E. Cosgrove
 United Kingdom
5932 Posts
Joined: 26 Apr 2004
Status: offline |  Posted - 02 Apr 2005 : 12:37:16  
| 22nd March
Despite the melatonin I slept badly, a combination of jet lag and busy thoughts. At 6.45 it was clear that there was no more sleep for me so I got up to peep out of the window. The sky was overcast but at least it wasn't raining, and there it was, the beautiful conservation view that we could not see on last nights dark arrival, things were getting better already
David was awake as well so we decided to take a swim. When we removed the pool cover we found that although the water was not freezing you had to get straight in and swim to keep warm. At this point I reurgitated ( no not literally ) everything I had read on the forum about pool heating and instructed everyone ( by this time Helen and Stu had joined us)to be vigilant about use of the pool blanket. The heat had probably been on less than 24 hours and it would get warmer. I was proved right...thankyou everybody....as within 48 hours it was like swimming in a warm bath. As we swam, large patches of blue sky began to appear, now this really felt like a holiday in Florida!
When we left the pool Nat was already up and showered, she was quickly to learn that when the villa was occupied by 10 peple 1st up got the hottest shower, this got even Nicola out of bed on a few occasions
We sat around on the lanai with cups of tea and bowls of cereal whilst the "kids" dragged themselves from the pit one by one. Helen turned on her phone to find a text message from Sophie (who was arriving that day) to say she had been upgraded from economy to Upper Class, would we ever hear the end of this?
Eventually everyone was up and fed, Jonathon was disappointed to find we were not eating breakfast out, a common holiday tradition, but the logistics of getting 11 people up, out to breakfast and on to the parks before lunchtime would have been nightmare.
Today's plan was for the kids to go to Seaworld whilst the adults got on with "villa Jobs" and picked up Sophie from the airport.
Stuart had not yet got his "bearings" so David volunteered to drop the kids off. Nicola left the villa in a somewhat half undressed state and still putting on her makeup whilst Kitty denied any responsibility for being her sister
Helen, Stu and I, cleared away the breakfast pots and then we set about checking the inventory for the furnituure package. We were the obvious things missing like a dining room chair and handles for my bedroom furniture but also some several smaller items as well. I rang the company as I had had most of the dealings with them but when I was getting nowhere, Stuart took over the conversation, polite but firm, they promised to get back to him that day but never did ( more about this later! )
Next we investigated the plug sockets trying to work out which ones related to which wall switches, swapping around the plugs for the lamps and labelling the switches. By the time David arrived back it looked as if we had done very little but in the event we had never stopped.
David and Stuart started to investigate the snagging list, whilst Helen and I started to unpack all the shopping that David and I had done in Jan. We had not had time to wash the pool towels and those that had been used this morning had covered us all in fluff, so it was also time to check that the washer and drier worked...they did
It was lovely to find that Terry (MC) had fixed all the wardrobe doors so that they were shutting properly and not hanging off, and by 11.20 the boys had done all they could without tools.
We were expecting a visit from the guy who had fitted our security alarm so that we could pay him and sign the contracts for monitoring, we didn't have a firm time so we rang and left a message to say a call after 2pm would be best. We had to be at home by 2 pm as we had an appointment with a rep from the builders to sort out outstanding problems.
We set off for Walmart on the US27 with a long shopping list. Unfortunately we hadn't bargained for roadworks on the Northbound side and the journey took us much longer than expected, leaving us not too much time to shop Still we managed two trolley loads and the boys got the things they needed to carry one with their jobs, we picked up some sandwiches ( forgot to say we had shopped at Publix last night!)for lunch and returned home much faster via the same route.
When we arrived home the man from the cable company had called and there was confirmation that our cable was connected ( that would please the kids when they came home and could watch TV) We dumped the shopping just in time for Helen and I to turn around and head out to the airport to pick up Sophie, as we were leaving the man from the builders arrived bang on time...things were looking up.
I had intended to drive down the 417 to the airport but we were gassing so much that I missed the exit so we ended up on the I4 and Beeline Expressway which meany doing battle with the road works.
When we arrived the flight had landed so whilst I stood at the gate exit Helen went down to check the baggage hall, no sign of Sophie there so we hung around outside the shuttle exit and sure enough she arrived smiling, in high spirits and full of her Upgrade to Upper Class. How many times did I hear the tale of the complimentary hand massage?
Sophie's suitcase was the first off the carousel and we were soon sailing downthe 417 towards Davenport. Sophie was very impressed that I was able to drive a large van on "the wrong side of the road" and chastised her mother for not having a go.
We called at Publix on the way back for more supplies and Sophie picked up a sandwich from Subway.
There was great delight on my part when we returned to the villa, the guy had sorted out all but 2 of our snagging problems ( still no loft hatch and lanai light not working} we now had a paint touch up kit, a new lock on the garage door, a handle for the garage door etc etc ( we were told not to ask where the handle came from, I suspect it appeared in the same way we lost ours ) The boys had fitted a new lock on the owners cupboard and had tuned in all the TV's.
Sophie was desperate to take a dip in the pool which by now was getting increasingly warmer, Helen and I unpacked the mornings shopping and put in another load of pool towels to wash. The menfolk were unable to fit the safe as they still had to charge their new cordless drill.
Still no sign of the alarm man and it was now 5 pm so we rang him again, he had his appointments mixed up and we were scheduled for tomorrow pm which would really upset our plans as we were hoping that the whole party could go to Universal, we had lots to fit in during Sophie's short stay. He said he was in Kissimmee and would try to call later, we kept our fingers crossed.
There was nothing really left to do except wait for the kids to call to be picked up, they had already rung to say they would not be saying late.......time for another dip in the pool then.
The kids rang at 6.15 to say they were just going to do Wild Arctic ( ) and would then be ready to be collected. David headed for the shower and the alarm man arrived. He was very helpful, that was another job crossed off the list, things were getting better and better.
We all showered to leave the bathrooms free for the kids who arrived home glowing from their day in the sun and full of all that they had seen. There was a small complaint that Nick and Nicola only had 2 paces, slow and slower but get them with the adults and we would soon remedy that!!
We decided that everywhere would be busy and that as a party of 11 we might be better accommodated in Celebration, so when everyone was finally ready, we headed out there and had a lovely meal at the Market Street Cafe where there was something for everyone. My chicken parmesan was lovely but just far too much too eat, some of those who chose starters as well lived to regret it.
Sophie was very impressed with Celebration and sorry that she would not have time to visit during the day. The ( in my opinion unfair) comparison to The home of the Stepford wives, seems to have been replaced with Wisteria Lane since the advent of Desperate Housewives on TV ( don't watch it myself, but the kids do)
We decided to head home via the I4.....big mistake The roadworks were reducing it to one lane and there were big jams, I tried to push my way in infront of a 7 seater van with a Georgia plate but no way would he give an inch, both he and his passenger stared straight ahead whilst their darling offspring pulled faces and made rude gestures out of the windows, where is all that Southern charm and good manners?.......probably British actually
I eventually did battle with a truck and trailer, fortunately my nerve held and I was soon sailing down the inside lane past Mr Georgia plate
Well there we were, the end of what I felt was a successful day. Tomorrow was to be Universal for the whole party......or was it? |
Liz
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