Going South

Have I mentioned that I love my Kindle? Turns out that with the 3G I get free internet access anywhere in the world! So I can blog on board for free, although not with photos.

Today we left Orlando and drove south to Fort Lauderdale in what has come to be known as The Bad Boy. The satnav turned out to have a faulty cable as well as the dodgy switch and we weren't sure it was going to work at all. Luckily we managed to get it working, as finding our way out of Orlando was quite a challenge. We decided we had just enough time to call in on Jacquie and Roger at the marina where they keep their yacht. we have an easy run down the Florida interstate and I manage to get the Bad Boy's fuel consumption up to 16.5mpg. As we approached the turn off for the marina I did a quick calculation and realised the time didn't add up.  Turns out the satnav's clock is an hour slow and we can only spare 5 minutes with Jacquie.

We find the marina and Roger meets us at the entrance and takes us to meet Jacquie on board Audacious. They both look very tanned and relaxed after 6 months at sea. We have time for only a quick tour and the briefest of chats before getting on the road again. We'e behind schedule and not sure we will find the interstate before the satnav dies. Luck is with us and it conks out just after we rejoin the highway.

There's more traffic as we approach Miami but luckily no hold-ups and we pull in to the hire car return bay dead on our 1pm deadline. Check in for our cruise is at 2pm and we arrive in good time by taxi. Check-in is very slick and by 2pm we're in our stateroom, which is very glam. We drop our hand luggage and head up to the buffet for lunch. The afternoon is spent finding our way around the ship. It's enormous, but we can find only 3 pools, one of which is not for children.


Alex wastes no time getting in to the pool, and I unpack. Then we get Al enrolled in the kids club. Before long it's time for dinner, which is conveniently served on our level, deck 3. We're on fixed time dining, at 8.30, on a table with 5 other brits. And then an early night - we're shattered.

A journey through the bizarre

Breakfast at our hotel is not that great, so this morning we decide to eat out. We're visiting Ripley's Believe it or Not so we walk in that general direction to find breakfast. Eggs Benedict for me - delicious. And we arrive at Ripley's just as it opens.
Alex is a big fan of Ripley's TV show so he's pretty excited. The exhibits range from relics collected on Ripley's extensive travels to freaks of nature and, well, just freaks. Alex finds it all very fascinating.

It doesn't take the whole morning, though, and with 90 minutes until we're due to pick up our hire car, we stop for a game of Pirate-themed adventure golf, at the most impressive course I've ever seen, complete with waterfalls and caribbean soundtrack.

Arriving at the rental office Alex admires the huge pick-ups outside - imagine his surprise when we're asked if we'd mind upgrading to one. It's a beast, and I shudder to think of its fuel consumption, but at least the first tank of gas is free, so it's only the planet that has to pay the price. Driving it the couple of hundred yards to our hotel is a bit nerve-wracking but that will soon wear off. Alex goes straight in the pool - it's very hot - and we laze around until well past lunchtime, still digesting our massive breakfast. Eventually we order a pizza, which is the only thing that seems to be more expensive here than at home.

This afternoon we drove back to a store opposite Ripleys to buy a suitcase, to allow us to spread our luggage more evenly between bags on the way home. Alex also got a T-shirt that is printed in black only when indoors but develops a coloured pattern when exposed to sunlight - amazing!

A real find for dinner tonight - Cafe Tu Tu Tango, set up like a Spanish artist's co-operative with an eclectic menu served in portions a little larger than tapas and designed for sharing. We enjoyed chicken flautas, carne adovado and alligator bites, accompanied by an excellent Argentinian Malbec. The bohemian staff were offhandedly attentive and genuinely proud of the food, which we found suited us better than the normal waiting style here. There were artists in residence and paintings for sale, one of which I was admiring when the artist came over and let us know that he does 10 minute portraits for tips, so we had Alex drawn, which kept him occupied while we enjoyed the last of the wine.

Magic and Mayhem

It's Universal day today, and we get a taxi bright and early to make sure we can squeeze it all in. We've pre-booked tickets and Express passes, but the headline Harry Potter ride isn't included in the Express pass so our plan is to go there first before the queues build up. Advertised opening time is 9am but when we get there just before 9 the park is already crowded, and the queue for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is already 60 minutes! The ride was excellent, a simulated broomstick ride accessed through a replica Hogwarts complete with talking portraits and holograms of the cast. I love the attention to detail.

