Notices
Walt Disney World and Florida Trip Reports Trip Reports and Videos

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Old 9 Mar 16, 01:07 PM  
Link to this Post
#1
JoJo88
VIP Dibber
 
Join Date: Jul 08
Thumbs up If you book it, they will come! August 2015 - Day 5 - Clearwater and Smokey Bones

If you book it, they will come - Team Jamerica Reunited - August 2015

INDEX

Day 5 – Clearwater Beach / Smokey Bones

Sunday 9th August 2015


With the air-con adjusted before we went to sleep last night, I had a much better, warmer night and we all woke up at around 7am.

After checking in with the Grandparents, we decided to join them for breakfast at the same little café they’d been to the day before, Beach Shanty Café just over the road from the hotel.

It was fairly busy inside but they managed to seat us all at a table towards the back.

Please excuse our tired (and in my case make-up free) faces!



I applauded Daniel and my Dad’s efforts in matching their attire to their surroundings….







A variety of breakfast items were ordered, along with coffee & juice and we all tucked in.



It was all very nice, but came to a fair bit more than the $3.99 breakfast advertised on the building outside



Although I suppose it would’ve been if we’d all had an egg sandwich!



We waddled back to the hotel just before 9am



And after a quick turn around (and possibly a lay down!) all six of us met down on the beach.



We messed around in the water for around an hour, during which time Simon managed to lose his shades to a particularly fierce wave. What is it with my family and losing things?! It was lovely and warm with a few waves for the boys to surf on.

We eventually persuaded the boys to move to the pool so we could grab a drink and chill out on the sun loungers. Both Simon & Daniel noticed they had been bitten by something when they came out of the sea, but thankfully it didn’t come to anything.





Don’t we all have a photo of one of these within our holiday snaps?!



After a little mess around in the water Grandma offered to take the boys round to have a go on the big inflatable water slide nearby, and, for a break from the relaxing the rest of us decided to walk round too.





Once all paid, we had a bit of a dilemma on our hands. Ever since he was tiny Adam has disliked going down a slide if there is somebody waiting behind him. I don’t really know why, maybe because he doesn’t want the worry of someone going into the back of him, but anyway, he’s always been the same and would let other children go past him if they came up behind him. He’s still a little bit like it now and so obviously he didn’t want to go first with Daniel behind him.

However, Daniel usually likes to watch somebody else do something before he has a go, and therefore we were at a bit of standstill! Luckily some other children soon arrived which solved the problem!

I don’t have any photos as I was taking video clips, but the boys had a lot of fun, and we passed some time chatting to an English lady who now lives in Clearwater and is hoping to open a jewellery shop. I wonder if she ever did?!

We then wandered over the road for some ice cream which we took back to the beach to enjoy. Except me, not a fan of ice cream!



It was a glorious day, and we really enjoyed just relaxing and watching the world go by





Adam spotted the nearby game was free and talked me into some exercise.



What?! It required effort! Turned out I wasn’t bad at it – you had to swing a little ring and try and get it onto the hook. Guess I’ve found my sport!

Daniel finished off the rest of his icy treat and then took my place, saving me from pulling a muscle….





We then made our way back to the pool for a cool down.

The boys messed around in the water while the rest of us settled down for some unexpected entertainment.

An older ‘Grandma’ figure was in the pool, and a younger lady walked past and handed over her baby, who was probably about 5 months old. Anyway, ‘Grandma’ took the baby and began dunking her in the water, much to the surprise of the ‘Mum’, and no doubt the baby too!

It was strange to us as they didn't look like they were together, and we really did wonder if the older lady was an actual swimming instructor as she certainly talked like she was one, there was no 'niceness', she was pretty fierce!

She continued with the baby for several minutes, swooshing her through the water while being very vocal about what she was doing, and we could see other people in the pool watching out of the corner of their eyes too. She then handed the baby back, and was soon surrounded by a few more, slightly older children/toddlers.

One little girl who was about two years old was coughing and spluttering each time Grandma brought her up from under the water, only to dunk her back in seconds later, all the while talking, very loudly!

