Highs/Lows/Mini Trip Report - Orlando with no parks Oct/Nov 2019

[Fuellady]

Highs/Lows/Mini Report - Orlando with no parks Oct/Nov 2019

We are me, Lynda, and my husband Neil - empty nesters who have been to Orlando several times now and haven’t been to the parks for the last few trips apart from an odd day here and there. We’ve been back from our most recent trip for around 4 weeks now, and I’ve completed my dining report (it’s HERE), so I thought I’d jot down a mini report which might help others with off site ideas. The highs and lows will be incorporated into the paragraph for each day although I’ve done a short list of them at the end too.

Thursday 31st October 2019 - Travel Day

If I’m honest, travel day is almost a low for the full day as it’s such a trek for us. I really wish sometimes that we lived nearer to a major airport, just to shave a few hours off of the travelling. We had travelled through to Aberdeen the night before, in readiness for our early flight on the Thursday morning. Our first flight was Aberdeen to London Heathrow at 6.20am. All of our flights were with British Airways, and in economy. This is a short flight, and it took off and landed on time. We didn’t have very long in Heathrow by the time we queued to get to bus to change terminals and we were soon seated on the jumbo headed to Miami. Before getting on the plane, I had the extra security checks due to SSSS on my boarding card. We were sat right at the back, in a row of two so it was nice to have that space to ourselves. This flight left at 9.50am, around 15 minutes late. It was a decent flight, and it felt spacious in the back. Beautiful views flying over the Bahamas…

Connecting through Miami was a real low - we found it to be a very confusing airport and badly signposted. We had to queue to re-drop our bags at an actual check in desk. This is the first time we’ve experienced this, it’s normally a case of the luggage coming straight off one conveyor belt onto another. The security line was really long as well, and I think we walked miles trying to figure out where we needed to be - it was all very stressful at the time. Our final flight was Miami to Orlando, leaving around 5.30pm. This was a very short flight, around 40 minutes and we had exit row seats so nice and roomy. There were some interesting sculptures on the walls in Miami airport…

For the first time, our car hire was with Avis, and we found this to be a generally good experience. We had to go to the kiosk in the garage because we hadn’t rented from there before but it was quick and we were soon directed to our car. We were allocated a Dodge Journey, not the prettiest car but it did the job. Very spacious in the boot once the 6th & 7th seats were down and it had a full leather interior. The only issue we had was that it looked like it hadn’t been cleaned, inside or out but we just wanted to get to the villa by now, so we put it through a car wash ourselves the next day.

We made a massive mistake on the way to the villa, coming off of the I4 at Celebration as the junction was jam packed with cars parked everywhere due to kids trick or treating. It took us an hour to get moving on the US192 from coming off the I4. A quick trip to Walmart and settling into the villa at High Grove finished off our day.

Ok, so I realise that’s a lot more than a paragraph, but many of the days will have nothing to tell at all so I’ll make up for this rambling start then.

Friday 1st November 2019 - Walmart & Villa time (dining for this day is HERE)

After breakfast at Denny’s, we headed to the big Walmart at Cagan Crossings. There is a drive through car wash at the entrance, so we swung by there first to get the car washed. This cost us $8 of our hard earned spending money, and I wasn’t best pleased at using it on cleaning the car. It did look better when we were done though. We spent a fair while in here looking at the Christmas stuff and I was also checking the make up prices to compare against Target. Then our main food shop for goodies to snack on in the villa. We were staying in a Dibb villa on High Grove and we really loved the location and the villa. It had such a good flow to the layout and we both felt really comfortable here. We also loved the conservation area at the back and had already seen turtles, dragonflies,a hawk and various other birds. Some villa photos…

We ended our day with a visit to Longhorn Steakhouse for dinner, which you can read about in my dining report. No real highs or lows to this day, although just being here on our first day could definitely count as a high - we were so happy to be here.

Saturday 2nd November 2019 - Disney Springs (dining for this day is HERE)

A perfect start to the day as we watched the sun come up over the conservation area to the rear of the villa. It was so peaceful out here, we loved just sitting looking out to see if we could spot any wildlife.

We spent the morning at Disney Springs and had a really lovely wander around. I remember as we were walking along there just feeling so happy to be there - it’s such a relaxing place for a nice browse. We went into a few shops but didn’t buy anything, except some lovely cakes from Amorette’s Bakery.

After dinner in the villa, we ended the day as we had started it - out on the pool deck. This time watching the sun set rather than rise. It was just lovely, and we finished a great day with a drink of wine in the spa.

