View Full Version : Our Trip 20th April to 4th May 2003
Sunday 20th April 2003
Straight forward enough start to the holiday up at 5:30AM – taxi arrived early at 6:20AM – scheduled flights with BA - Aberdeen to Heathrow on time and got the rear twin bulkhead seats on the flight to Miami which meant we could get up for toilet and stretching without disturbing anyone else which was great. Inflight entertainment was good with seatback TVs and a choice of 11 channels with 7 films including The Two Towers (in two parts), Maid in Manhattan and Die Another Day. Nice meal (Beef or Chicken) but the Deli Bags that BA do at the end of their flights just don’t cut it for me!
Arrived in Miami on schedule and got through immigration quite quickly and our bags were already on the carousel which meant we were through customs and waiting for the courtesy bus for the hotel about 45mins after landing which we were really pleased about as we had been on the go for about 20hrs.
Stayed at the Miami Airport Hilton Towers in a Towers Room, which was great but unfortunately was at the end of the take-off runway. To begin with this was an excellent novelty as we watched jet after jet power way at eye-level (on the 13thFloor) but it soon got tiresome as we tried to get some shuteye!
Monday 21st April
Awake early as the bodyclocks were still a bit out of kilter but the Towers Room gave you access to a lounge where complimentary refreshments and snacks were available and also included in the price was also continental breakfast. Had a leisurely breakfast watching CNN and then went out for a walk around the lagoon that the hotel is situated on. Got our first taste of wildlife as we saw lizards, fish, wading birds and to cap it off we saw a large brown snake sunning itself on a plastic oil drum.
Enquired about the tennis facilities, which we couldn’t find during our walk and were told they were on top of the high rise car park! Played tennis for an hour (no charges for court or equipment except tip to concierge) then went for a swim before showering, packing and checking out. Back to the airport on the hotel courtesy bus to pick up the Dollar car hire courtesy bus and everything was going great.
Got to Dollar – no queue and handed over my voucher – then the problem begins. I had organised a SUV and they didn’t have any available! As I had saw a couple of SUV type vehicles in the compound I asked them to double check with dispatch and suddenly two were available – I thought this was strange and asked if I could inspect the vehicles so they gave me the numbers of the spaces they were in and off I went. The first SUV was a Mitsubishi Montero which was damaged all the way down the LHS – the second was a Dodge Durango that appeared to be ok – I chose the Dodge. However, back at the desk, the Dodge was NOT on their NEW computer system. An hour later I was still at the desk trying to get an SUV – eventually they gave up and put the hire through on compact hire cars details and manually hand-wrote the amendments onto this form which was apparently breaking ALL the rules of Dollar but at least I was sorted out. So car hire had taken about 1.5hrs and I was totally drained and was not looking forward to the drive to Orlando up the Florida Turnpike.
However, we were expected in Orlando so off we went. Only one wrong turn which was quickly resolved by a U-turn and we were on the Florida Turnpike heading North. Stopped at one of the service areas for some food – think it was a Popeye’s for some chicken tenders. Tolls probably amounted to $15 with one big one of $10.80 in the upper section just before Orlando. Seemed to be quite a lot of State Troopers pulling people over for speeding but we managed to stay on or about the speed-limit and weren’t bothered by them. Journey time was probably about 4.5hrs including the stop.
Got on the 192 via Kissimmee St Clouds junction and followed our directions to Thousand Oaks. We knew were in the general vicinity but were getting tired so we just stopped at a Chevron garage to get the final directions – it was literally half a mile away from the entrance to Thousand Oaks but it was reassuring all the same.
We were staying in a villa with my sister and brother-in-law and my two nephews of five and eight who live in Nottingham who didn’t know we were joining them. When we walked in their little faces were a picture and it took them a while to come round from the shock/shyness but they were soon asking us to play in the pool and play football with them so we knew we had been accepted into their holiday!
The surprises didn’t stop there as we ate a pasta dinner and the drink began to flow, my fiancé ran out of excuses to refuse alcohol and we had to tell them our news that we were expecting our first baby in October – so more drink was consumed in celebration!
Tuesday 22nd April
Another new bed, so not a great nights sleep again but it was going to be a relaxing day by the pool for us so no worries. I decided to check my route to Remington GC and we went out about lunchtime armed with my maps from www.mapquest.com). Got to Remington no problems and booked a 10:07 tee time for the next day. As we were out and about we decided to drive down the length of the 192 as on our previous trip we had stayed on I-Drive so didn’t really know the area. Stopped at Taco Bell for lunch and had a trawl around the big Nike Factory store. Decided to go up to SeaWorld to get our FunPasses authorised as it was now about 14:30 so we figured it would be quiet. It was and the park didn’t seem that busy so we headed to the Key West area for some smoothies the went to Shark Encounter and also caught one of the Shamu Shows.
Got back to the villa and the pool man was there – he told us the pool heating was not switched on and that we would need to speak to the property management company if we wanted it – he also showed us how to work the spa which was not in the villa notes and had been bothering my brother-in-law.