Eventually she gave the kids a break and I got talking to her. Turns out she was indeed Grandma, and made it her life’s mission to teach them all to swim, obviously using the lesser known ‘swim or drown’ method.

After a couple of hours pool side our attentions turned to our rumbling tums and where to eat that evening. We decided to try somewhere new, Smokey Bones, having located one around 15 minutes away.

We made our way back up our rooms to get ready, arranging to meet the Grandparents in the lobby a bit later.



The rooms can get a little bit small and noisy when we’re all in there getting ready, so I got the boys sorted while Simon sorted himself out, and they all went down to the lobby leaving me in peace to sort myself out.

The wi-fi was a lot better in the lobby too…..



I had a shower and noticed that my skin felt really weird afterwards, all grainy and so I got back under the shower and had a proper scrub with a flannel to see if it made a difference. It did, but only slightly. I put it down to the sun cream we were using (Coppertone Sport aerosol) combined with the sand.

I joined the others in the lobby





We were all present and correct at around 4pm and so headed down to the car park and piled into the car, which wasn’t pleasant as it was so bloomin’ hot having been parked outside in the sunshine!



There was an undercover car park but spaces were like chicken’s teeth so we just had to suffer the burning hot leather on our bare thighs!

Once in the car Daniel asked for his sunglasses which was optimistic considering he was the one who was in charge of them. Turns out he’d lost them somewhere between the room, the lobby and the car.

My bet was that they would be on the seat he’d just left 5 minutes before, but we were on the road by now so didn’t want to turn back and see if we could find them.

We pulled up outside Smokey Bones at around 4.30pm and made our way inside





I’d read about Smokey Bones on trip reports and thought it would be good to try somewhere new, and I’m so glad we did, it was lovely! And possibly one of the best meals of the trip 



We all really enjoyed our typical American fayre, Daniel did especially well with BBQ chicken, broccoli, onion rings & garlic bread, as he’s not one for chips. The burgers were great, and Grandma & Grandad had a little mini buffet each! As is often the case, the photos don’t do the food justice, but we will definitely be making a visit to Smokey Bones again this year.

Ooooops……. see how I subtly dropped that in there?! Yep, spoiler alert! In the last week we’ve booked up to go back again this August, check out the countdown! This is despite definitely not going back again this year

May I present….. The food!



With clean plates all round, we settled the bill(s)



We found it easier to ask for separate bills, particularly as my Mum & Dad were using cash and we were using a card. Sometimes I would put it all on a card and they would give me the cash – saved having to find an ATM!

We spotted that there was a Target nearby and so popped in for some essentials. Other than sun cream, we actually ended up with $180 worth of non-essentials, Kinetic Sand? Sweets, a DVD for the car, and $60 of Building Se….. whatever that is?! (The receipt fails me! )

We all enjoy a browse around Target, and usually go off on our separate ways meeting up what seems like several hours later!



I checked out the prices for some old favourites in anticipation of a trip to Downtown Disney / Disney Springs / Whatever else it has been named by the time I finish this trippy!



None of my favourite Peppermint Bark though, as it was out of season Although, thanks to a lovely friend I was able to enjoy a bar of it recently when she brought me some back from a Christmas trip. Thank you Kate if you’re reading!

We also had a quick peep in the Skechers shop, but nothing caught our eye, and I sometimes think the offers let them down. For example, buy one pair, get one half price. If I can’t find a second pair, I’m less likely to buy the first knowing that I’m missing out on an offer, does that make sense?! I’ve also found that the Go Walks that I like aren’t much of a bargain in the States….

It was around 7pm when we finally headed back to the beach.

Daniel wanted to go back in the water but no one else did, so we got him changed and went down to the pool.

The rest of us sat chatting on the sun loungers while he messed around in the pool until around 8pm when we walked round to the beach to try and glimpse the sunset.

It was a little cloudy but we were lucky enough to be able to witness the sun going down one more time, as well as attempting a fun shot with Daniel….

Left a bit….!



Right a bit…..!