Sunday 3rd November 2019 - Just a bit of pool time (dining for today is HERE)

A quiet day today, starting off with breakfast at Bob Evans. We spent the rest of the day around the pool, and Neil retreated indoors for a while to watch the Grand Prix. There was a bit of wildlife activity today, with some small birds walking along the waters edge on the opposite side to our villa. Closer to home, these big birds wandered back and forth on the banks of the lake every day. I don’t know what they are but they seemed quite tame. In the early evenings they would fly overhead, they were so majestic in flight but unfortunately I don’t have a pic.

I made a start on my book and enjoyed a really chilled out afternoon. We finished the day with dinner at Applebees at Berry Town Center.

Monday 4th November 2019 - Orlando Gun Club (dining for today is HERE)

This was one of the few days that we actually had a firm plan. I was excited and nervous in equal measure about our activity for today, as we were heading to the gun range at Orlando Gun Club to try out some shooting. This is something I’ve wanted to try for a long time now, so we decided to book it up this trip. I know this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, so if you don’t want to read about our experience here, just scroll on by to the next day. We ate breakfast at Keke’s in Dr. Phillips first, on our way there.

I didn’t know what to expect from the gun club, and I was a bit worried that it would be in a seedy looking building up a back street. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Although on an industrial estate, the place was bright, airy, and modern, with a spacious area for signing in and the gun shop. On entering, they have tables set out with ipads, where you enter your details and answer some questions as well as signing a disclaimer. Our passports were checked as well, no copies allowed. Once that was done we both popped to use the bathroom before collecting our ear defenders and eye protection glasses from the desk. We had made sure we were there in plenty of time, so after signing in we had a bit of a wait while for our booked time to come around. We spent it browsing around the shop and looking through the window into the members range. It’s quite scary how cheap it is to buy a gun in America - shotguns from $149 and small hand guns from just over $200.

While we were waiting, members of the club were signing in, arriving with huge cases with their own guns in. After a while, 2 English guys came along and it turned out they were in the same group as us. Once they had completed all of their paperwork, the instructor took us through into the range, having had us put on our ear and eye protection first. It’s surprisingly loud in there. Each pair shared a booth, where the instructor set up the guns we would be shooting. We had chosen the AK-47 Combo package, where we got to shoot 2 handguns (a 9mm, and a .357 Magnum), an AK-47 machine gun and a 12 gauge shotgun. This cost $99.99 each, so certainly not a cheap day out.

Neil went first, with the instructor showing him how to hold the first gun, the 9mm. It had been pre-loaded by the instructor before entering the gun range so it was ready to go. Neil did really well, having shot before as he was previously in the RAF albeit many years ago. When he was finished with the 9mm, the instructor came back over to show him how to hold the next gun and so on until he had used all 4. Then it was my turn.

Again, the instructor showed me how to hold the first gun. He actually showed us by holding the gun himself and explaining where he was putting his hands. I would have preferred if he had showed me by actually placing my hands on the right place on the gun as I found it hard to remember all of the steps once he had put the gun down and left me to it. Because he was also coaching the other guys who had come in with us, he didn’t hang around to make sure we were doing it right after the quick demonstration. I also didn’t feel like I could ask for more instruction as he made a big deal of telling us at the start that everyone gets the same amount of instruction. This was the only thing that I felt could have been done better, other than that I really enjoyed the experience.

Once I had got my first few shots off, I felt a bit more confident about it all and enjoyed shooting the hand guns. The Magnum has a much bigger kick than the 9mm but I think I preferred it. I really didn’t enjoy shooting with the AK-47, as it’s a really long gun and I felt that my arm was stretched too far holding it in the position the instructor had told me too. What a kick on my shoulder as well with each shot, it was quite sore the next day but no bruising which I was quite pleased about. The shotgun was a bit more enjoyable, but again it was a really long gun so not really comfortable for me to hold. I was also useless with it and didn’t hit the target at all with this gun.

All in all, we both really enjoyed this experience and would do it again. The Orlando Gun Club also offer bespoke packages, where you can make up your own package. This can work out cheaper as well. I think we would choose this next time, and I would probably go with all hand guns. Choosing this kind of package would also give Neil the chance to shoot the machine gun again which he liked. In contrast to me, he was excellent with the shotgun, blasting the centre of his target away. At the end of our experience, we got to choose a free t-shirt each and we got to take our targets away, which are now taking pride of place on our garage wall. This activity was definitely a holiday high.