Decided to head out to La Fochetta for something to eat on the recommendations on this forum – had the directions printed from the forum but as it was dark and we didn’t know the way we decided just to head for the Florida Premium Outlets to see if I could buy some lightweight T-Shirts for the next days golf. Foodwise we had a Chinese mix-plate at the Mall which was your standard middle of the road reprocessed chicken type of affair but at least it was a step closer to REAL food rather than all the junk stuff we had seemingly been living on for the past couple of days.
Managed to purchase couple of Tommy Hilfiger Golf T-Shirts at an amazing $20 each so the shopping trip was a success. On the way back to the villa I decided to fill up with petrol but had some problems with my credit card at the pay at the pump but just paid cash at the teller and put it down to my inexperience…..more on this later!
Back to the villa for more beers and a discussion about the pool heating which was going to cost $120 a week.
Wednesday 23rd April
Up quite early to get organised for the golf. Left the villa at 8:15 for the 45minute drive across to Remington GC. On arrival I discovered I had forgotten my voucher from the forum but we still seemed to be getting a good deal. I tried to pay using my Barclaycard Platinum and it was denied with “Refer to Issuer” which was a bit of a blow as this was the only card I had taken with me. My brother-in-law stepped so no real problem but I must admit that my golf suffered as I was pre-occupied about how I was going to get my card re-authorised for the rest of the holiday.
The “all you can eat” breakfast was not a buffet and orders were taking about 20 minutes to process so time was getting a bit tight to complete our pre-tee off preparations – but breakfast was duly delivered and dispatched in prompt manner.
We were pointed in the direction of our buggy and rental clubs, which were not what we expected to say the least – the forum golf messages suggests that most rental clubs are Callaway but the sets we both got at Remington were unmatched to an unbelievable degree. I had graphite and steel shafted clubs from at least three different manufacturers – some cavity back, some blades, some quite new, some off the ark – you get my drift.
The next surprise came after we had rushed through our breakfast and battered through our range balls thinking we were struggling for time – our tee off time had been delayed by 30minutes. I queried what the weather delay had been but the reason for our delay was due to a group turning up with more numbers than they expected – could you imagine this happening on a British golf course?!?
Anyhow as we were running on quite a tight schedule for the day this scuppered our plans for 18holes and when we had only played 6 holes after two hours of play we began to think we were only going to get in 12-13 holes in our allotted window!
We were paired with two single golfers – John from Jacksonville and Charlie from Atlanta who were over 40 and had ALL the gear – good solid golfers and great company. I will post a message in the gold forum about the course but the greens were VERY true as my brother-in-laws red hot putter will testify to – 12 put for the first 9 holes – most of them outside 15ft.
Anyhow play speeded up after the 6th hole and by 14:30 we had managed 16 holes but decided that we had to call it a day as we had promised to be back at the villa by half past three and didn’t want to annoy the lady folk this early in the holiday.
Drive back was pretty uneventful but we did see La Fochetta and made a mental note that we must try and get there. When we got back to the villa there was shock at how prompt we were and instead of getting brownie points they just thought we were stupid for not finishing the round – females – you can never win!
Set about contacting Barclaycard but as it was past 8PM BST the helpline was redirected to somewhere outside the UK and they said they could not help me and I would have to speak to the Fraud Department who had put the stop on the card when it opened at 8AM and I would just have to wait. As I was a Platinum customer I said I was entitled to 24hr treatment and they promptly put me through to a voice mail that then hung up on me. Talk about red-rag to a bull – I was fuming. When I phoned back I spoke to an English girl who was very apologetic about the whole affair and promptly re-enabled my card without any problem – lets just say I will be contacting Barclaycard to let them know what I think of their follow-the-sun call centres in Third World Countries! (POSSIBLE HOLIDAY TIP: Barclaycard do not have any customer services numbers of the back of there cards so it may be an idea to always take these with you as I had to phone my fiancés parents to look up the phone book in the UK to get the customer services number! I will always be taking at least two different credit cards with me from now on also!)
Anyhow once that was sorted out it was time for dinner – we had previously agreed that a family meal and mini-golf for
athurstance
06-05-2003, 16:07
Seems like you've had a great time. I had exactly the same problem with my platinum Barclaycard and boy did I give them some earache. I know they have to cut down on fraud but still they don't have to leave you cut off. Fortunately I carry loads of alternatives but it could be embarrassing. And the fraud department are very helpful in getting you sorted out when you do get through to them.
Thursday 24th April
Up early and out to the Chevron Garage to get the papers and check that my credit card was working properly – all now ok. Went to the Loughman Post Office and got some stamps for the postcards we had purchased. Spent the morning by the pool and then headed for Winter Park just before noon (another penance for yesterdays golf). Easy drive up the I4 although it was very busy around Downtown Orlando (as always). Made good time to the Winter Park junctions but found that the signposting was not very good as the Winter Park area of Orlando is very large and it took us a while to find the main tourist orientated area. Parked in the free parking at the train station and wandered about looking at the shops. Eventually asked where the Boat Trips left from and was directed down a street full of condos and at the very end of the street right beside the pontoon we saw the first signpost for the attraction! The boat tours seem to be run by the OAPs of Winter Park but the hour-long tour was very enjoyable as the breeze across the lake took the edge off the baking mid-afternoon sun. Lots of VERY impressive public buildings and private houses which the guides were very knowledgeable on and as usual lots of wildlife also – plenty of water as well so we got the full tour!