Nailed it!



And within minutes the sun fizzled away on our last evening in Clearwater.



Having attempted to crack out the cards round the pool, but realising we didn’t really have the space or the light, we headed up to the hotel lobby and set up camp near the bar for a game of the old favourite, Blob!



Blob featured quite heavily in my first trip report, where two things became apparent. One, that my Dad was the only one who really understood how it was scored, and two, that Simon wasn’t all that good at it, (and is a very sore loser! )

Four years on, and Adam was now able to play in his own right, whereas before he would ‘help’, and Daniel was now keen to learn too.

As you can see by the following score sheet, Daniel is a quick learner, (he was helping my Mum, Linda), and Simon hasn’t improved much over the years. You can also see that the rivalry between my Dad & husband is still going strong…..



By 10.30pm we were back upstairs, showers for those who hadn’t already had one. We were tired after a day in the sun (yup, not a drop of rain!) and by 11pm we were ready to hit the Hilton hay one last time…..

Edited at 06:58 PM.
JoJo88 is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 9 Mar 16, 04:54 PM  
Link to this Post
#2
Dixie Dot
Excited about Disney
 
Dixie Dot's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 14
Great read, glad you've booked again. Love your trip reports, keep them coming! X
Dixie Dot is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 9 Mar 16, 05:12 PM  
Link to this Post
#3
Redrach1903
Disney Dreaming :)
 
Redrach1903's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 09

Redrach1903's Reviews
DIBB Villa Reviews: 2
Another great read lovely

That Grandma wifey sounds terrifying though

Smokey Bones looked fab. Will have to see if there is one in Orlando (sure there is!).

Bravo on the new countdown. Your resolve lasted quite a while

I don't understand what what Blob is, but it sounds fun! Hehe!

xxx
Redrach1903 is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 9 Mar 16, 05:18 PM  
Link to this Post
#4
ely3857
Imagineer
 
ely3857's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 07
Mobile

My kids are the same on slides. Drives me bloody bonkers waiting for them and 50% of the time they'll just come back down the steps!
__________________
With The Kids...
POFQ ~ Jan 2013. OKW ~ May 2014. POFQ & HRH ~ Aug 2017. Cabana Bay & POFQ ~ Aug 2018 ~ Villa 2021
ely3857 is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 9 Mar 16, 05:40 PM  
Link to this Post
#5
OB1LukeLucas
VIP Dibber
 
OB1LukeLucas's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 14
Mobile

Laughing at the slide dilemma. Another lovely beach day-I've read the other days but apparently not commented, obviously I must have been multi-tasking at the time!
Another trip planned, go you. I'm currently deciding if it would be wrong to book for next year if the free ddp offer is on again when we haven't even got this years trip (that was not supposed to happen) over and done with...it's hard living with a Florida addiction 😆
OB1LukeLucas is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 9 Mar 16, 05:46 PM  
Link to this Post
#6
Deggs
Very Serious Dibber
 
Join Date: Jun 13
Mobile

Helloooooo! I'm enjoying a few more trippies now, can't hang around for you forever 😉. Shallow as a cat me lol.

Looked a gorgeous day, and great to see a few more piccies of your good self! Perhaps that Grandma was teaching them to free dive! You have to have an evil streak to be a swimming teacher...me thinks I've missed my calling! 😈

Deggs x
Deggs is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 9 Mar 16, 11:25 PM  
Link to this Post
#7
Gusgusmummy
Imagineer
 
Gusgusmummy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 13

Gusgusmummy's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 1
Lovely day ! And omg you and your mum are so alike ! Xx
Gusgusmummy is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 10 Mar 16, 12:17 AM  
Link to this Post
#8
Fuellady
VIP Dibber
 
Fuellady's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 12
What a fabulously relaxing day... reminds me more of a European holiday rather than a Florida one!

Well done on booking again... I noticed your Mum's countdown on another thread she commented on and wondered if it was another trip with your good selves Any Disney planned for this time?

Can you run over how to play Blob again? We do love a card game on holiday, but I can't remember your instructions from 4 years ago Always up for learning a new game to beat the girls at!