On a high from our exciting morning, we stopped by the Vineland Premium Outlets to spend some dollars. We had lunch at Charley’s Philly Steak and I made a few purchases - nothing for Neil today.. After spending a couple of hours at the outlets, we had dinner at Chili’s before heading back to the villa. We finished the day with drinks in the spa again. What a day it had been, one of the best of our trip.

Tuesday 5th November 2019 - Disney resort hopping (CSR, CBR & YC) and the Skyliner (dining for today is HERE)

After breakfast at Cracker Barrel, we parked up at Disney Springs where we had a bit of trouble finding the Disney bus stops! We eventually found them, and got in line for Coronado Springs Resort, where I mistakenly thought we could catch the Skyliner to our next resort. Never having stayed on Disney property, I got it mixed up with Caribbean Beach Resort. It didn’t matter anyway, we weren’t in a hurry as we had set the whole day aside if necessary for a bit of resort hopping.

We had a short wait for the bus, about 15 minutes and the journey took a bit longer than I expected. Disney property is so huge! When we arrived at CSR, we had a little wander around (looking for the Skyliner) and agreed that we liked both the look and feel of the resort. Earlier in the year, we almost booked an onsite stay for next year and CSR was the resort we had decided upon then. Nothing we saw today changed our minds, so if a Disney stay is on the cards in the future, it’s likely to be here. We browsed around the new Gran Destino Tower, it really is stunning, before getting another bus to Caribbean Beach Resort. Some pics of CSR…

We knew we were in the right place for the Skyliner minutes after getting off of the bus at CBR as we could see it in the distance. We wandered along past some nice beach type areas, and while Neil spoke to his parents on the phone I had a lie down on a hammock. I’m so clumsy I was convinced I would end up with a face full of sand getting off, but I managed fairly gracefully in the end, I think.

We soon found a walking path to the Skyliner, first passing some of the accommodation. We both agreed that it didn’t seem as nice as CSR, some of the buildings looked a little run down. Before getting on the Skyliner we bought some drinks at Joffreys. The Skyliner station was open and spacious, and reminded me a little of a train station. We decided to catch it to Epcot where, again mistakenly, I thought we could get the monorail back to the Ticketing and Transportation Center. I really should have done more research about this resort hopping lark.

The Skyliner was fun - it takes off from the station much faster than I expected. We enjoyed “flying” over the new Riviera resort and the roads and sights that we recognised. It was quite cool seeing everything from this high up view.

When we got off at Epcot, we were at the International Gateway entrance, rather than the front where I thought we would be. There was no way to the front of the park and the monorail except from through the park, and of course we didn’t have tickets. This posed a bit of a problem of where to go next, so we took a restroom break while we thought about our options. We decided to walk along the path towards the Yacht and Beach Clubs to catch a bus from there. It was a pleasant stroll and we stopped on a bench for a while for a little rest looking over to the Boardwalk - another place we haven’t visited yet.

When we reached the Beach Club we walked through the lovely lobby to the other side to find a bus stop. As we were walking through, Neil asked if this was one that we couldn’t afford to stay at. Erm, yes unfortunately it is. We only had a short wait for the bus here, but at the next stop some ECV’s were getting on. It’s quite interesting watching how the bus adapts to let these on, but I imagine the wait could be quite stressful if you were in a hurry to get to a park. The wait didn’t bother us however, as we were now headed back to Disney Springs where we shared a pizza from Blaze as a very late lunch as it was now almost 3pm.

After picking up the car, we headed back to the villa, where we saw a small alligator swimming in the lake behind our pool area. We watched the sunset again, as we ate sandwiches for dinner. Another fab day - the high was resort hopping which I’ve wanted to do for ages. Even my bad planning didn’t spoil the day, we had a great time.

Wednesday 6th November 2019 - I-Drive Premium Outlets (dining for today is HERE)

A short one today, with no real highs or lows. We ate breakfast at Perkins using our BOGO coupon. Then we headed to the Premium Outlets at the top of International Drive for our main shopping day. We had a good day and quite a few purchases were made - no pics, sorry. On the way home, it was looking mighty stormy and the rain came on hard while we were eating dinner in Olive Garden. Unfortunately this meant no sunset over the pool, and we spent the evening indoors watching TV.