After the boat trip we head to the Charles Morse Museum to see the Tiffany Glasswear exhibition but found that the museum closed at 4PM. As it was 3:30PM we only managed a quick rush around but I must admit it was mightily impressive – especially the Chapel at the end – excellent value at $4 each – lots of very interesting B&W leaflets to take away also – the air conditioning was a godsend as well!
Not surprisingly we were last to leave the museum (about 4:30PM) but we never felt that we were being rushed or thrown out.
Drive back was much more straightforward as the I4 was very well signposted. It was especially busy in Downtown Orlando as we were going through there about 5PM (rush-hour).
Stopped off at the Edwin Watts on the back road to Universal from Sand Lake Road to buy some balls and a Titleist lob wedge I had been after for a while. ($99 instead of £89 in the UK).
We hadn’t stopped to eat lunch so we were ready for our tea and decided to stop at the Damons on I-Drive for ribs having eaten there last June.
Unfortunately the site is "available for rent" so don't bother going to the one on IDrive as per my original post - looks like they went bust!
However we knew there was a "Damons - The Place to Eat" on the 192 (south side) - across from Olive Garden beside the Fly and Elastic Ping rides.
We had noticed it when we ate at the Olive Garden on the 192 the previous night so our quest for ribs was fulfilled AND they still do the combo platters which is a massive portion of food - I was starving and still only just managed to finish mine off.
The one on the 192 also has 5 large TV screens with audio available at each table so we watched one of the NBA playoff games while we ate - tremendous for ESPN/CNN fans!
After dinner we headed along the 192 to WalMart but as it was late we didn’t have time to do the place justice so decided to call it a day and were back in the villa by 9:30PM.
Friday 25th April
Took my sister and her family up to the Florida Premium Outlets at Lake Buena Vista and they literally lost control of their purse/wallet strings. I think the Sunglasses Hut and Nike Factory store could have taken the rest of the day off as they went mad.
Back to the villa for lunch and a cooling dip in the pool.
Travelled up to SeaWorld and went directly to the Key West Dolphin Show. We were sitting outside the soak zone due to all the digital cameras/camcorders we were packing but the kids were up for the soaking and went down to the glass – they soon re-joined us after they got there first taste of 50degree salt water! Went directly to the Clyde and Seemore show – same show as last June but still great entertainment for the kids. Went across to the Key West area for the Sting Ray encounter and more Smoothies for the pregnant one. Kids enjoyed the touch pool but we had missed feeding time so they weren’t rising as much as usual. Went to the dolphin area which as usual was heaving with people – managed to get a few pictures but again we had missed the sale of the feeding food so the dolphins were only interested if you had fish – nevermind the kids had fun. Shortly after this the heavens opened for a tremendous downpour/thunderstorm. Headed to the sanctuary of the Shark Encounter and after this decided to try and book a table for The Shark Grill. We got a pager (2hr approximate wait which wasn’t bad considering I had tried to book a table the previous morning and was told they were fully booked after 4:15PM on that day!)
After the downpour my brother-in-law and I managed a ride on Kraken although there were still spots of rain about which did sting a bit when they hit you. By this time it was raining again so we headed to the Sharks Underwater Grill and despite being about 30minutes early our table was ready (although the pager had not gone off). The service was quite slow but the surroundings are absolutely amazing. Kids portions were big but the adults ones varied – I had a Porterhouse steak and although costing $23 it basically came sitting on a dollop of mash so wasn’t that filling. As I said service was quite slow so we basically had to eat our main course and head off to Shamu Rocks America show. The kids loved this uptempo show and with them eating late and being kept amused by the underwater tanks at the Shark Grill they lasted really well and thoroughly enjoyed the fireworks at the end of the show.
There had basically been a non stop thunder/electrical storm for about 4 hours so it was a soggy journey to the car park and onward to the villa – the kids were sparko by the time we left the SeaWorld car park but we had all had a really enjoyable day despite the atrocious weather.
Saturday 26th April
Sister and family were away early to EPCOT so we had the villa and pool to ourselves for the morning. As we were babysitting in the evening we went out to do some shopping at the Publix at Champions Gate. Food shopping is so much fun when you don’t know the brand names – eventually managed to purchase Oven Chips, fish fingers, chicken nuggets and some pizza but it probably took about an hour when a whizz round Asda at home would have taken all of 5minutes!
Decided that it wasn’t a good idea to spend a whole day in the sun so decided to go on a trip to Florida Malls. Went there last time so just replicated the route we took last time i.e. up the I4 to Sand Lake Road then East for 7miles easy! Went to JC Pennys and a couple of maternity shops and found some excellent maternity work clothes for Babette and they were very reasonably priced. The assistant in the Maternity shop couldn’t do enough fo us and was literally throwing clothes into our changing room as quick as Babette could try them on! Time for another smoothie – have you guessed what her craving are yet?