We queue almost as long to visit the wand shop, preceded by a dramatisation of the wand-choosing process. Having spent two hours on two activities, we plot a course through the remaining rides using our Express passes. Alex has to do the roller coasters on his own as Simon and I are World-class wusses, but that doesn't seem to bother him. He proclaims the Incredible Hulk roller coaster the best ever. But we did everything else, including two stunt shows and every single water ride in Islands of Adventure, ending up sodden and bedraggled. We had to stand in the sun to dry off before getting a taxi back to our hotel.

Dinner tonight was nothing to write home about. We walked right along International Drive in search of a restaurant but found nothing that appealed. Finally, tired and ravenous, we settled for the Denny's close to the hotel.

The adventure begins

Off on the first stage of our trip today, flying to Orlando via JFK. One small problem - Alex left his iPod at Leighton Park yesterday. Luckily we have time to drive via LP to Heathrow so disaster was averted. Then the next problem - I'd managed to cram so much into our cases that 2 of them are overweight. £37 excess baggage. Oops!

The flight was uneventful, apart from getting shunted into the "families and incompetent travellers" queue for security at JFK, which took a-g-e-s; our flight was already boarding when we got to the gate. We will have a 50 minute transfer on our return flight, so this makes us a little nervous. But all went smoothly this time and we arrived in Orlando to balmy weather just after 6pm.

The ambitiously-named Extended Stay Deluxe Suites aren't quite as sumptuous as the name implies, but we have two double beds, a kitchenette and plenty of space. Alex is chuffed to have a double to himself. We find a Mexican restaurant almost next door and almost fall asleep in our entrees. We're all in bed soon after 9pm, although Simon and I are disturbed by our neighbours having a loud conversation at 2am. Don't they know we're jet-lagged?

The fun continues

Alex was hard to wake this morning and finally struggled out of bed at 11, despite best intentions to be at the pool when it opened at 10. We spent the rest of the morning there, and even managed to get Alex into the rapids by having him measured while his hair was still dry.

We had a late lunch of pizza at Papa John's then headed back to the Pavilion for the African acrobats, Mighty Jambo, who put on a dramatic performance of bicycle-based acrobatics just centimetres from us - I couldn't help wondering how many spectators they would maim if they fell off.

After that, Alex got a temporary tattoo then asked if we could buy him a vest to wear so he could show it off. So we took the land train along the prom to Bognor, then back for crazy golf - all very stylishly themed and well-maintained. There was a film crew in the grounds by now, filming a programme for Nickleodeon called UPick, that will be shown on 26th August, I think.

Then it was time for Alex's inflatables session, after which we need to get good seats for George Samson tonight. We'll take books to entertain ourselves while we wait.

High chairs and high wires

Today started with orientation for Alex, finding out about the activities for his age group. Then we went swimming - there was a queue to get in but the pool was great - lots of flumes and rapids, although Alex was a couple of millimetres too short to go in there, despite being an advanced swimmer.

We grabbed a quick lunch in the Pavilion before a treasure hunt and then the Guinness World records live show. Alex got into the final of the "transferring peas to a flowerpot with a straw competition but was beaten into second place. After that he opted for a session on the high ropes.

While we ate dinner we watched a spectacular Columbian circus troupe perform in the Pavilion, then Alex opted for wrestling. How anybody can take it seriously I have no idea, but the difference in stature of the contenders in the final bout caused much hilarity. The final feature was a show featuring the music of Elvis Presley (The King) and Queen - see what they did there?

We packed a lot in.  And there's more to come tomorrow.

Butlins rocks!

Alex and I just arrived for a weekend at Butlins in Bognor Regis. First impressions are very good - much snazzier than Pontins. There's a big tented pavillion in the middle, full of entertainments and eating places, and our apartment is surprisingly roomy. A gold star to the member of staff who helped us take our luggage to our apartment, too.

The first evening was spent watching Brainiac Live - the same show we saw in Reading, unfortunately, but entertaining nonetheless. We have a long list of things to do tomorrow, when the fun really starts!