Thursday 7th November 2019 - Clearwater Beach (dining for today is HERE)

We were heading over to Clearwater Beach today, but stopped first at Wawa for some fuel and breakfast. We came away with hot breakfast rolls, donuts and coffee and believe it or not, eating this in the car while chatting away about the day to come was a real holiday high moment. We were just so relaxed and happy to be spending the day at the beach together. It’s a lovely run to Clearwater Beach…

The journey took around an hour and a half, and we were soon parked up and heading onto the sand. The car park is $10 for 4 hours so fairly expensive. We rented 2 sun loungers and an umbrella for $25, which we were expecting as we’ve done this before. It was still early, just after 10am so we got loungers in the front row closest to the water. There were a few clouds floating around, which blocked out the sun every now and then, but it was still really warm, but without the intense heat of summer. I read my book, and after a while we went for a paddle in the sea. The water was colder than it had been on our last visit, which was a bit disappointing as we expected it to be warm. However, it is November now, so probably to be expected. We had a very pleasant 4 hours lounging on the beach before heading back to Orlando. Our trip to the beach was definitely a high.

On our way home we stopped at Arby’s in Clearwater for a quick lunch and later on finished off our day at Culvers for a burger.

Cont in next post... / (Post #3 )

[Mr Tom Morrow]

What a great report, well done.
It does make it such a long day having to come down to Heathrow from the far north. Needs must though.
A nice relaxing break so far and some very good photos. As you say that wall art in MIA is somewhat weird but it does grow on you. Eventually!
Clearwater looks devine. Nothing like a sun lounger by the sea

[Fuellady]

/… Continued

Friday 8th November 2019 - Celebration (dining for today is HERE)

We started our day at Celebration, having breakfast at the Market Street Cafe. This was our first visit to the cafe since it’s re-vamp a couple of years ago and we were pleasantly surprised. We love Celebration, and spent a relaxing half hour after breakfast sitting in the rocking chairs by the lake.

We then had a really lovely morning strolling around the lakes, passing the gorgeous, fancy houses and picking the one we’ll buy when we win the lottery.. We saw a couple of little alligators sunbathing, but thankfully they didn’t seem interested in us!

It was one of those days when we just felt happy and grateful to be there, in a place that makes us so happy. It’s always a real high for us visiting Celebration, and today was no different.

The rest of the day was spent quietly, with a quick lunch at Taco Bell (which was definitely a low) and some time around the pool in the afternoon. We finished the day with dinner at Outback Steakhouse, which was the stand-out meal of the holiday for both of us.

Saturday 9th November 2019 - Shopping (dining for today is HERE)

This was a shopping day, and unfortunately I have no pictures of our haul - but I can guarantee purchases were made by both of us. We were back at the I-Drive outlets to finish of the shops that we didn’t get to last time and we ate breakfast at Denny’s on our way there. After our shopping, we had an afternoon snack at Perkins and a take-away dinner from the local Chinese restaurant, Bamboo Wok.

Sunday 10th November 2019 - Pool day (dining for today is HERE)

We were planning to spend the whole day relaxing by the villa pool today but decided to head out for breakfast at IHOP first. We then did as planned, and chilled out with a bit of swimming and spa time, as well as lounging around the pool. We loved watching all of the wildlife around the conservation area again. We had fun watching the turtles coming in and out of the water… some walked away up the grass after coming out, and others plopped back into the water. There were ducks swimming around as well, and we thought they were very brave after we had seen the alligator there the other day.

We ended our relaxing day by going out for dinner at Logan’s Roadhouse.

Monday 11th November 2019 - Rocket Launch (dining for today is HERE)

This whole day was a real holiday high! Last night while watching TV, Neil had an email about a rocket launch at Cape Canaveral that was happening at 10am today. Seeing a rocket launch has been a real bucket list item for him, so of course we planned to go. We did a quick bit of research, and because there would be no point trying to get near Canaveral, we decided to heat to Titusville to watch the launch from a distance.

We fuelled up the car first, grabbing breakfast from Wawa as we had done on our Clearwater Beach day. Except this time we had a little disaster, when Neil’s coffee spilled all over him and the car. I think I hadn’t put the lid properly on the cup. We mopped up with napkins as best we could, then headed off… no time to go home to change unfortunately. The day was not going well so far at all, as we ended up taking a very long, convoluted route to Titusville, because on another day we had set the SatNav settings to no toll roads, and no interstates and had forgotten to change them back. Once we realised that we couldn’t possibly be on the most direct road there, we changed the settings and started to make some progtess, arriving in Titusville just after 9.30am. We were very lucky to get a space along a grass verge directly opposite Cape Canaveral where lots of cars were parked up to watch the launch. While I popped across the road to the petrol filling station shop for some food and a restroom break, Neil got chatting to a man from Cincinnati who was in the car parked next to us - all the while trying to hide the coffee stain on his t-shirt with his arms.