Went to Ritz Cameras at location 320 and got a great deal on a 128MB SmartMedia for my Fuji digital camera – ( $64.99 for a Fuji original - £60 at Heathrow Tax Free shop )
Drove back to the villa via a RaceTrak petrol station (cheapest I found for fuel – readily available throughout Orlando area) for the feeding of the kids and babysitting. My sister and her husband met up with some friends and went to EPCOT to eat and see the fireworks. Think they went to Harry Ramsbottoms in the England area and they said the food was very good and they got a excellent view of the fireworks – they certainly seemed to have enjoyed themselves and were very merry when they returned!
We had a great evening with the kids playing cards and dominos – ended up watching Field of Dreams on cable for the umpteenth time to get us in the mood for the next days baseball.
Sunday 27th April
Up earlyish as today was our roadtrip for the Baseball at St Petersburg. We had agreed on another game of golf – this time in celebration of my brother-in-laws birthday which was due on the Thursday but as we were leaving them on the Wednesday it had been agreed that we should bring it forward a couple of days so we could celebrate in style altogether.
Drove down the I4 and went up the 27 to book golf at Highland Reserve. Found the community and course no problem and it is only a 15 minute maximum drive from Thousand Oaks. Managed to book the 7AM tee time – yes I do remember I am on holiday but after our 16 holes in 5hrs at Remington GC I didn’t want history repeating itself and was very pleased with myself in securing the first tee off time of the day for Tuesday morning.
The drive down the I4-I275 to St Petersburg was pretty uneventful – took about 2hrs including the 20min detour to the golf course.
Parked in Tropicana Field for $10 and went to buy our tickets. Bought our tickets form the official window even though there were touts about (something I learned at Madison Square Gardens in New York when both a tout and a purchaser were arrested right in front of me). We bought $25 tickets which may seem extravagant but we got great seats behind the Devil Rays dugout along inbetween the home plate nand first base at Section 108. We both love all the patriotism at US sporting events it really adds to the event and to add to the atmosphere the game had been declared a Childrens Fun Day so there were thousands of youngsters all in their little league baseball uniforms which was great to see.
The Devil Rays pitcher (Joe Kennedy) had a poor start and they were 4-0 down after the first innings and never really recovered as Baltimore came out 7-4 winners. With two outs remaining in the ninth inning the Devil Rays had a potentially tying situation with 2 men on 1st and 3rd but a good double play by the Orioles ended the game in a bit of an anti-climax.
At the end of the game we struggled past all the little leaguers who were patiently waiting to “Walk the Bases” – another amazing sight to see.
Had printed off directions from the Tropicana Field to the hotel we had booked so the journey was pretty straight forward even though we ended up on a very suspicious looking dodgy back road through some scrub land in the middle of Tampa. The hotel we had booked was the Tampa North Hilton Garden Inn ($109/night room only). We only had an overnight bag so unpacking was no big deal. Asked at reception for directions to Busch Gardens and they gave us a photocopied sheet so were obviously geared up for park visitors and nothing was too much trouble for them. The claimed journey time of 3 miles and 10 minutes was slightly exaggerated but we were safely at Busch Gardens in under 20 minutes. The car parks were busy as this was the last day before the Americans went back to school after Easter break so even at 6PM the park was still busy but we didn’t have to pay for parking which was a small bonus!
The FunPass Park guide we had been given at SeaWorld said that Busch Gardens was open until 8:30PM that day but on arriving at the park we discovered it was actually going to close at 7:30PM. Decided to take the SkyRide across to Stanleyville as the entrance area was mobbed and there were still big queues at Rhino Rally and Montu. Congo area was pretty much deserted so took my chance and headed for Kumba. No queues so managed to go round twice – first time on the rear car which was just a bit to vicious for my dodgy back. Second time in a middle car was rather sedate comparatively – it is amazing how smooth these coasters are!
Babette, my fiancée decided she was going to have a hair extension thing so I used the time to good effect and went on the rear car of The Python which was just too cramped for comfort for my 6’4” 14stone frame. Also had a quick dive onto the Stanley Falls Log Flume ride as it was very quiet as well.
Had a quick walk round the Land of Dragons children area to Gwazi but we were jus
Monday 28th April
The hotel was very quiet so we both got a good night sleep. Decided to have a swim before breakfast – we arrived at the pool while the chief engineer was doing the pool cleaning as it was an uncovered outdoor pool so had bug carnage from the previous night. Had a leisurely swim for about half an hour followed by a Jacuzzi that was just a bit too hot for me – although the bubbles were gave me a very much needed massage on my back. Back to the room for a shower and then down for breakfast. The breakfast wasn’t included in the room rate but there was a massive spread of continental breakfast foods and there was a chef who prepared your eggs, pancakes and French toast fresh to order so we decided to give it a try. Excellent value in a nice airy relaxed setting ($6 continental & $8 with the fried food) – we were the only ones there as by this time it was approaching 10AM. After breakfast we went back to the room and packed – checked out about 11AM. The receptionist was well impressed that we had picked to go to the park on the first Monday back to school for the local kids and predicted that the park would be very quiet. Made our way to Busch Gardens by car and when we arrived in the car park we got parked in Lot C at 11:30AM – this boded well as the previous day the car parks were practically full. Got on the transfer trolley bus and true enough all the other car parks were empty including the preferential etc.
