13C here in Ontario and that's an improvement!

Yes, it was a little dodgy, but where there`s money to be made, I think we all expect it now. We are rule followers, but this was seemingly done for no genuine reason in the end.

lol......oh goodness that sounds like fun, minus the stress of course.......yes, moving to the bar would have worked! It certainly made the meme....no one types faster than an angry or stressed woman!! My ipad was exhausted by the end of it all......lol......

Oh you`re another with the horrible temperatures!!! And that`s warmer than it has been.......jeez.......our lowest so far this winter our lowest has been -4c real feel, where my mum lives was colder and we did get a white christmas up there, colder than we expected to be honest. But, Canada......wow, it`s like a different planet at times!!

 

[shh]

if you are a little disturbed by enclosed spaced, the low corridors at some points may not be comfortable for you. It`s just ok for me, but it does feel quite enclosed for a little part.

I purposely hadn't read anything about Hagrid's before going, to avoid spoilers and although I was fine with the relaxed mask policy everywhere since we were triple vaxxed, those low queue hallways did give me pause - as they were jam packed during regular hours with everyone laughing, talking, yelling. It was the only time that trip I felt compelled to mask up for a bit.

It was my first Hagrid's ride - and it was at night AND I got the front without even asking. That never happens to me on rides.

I wanted the bike, but my fellow single rider was this adorable little girl and she was soooo excited about getting the front, I offered it to her. She was incredibly happy - so that was well worth it! I figured the ride's not going anywhere...I'll do the bike next time.

 

[shh]

We always laugh at what some places offer as a large wine.....nah, come to our house and we`ll show you what a large glass of wine is!!

Sounds like my husband's glass - you could go snorkeling in the darn thing. But it allows him to truthfully claim he limits himself to "just one glass".