Love the sunset pics with Daniel, must've been fun trying to get the perfect shot.

Thanks for sharing Jo, another great read
__________________


All of my trip reports are in this INDEX

My most recent reports are below:
*Complete* A Tale of Two Cities - Washington D.C. & Boston - March 2023
We Love Food! An Offsite Dining Report - May 2022
Fuellady is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 10 Mar 16, 01:16 AM  
Link to this Post
#9
miss_mouse
Imagineer
 
miss_mouse's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 12
Yay! You did it!

Always handy when the family coordinate with the restaurant surroundings and I'm so pleased that you you found your special sport in life, 'swinging your ring'. You'll have to demonstrate at our summer BBQ.

Smokey bones looked yummy.

Glad you had a fun day xxx
__________________
Lisa xx

@adeandlisadodisney

All of my Trip Reports...Here!
miss_mouse is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 10 Mar 16, 09:10 AM  
Link to this Post
#10
JoJo88
Thread Starter
VIP Dibber
 
Join Date: Jul 08
Originally Posted by Dixie Dot View Post
Great read, glad you've booked again. Love your trip reports, keep them coming! X
Thank you, I appreciate that x

Originally Posted by Redrach1903 View Post
Another great read lovely

That Grandma wifey sounds terrifying though

Smokey Bones looked fab. Will have to see if there is one in Orlando (sure there is!).

Bravo on the new countdown. Your resolve lasted quite a while

I don't understand what what Blob is, but it sounds fun! Hehe!

xxx
Hey Rach

Yep, Smokey Bones on Vineland

I don't think I really understand what Blob is either, but you're right it is fun!

xxx

Originally Posted by ely3857 View Post
My kids are the same on slides. Drives me bloody bonkers waiting for them and 50% of the time they'll just come back down the steps!
Oh yes, waiting for them to come down the slide only for them to take the steps, forgot about that!

Originally Posted by OB1LukeLucas View Post
Laughing at the slide dilemma. Another lovely beach day-I've read the other days but apparently not commented, obviously I must have been multi-tasking at the time!
Another trip planned, go you. I'm currently deciding if it would be wrong to book for next year if the free ddp offer is on again when we haven't even got this years trip (that was not supposed to happen) over and done with...it's hard living with a Florida addiction 😆
Hi!

Thought you'd deserted me

I hear ya about the Florida addiction! There's a big wide world out there and we're not going to see any of it! Oh, and yes, book for next year, you know you're going to anyway xx
JoJo88 is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 11:28 AM.


Powered by vBulletin - Copyright © 2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
DIBB Savings
AttractionTickets.com

Get £10 off each Disney Ticket with the code ATDIBB10

Get up to £50 off per room at Disney or Universal with the code DIBBHOTELS


theDIBB Blog
Disney announced that a new nighttime show, “Disney Dreams That Soar,” will run nightly at... Read More »
Walt Disney World Resort guests can get ready to have a “glowing’’ good time when... Read More »
Aquatica Orlando announce the grand opening of its newest attraction, Tassie’s Underwater Twist, on 15... Read More »


theDIBB Menu


Exchange Rates
US Dollar Rates
ASDA  $1.2347
CaxtonFX  $1.2278
Covent Garden FX  $1.2467
FAIRFX  $1.2350
John Lewis  $1.2380
M&S  $1.2178
Sainsburys  $1.2337
TESCO  $1.2343
Travelex  $1.2353
Updated: 10:00 28/03/2024
Euro Rates
ASDA  €1.1426
CaxtonFX  €1.1395
Covent Garden FX  €1.1497
FAIRFX  €1.1432
John Lewis  €1.1457
M&S  €1.1263
Sainsburys  €1.1419
TESCO  €1.1425
Travelex  €1.1435
Updated: 10:00 28/03/2024

DIBB Premium Membership
Did you know you can help support theDIBB with Premium Membership?

Check out this link for more information and benefits, such as...

"No adverts on theDIBB Forums"

Upgrade Now



X