At the gate we phoned my sister and family who had driven down from Thousand Oaks via a Disney themed breakfast – they had just arrived in the car park so we decided to wait for them at the entrance.
When they arrived we purchased our magic drink cup voucher and headed off into Egypt via the Clydesdale centre where the kids watched the horses getting their mid-day bath. When we arrived in the Egypt area the kids were happy playing in the ancient treasure sandpit with Babette watching them so my sister, brother-in-law and me all headed for Montu – absolutely no queue - brilliant. This ride was fantastically smooth and totally exhilarating. I enjoy Kraken and Kumba but I do worry about my back but this coaster was just the business for anyone who doesn’t like them too jerky. Anyway despite the fact I could have stayed on Montu all day we collected the kids and headed up to the SkyRide. Arrived in Stanleyville and went straight for the Tanganyika Tidal Wave as I had been trying to explain it to the kids on the ride across. After watching for about 10 minutes my sister decided that the “royal we” were going on it – again no queues. Naturally she took the inside seat and 10 minutes later I was drenched to the skin as I took a double hit – once from the 55ft drop and once from the bridge run off – I was totally wringing wet. The kids were happy standing behind the Perspex and it was great watching them retreat/protect themselves as the tidal wave hit!
Unfortunately the Stanley Falls Log Flumes were quite busy and so was the Congo River Rapids as nearly everyone in the park had young families with them so the thrill rides were empty but the sedate children friendly ones were still 45min waits.
Next we headed for Kumba and again no queues to speak of. Having been on it twice the night before I knew the run quite well so it didn’t really thrill me like Montu had earlier but surprisingly both my sister and brother-in-law thought it was better than Montu.
Took the kids to the Land of Dragons play area and they literally disappeared for 90 minutes – this area has only one entrance/exit and we got seats right by it so we knew they couldn’t escape without passing us. Only problem is that they have wet and dry areas so my nephews were continually asking to be dressed/undressed but it was nice to get a seat and we took the opportunity to get fed and watered.
The adults took it in turn to head off to various rides. I went on Gwazi Tiger but the park was so quiet they didn’t have the Lion run working at all that day which was a bit disappointing. Mind you when I came off this wooden coa
Tuesday 29th April
Woken by the alarm at 6AM and suddenly golf didn’t sound such a great idea as I was knackered. The weather didn’t provide any loophole as the storms had passed and it was a beautiful day for golf at Highland Reserve. Drove down the I4 and up the 27 and was at the course for just after 6:30AM.
The fees were $75 for cart, clubs, a sleeve of balls, green fees and snack at the turn.
The clubs weren’t Callaway as we had been told but they were a matched set of King Cobra cavity backed irons and metal woods. Played off the 6000yrd Gold Tees so there was basically NO water on the course apart from a tiny bit at the 10th tee. First on the tee (despite some Highland Reserve regulars trying to get off in front of us) and we blasted through the first few holes – I had a birdie put on the first 3 holes but then started having sand problems as the scrub area started gobbling up my slightly wayward drives. Completed the first 9 holes in 90 minutes and grabbed a breakfast bun and soft drink at the turn.
Completed the round just before 10AM – well under 3hrs if you knock off the time we wasted getting the breakfast bun as the waitress couldn’t believe we had reached the turn that quickly (she thought we had given up and were just going home early!)
Anyhow not completely entering into the birthday spirit I trouced my brother-in-law 5 and 4 but then relaxed too much and ruined my respectable card with nothing better than a double bogey on the last 4 holes – my putting was atrocious as the greens finally showed there true menace after the early morning dew!
The course was pretty wide open apart from the scrub land and playing off the Gold Tees we could easily clear most of the fairway bunkers that were strategically placed for the Black tees. Very good course though if you want a British Parkland type course to break up the usual water lined course that Florida has an abundance of.
Bought a T-Shirt to commemorate the visit – $45 very good value for a patterned Callaway t-shirt with Highland Reserve embroidery.
Arrived back at the villa by 10:30AM much to the amazement of everyone. Despite this we just lazed around for the day as the kids were done in after Busch Gardens and we couldn’t even tempt them with a trip to Gatorland, which we offered several time around lunchtime.
As this was going to be my brother-in-laws evening Birthday Meal we organised a table at TGI Fridays on the 192. Just before we left the villa we were hit with another ferocious thunderstorm, which did not relent for the remainder of the evening. The meal was typical TGI Fridays fair but they entered into the birthday spirit when ALL the greeters and waiting staff each tied a balloon to my brother-in-law – great fun and the kids were in hysterics at their dad with about 20 helium balloons floating around his personage as he tried to eat his dinner.
After the meal Babette and I went to WalMart on the 192 to get some presents – hoped to buy a bottle of bubbly for my sister and her husband but I was very disappointed in the selection of wines at WalMart – I even asked if I had missed the real wine section! I had noticed a good selection in Publix so expected even better from WalMart but boy was I mistaken.
Stopped in at Champions Gate but the Publix was just closing so we had to pay top price at the little liquor store for a bottle of Moet c.$45 for something I could have got a Heathrow Tax Free for £13!
Got back to the villa and gave my sister and brother-in-law the champagne which they planned to drink in the Jacuzzi on his real birthday once the kids were safely in bed. Did a small bit of organising but it was getting late for packing so we just called it a day and went to bed.
Wednesday 30th April
Up early to finish packing and get ready for the drive from Thousand Oaks to the Everglades. Decided to take the 27 down the other side of Lake Okeechokee but there were too many traffic lights and 45 mph zones so we decided to cut over to the Florida Turnpike at Lake Wales which got us onto the Turnpike at Yeehaw Junction.
Had a pretty uneventful journey down the Florida Turnpike until we reached Ft. Lauderdale when it started to rain. Decided to by-pass Downtown Miami and cut across the Sawgrass section of the Turnpike back towards the 27. The rain was getting increasingly worse but I felt quite secure being high up in the Durango whereas last year I just parked up as quickly as I could when it started to rain in a Dodge Intrepid as it was borderline dangerous with all the bouncing rain and road spray.
Drove into the car park at Florida City and phoned Flamingo Lodge to check the weather at the resort. Despite the fact that they had rooms available I thought it was a waste of our time to be stuck in the Everglades in a Thunderstorm with basic cable to entertain us and as I was driving and happy enough to continue we decided to change our plans and charge on to Key West.
The weather was now borderline tropical storm with Thunder and Lightning and incredibly heavy rain but at least the roads were quite quiet and we made good progress towards Key West and always had the option of finding somewhere on the way if I got too tired.
Anyways we got all the way to Key West but as you enter the main island the road splits and you guessed it we took the wrong one! OK it is unfair to say the wrong one as we knew we were on the Southern Side of the Key so it was a good bet to go to take the left road but just half a mile along the road the sea was higher than the road and there was about 3foot of standing water on the road. Luckily the SUV came into its own and we ploughed through the floods and eventually made it to the hotel we were booked into for the following two nights. In my haste to charge on down to Key West we had forgotten to check with the hotel we were booked into if they had rooms available for that night. Got to the reception desk and they were very helpful and fortunately had an Executive Twin (same as I had booked for the next two nights) available. I insisted on a quick check of the room to see that they had FULL cable as the forecast was predicting that at least the first night was going to be a washout. Cable was in order and the room was big with a small balcony, large TV, microwave and fridge.
Checked in and settled into the room by watching the spectacular storm through our balcony patio windows. Decided that we were too tired to eat out so went out to the Publix Supermarket for some food/drink for the room and picked up a Pizza Hut pizza on the way back. Settled in room for the night by about 9PM but the storm raged on until the middle of the night, which did not bode well for our 2 days in “sunny” Key West.
Thursday 1st May
Woke up to beautiful sunny weather with cloudless skies but 100% humidity. After a quick trip to the hotel gift shop/tourist advice centre we tried to get some photos of the Southernmost Point but it was too busy so we decided just to leave it!
We decided to walk up Duval Street to get our bearings. Basically Duval Street is a 1.5mile strip of hotels, pubs, art galleries and shops. Key West is full of tourists, cats and chickens – basically in roughly that order. The chickens are a legacy from the Cuban immigrant days and there is a local law that means up to a $500 fine if you injure/kill one of the roaming chickens – madness!
We were a bit late in getting up so most places had stopped serving breakfast so when we reached the end of Duval Street at the Marina area we ate lunch at a Boardwalk restaurant called Billy Fish's. Watched the various big game fish boats, pleasure craft and coastguard pass by whilst we decided what to do for the rest of the day.
Following lunch we wandered along Mallory Square, inspecting the luxury yachts and the single cruise ship that was in harbour.
Decided to take the Historic Harbour Boat Tour and after buying our tickets we had a wander round the Hilton Resort shops and cafes.
The harbour tour was very informative with lots of funny anecdotes and gave us a good insight of what was worth seeing in our short time on Key West.
Went back to the hotel via a shop we had spied called Planet Smoothie – bought one of the cooler cups which entitled you to 10% discount on further purchase which I knew was on the cards!
All the walking in the high humidity had taken its toll on my fiancée and she hit the sack for a rest. I decided that I would go swimming in the closest of the three pools that the resort had to offer. The closest pool had a Tiki Bar next to it and it was a scene I have witnessed many time before with dozens of 18-30s getting [bad word filter] ***ed, flirting and playing the fool. I could have been anywhere in the world – Tenerife, Majorca, Ibiza and as I wanted to get some serious exercise I decided that this was not the pool for me. The second pool also had a bar but was more orientated at families but with all the kids in the pool it was also not conducive to serious exercise. I found the third pool over in the posh area of the hotel and had the pool to myself but did feel conscious that I may get asked to leave – but I had my Southernmost Resort passcard and nobody bothered me whilst I swan and sunned my self for the best part of 90minutes.
After showering (which was a waste of time due to the humidity) we headed off to Mallory Square – unfortunately there was not much of a sunset as it had clouded over but I did manage to partake of a KeyLime Colada or two – basically a Pina Colada using KeyLimes instead of Coconut - $7 a glass from the Hilton Pier bar.
The market stalls and street entertainers were pretty amazing – jugglers, fire-eaters, performing animals – including the infamous CatMan show ( a Frenchman with performing house cats which has to be seem to be believed http://www.catmankeywest.com )
Walked back down Duval St and Babette had the Crepe she had been eying up all day and I bought a slice of KeyLime Pie – basically a KeyLime cheesecake with a meringue topping – few beers watching ESPN and off to bed – ONLY day of the holiday I didn’t drive apparently.
Friday 2nd May
Got up reasonably early and headed off to IHOP for some breakfast. Very good food – boy do I love those Western Skillet!
Back to the hotel tourist information to purchase Trolley Tour tickets, which we had been told, was better than the shorter Conch Train Tour despite them both costing $20. First stop was the Key West Aquarium ($9 admission) – joined the tour which basically covered the whole aquarium and took the best part of an hour (they have a website which has three web cams if anyone is interested at http://www.keywestaquarium.com ). The Shark Feeding/Petting was very good even though it was only a small nursing shark and you could only touch its tail. Apparently sharks taste through their skin and as the guide said the shark didn’t like the taste of some people as the shark squirmed and thrashed when a couple of people touched it despite it being calm when most people petted it.
The Trolley Tour took you all around the Key West Island but basically there is not too much to see in the outlying area as most of the tourist type attractions are centralised around the Duval Street and Marina areas.
After the Trolley Bus tour Babette was ready for a rest so we stopped in past Planet Smoothie for a top-up and headed back the hotel. As it was only about 3PM I decided to go out for a walk to get some better pictures of some of the site we had only just swept by.
Eventually found the Zero Mile Marker of USHighway1, which is located on a back street away from all the real tourist areas. Wandered across the pleasure craft area and watched a man gutting a Queen Fish that had been freshly caught on one of the big game boats. He basically filleted the fish and then fed the remains to the very large Tarpin that were scavenging around the jetty.
Tried to get tickets for the sunset sail on one of the historic schooners that do trips – the “America” and “Western Union”. Unfortunately they were fully booked and I didn’t even find out the price but I expect it would have been expensive as it was two hour trip which included food and drink.
After my photo frenzy wander I went back to the hotel and we then went to the resorts Private Beach for a paddle – as the storms had brought a lot of seagrass ashore we soon retired to the posh swimming pool for some R&R.
The tourist guide at the hotel told us that the view from La Concha Hotel (the highest building in Key West) was the best place watching the Sunset. We arrived at the hotel and proceeded to the RoofTop Lounge which is open to everyone. Had a drink and watch a pretty rather than spectacular sunset. Managed to take a few pictures – hopefully they will turn out good.
We decided that we would have a nice meal to celebrate our last evening of the holiday – we both fancied pasta instead of anything with chips and opted for a meal at a quiet Italian Restaurant called OPERA which was located on a small quiet lane off Duval Street. Had a lovely three-course meal and then walked back the short distance to the Hotel. Bed nice and early as we planned an early exit to beat the traffic on the way off the Keys.
Saturday 3rd May
Up and packed by 9AM. Managed to finally get some pictures at the Southernmost Point of Continental USA – just managed to beat a wedding party to the monument otherwise we would have probably missed out altogether! Checked out of the hotel and started the drive up the Keys. Stopped at Pigeon Key to get some picture of the Seven Mile Bridge. Arrived in Florida City about 12:30 and grabbed a Taco Bell before heading down into the Everglades. Stopped at the Visitors Centre and got our passports stamped and then headed into the park and down to Flamingo. We had noticed the Mosquito Alert HIGH posters at the toll-booth but were not quite prepared for the ferocity of them. Consequently we didn’t stay in Flamingo too long but did see an alligator in the marina area and meandered back up the road stopping at the roadside lakes and doing the boardwalks – left the park at about 16:45 and drove up the Florida Turnpike to Miami International Airport. Quite straight forward even though the Car Rental Returns signs were not very well placed so we had a number of last minute lane changes but eventually got to the Dollar compound.
According to the car hire records I drove 1549 miles in the hire car over the 12.5 days but it didn’t feel like a burden and I don’t remember having any near misses during the holiday and I must admit I was much happier in an SUV especially when the rain was bouncing 2ft off the ground as it does in Florida!
No real problems at Miami Airport although we had played things by the book and left our cases unlocked with toiletries at the top. The BA area seems to be quite self contained so it was pretty much straight through without any queues or delays.
Different seat configuration on the 747 on the way home with much less 1st/Business Class and many more cattle class rows. Same seatback TVs and a new month so new films with Gangs of New York (in two parts), About Shmidt, Two Weeks Notice, The Recruit, Disney Treasure Planet and The Hours. However, the flight was only 7.5 hrs so they cut the third rotation about half way through so we now need to rent The Hours ad The Recruit to see the endings!
Sunday 4th May
Big tailwind across the Gulf Stream so arrived back at Heathrow half an hour early, which meant we had a long 4.5hr wait for our connection back to Aberdeen. Roughest landing I have had in a long while as well – uneven and bouncy – not good on a bellyful of beer and wine!
Flight back to Aberdeen was on time but when we got to Aberdeen we found that a piece of our check-in baggage had missed the connection from Heathrow but BA said it would be on a later flight and true to their word it was delivered to the house at 8PM that night – intact and undamaged. One of our case was not properly shut and after a quick check of each case it was obvious that they had been opened at Miami but fortunately nothing had got out!
To finish the holiday we had the joyous task of telling our family about our pregnancy – I think everyone thought our news was that we were had got married whilst away but we can leave that for another trip!
Went to bed about 11PM which meant I had been up about 35hrs.
9hrs sleep and into work on Bank Holiday Monday as it was a good day to clear email without interruptions…..
We now just have to tell our hundreds of friends or just let the jungle drums spread the word on our behalf.
Hi Leslie,
WOW that was some trip report[:0]. Overall you seem to have had a good time dispite a few problems. I certainly agree with you about the credit card. I know have one from Nationwide Building Society as they seem to offer the best exchange rate and do'nt charge commision when using it abroad. Hope the pregnancy goes well. You'll have even more reason to return to Florida with a family.:D
Thanks for taking the time to do the report and best wishes.
Jeff
steph_goodrum
06-05-2003, 18:45
Thanks for that report Leslie and congratulations to you and Babette. As Jeff said won't be too long before you're back with the family (the golf might have to be sidelined for Disney though).
Daniel Ramsey
06-05-2003, 19:07
Awesome trip report! I felt like I was there, and that was the best trip report I have seen in ages...on any board, thanks for sharing it with us. Flying to Orlando for my family is usually in two legs with an hour layover its still 12 hours. We leave Anchorage about 8pm and arrive Orlando around 9 or 10am the next morning. No movies on the 757 but we rented a portable DVD player and some movies, next time I will use my Toshiba laptop.
I stayed at a rental home in Thousand Oaks as well off of Loughman Road, it was a little off the way to Disney but we found a less than traveled direct road to the parks and it all worked out, nice community, very quiet except when the lawn maintenance crews are about.
Andy & Arlene
07-05-2003, 03:02
Thousand Oaks is only 10 minutes to Disney - a lot closer than some of the communities. It is only 2 minutes from the Championsgate golf and retail park and the I4 - which is quicker to drive on to get to shops, parks etc than the 192.
K4LGB,
Glad to hear that you had a fantastic time, had certain similarities with the trip to Tropicana field - know what you mean about the 'shady' areas around the stadium.......not the kind of places that you would stop to ask directions!! Glad you enjoyed Highlands Reserve - the scoff is not up to much, but the forgiving nature of the course is quite an ego boost. What did you say you finished with dbogey or worse on the last 4 holes? I guess it must have been tiredness - I somehow managed to make birdie on the last despite being in the bunker on the right from the tee - my only one of the day!!
Better go - new job so can't spend all day hooked up
Biggus
Yes think I was 3 under level 5s when we shook hands at the 14th green winning 5&4 matchplay against my brother-in-law. Unfortunately, I totally switched off and my driving and putting went all to pot even though my dodgy back held up really well.
According to the scorecard I actually parred the 15th and only bogeyed the 16th but four putted the <100yd par 3 17th (from the fringe) - in the trees on the outside of the dogleg off the tee at the 18th and could only chip out sideways - good layup then overshot the green big-time with a PW and only just caught the scrub before the road then it was downhill from there to a lucky 8! [:p]
Enjoyed the challenge of the scrub land as it was something I had never played out of before but because it was such a young course and didn't have the water to protect it I thought it was a bit too forgiving but I'm sure it will mature up to a decent challenge in 10yrs or so.
You were right about the T-Shirts - great quality and good prices
Cheers
Les
Brilliant report. Thanks for all the info.
I work for a major high street bank, so I am aware of the great amount of card fraud. Unfortunately the US fraudsters are very clever. They clone your card & use it quickly knowing you are English, & won't be back in the UK for a while. You won't usually know any fraud has taken place until your bill arrives. Always wise to watch the shopworkers very closely when handing over your card. Never let them take the card out of your sight. The cloning machines are very small & the shopworker can swipe your card through it if you are not watching them carefully. Your card details are then copied into their gadget & put onto blank cards. I know it sounds unlikely, but it happens.
Fraudsters know not to go absolutely mad with your card details, because you will be using it on holiday, & they don't want you to have declined transactions.
So if your bank stops your card, its better that way, than having to deal with Police, Fraud units etc. Always carry more than one card.
Be careful if someone asks you questions in shops for the purpose of marketing. They may ask you what country you are from
floridadreamvilla.co.uk
09-05-2003, 02:59
The other good advice is to check your credit card statement online whilst you are in the villa so you will spot any dodgy transactions as they happen!
I fully agree with John/Sarah - I primarily use my Barclaycard as I have online access to the account and monitor it daily.
As a footnote, my fiance uses my old mobile number and we came back to a message form the Barclaycard Fraud Department so if I had updated them with my new Tri-Band mobile number then it would probably have been less of an issue as we had this phone with us in Florida!
When I spoke to Barclaycard they also admitted that it is best to contact them to make notes on your accounts about dates you expect to be in other countries during normal customer services hours (8AM-8PM) as the reps in the call centres outwith these hours are less than reliable (the Barclaycard Fraud Departments words NOT mine).
I am just putting it down to a learning experience and at least there are no rogue payments on my account - even though I spent about £3k![:0]
Cheers
Les