When the rocket was launched, right on time at 10am, we first saw the fire and smoke from the bottom of the rocket and then the roar of the engines. We were able to watch it until it disappeared out of sight. It was a beautiful, clear day with blue skies so even though we were about 20 miles away, we could see it clearly. I feel like this short description doesn’t nearly do justice to the actual experience, but in reality it was over in minutes. It was actually quite emotional, and exciting too, just knowing that we were watching something quite rare. I was so happy for Neil, who was absolutely delighted to have seen the launch and was just buzzing all day!

As the cars started heading off, we too set off back towards Orlando taking a much more direct route this time. We stopped by the International Drive outlets to pick up a couple of things I had seen when we were here a couple of days ago but had been undecided on. This was a good day for me to ask to go back to get them, as Neil was so chuffed with himself after the launch! We weren’t long at the outlets, then went to Teak Neighborhood Grill for lunch as it isn’t far from here for another outstanding meal. What a nice area Teak is in, quite residential and very well kept. Much later on, dinner was had at Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen followed by donuts from Krispy Kreme. All day we were chatting about our launch experience - what a great day.

Tuesday 12th November 2019 - Disney Springs and Pool Time (dining for today is HERE)

Nearing the end of our time here now, I wanted to pop along to Disney Springs this morning to get a new charm for my Pandora bracelet. Again, this was just a lovely relaxing morning, wandering along in the sunshine with no pressure to do anything or be anywhere. On visiting the Pandora shop, I asked to see the Disney Parks exclusives, and chose the Epcot/Spaceship Earth charm. It has a tiny monorail train on it as well, such beautiful detail.

Sorry, not a great photo... you can't see the detail very clearly

After stopping by Sweet Tomatoes for lunch on our way home, the rest of the day was spent by the pool again, where we stayed out until sunset. There was a gorgeous sunset out over the conservation area this evening.

Dinner was at Texas Roadhouse tonight, another new place for us and one of our best meals this trip.

Wednesday 13th November 2019 - More resort hopping (Grand Floridian & Polynesian) (dining for today is HERE)

We weren’t sure what to do on our last full day today, and it was a lot cooler, so pool time wasn’t an option. I had seen on a post on the Dibb that the gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian was finished and I really wanted to see it. I suggested it to Neil and he was happy to go along, so again we parked up at Disney Springs after breakfast at Perkins, and got a bus to the Grand Floridian. We had no problems finding the bus stop this time! We did have a bit of trouble finding the correct entrance to the hotel when we got off of the bus though… why are the main entrances not signposted from the bus stops?

We eventually found the main reception area and the gingerbread house. There are so many beautiful details to enjoy - it really is stunning - and we spent a bit of time admiring it. It’s such a lovely hotel and we didn’t rush off but looked around to where Victoria & Alberts and Citrico’s restaurants are and around by the shops We saw some characters come out for a meet as well. I’ve long wanted to visit the Grand Floridian, so this morning was a definite high for me… I was so happy to be here.

After a while, we decided to get the monorail to the Polynesian for a look around there. It was so good to get a glimpse of the Magic Kingdom from the monorail but strangely, neither of us was regretting not having park tickets at all.

We travelled through the Contemporary then got off at the Polynesian. I have to say, this resort wasn’t to our taste at all. We’re not keen on the darker decor and much preferred the Grand Floridian and Coronado Springs.

We headed out to the bus stop to catch a bus back to Disney Springs, but we ended up having a really long wait of almost an hour. As I said earlier, it wasn’t the warmest of days and there were quite a few people complaining at the bus stop about the long wait. The time on the screen kept changing and buses for the parks came past several times before the Disney Springs one. If we were ever to stay on site, I think that relying on Disney transport would be the thing that would frustrate us the most.

We spent the afternoon packing our suitcases and getting the last of the washing done before heading out to Miller’s Ale House for dinner.

Thursday 14th November 2019 - Travelling Home (dining for today is HERE)

Really not much to say about today and as always, travelling home is a real low. Not only because it’s time to go home but again because of the incredibly long journey that we have. We were ready to leave the villa by 10am, and gave the hire car a wipe over before heading off as I had recently read of someone being charged an excessive cleaning fee by Avis.

We ate breakfast at Bob Evans on our way to the airport, which wasn’t one of our best breakfasts. Security was fairly quick for Orlando, although they weren’t using the dogs this time so it was everything out of bags to go through the scanner.

Our first flight was Orlando to Chicago. There was snow on the ground in Chicago but we landed safely. This was a strange transfer as after a very long walk through the terminal, we had to transfer by bus to another terminal. Not strange in itself, however when we got off of the bus at the other terminal we were taken in what looked like a back door, through a warehouse like building with metal tables along the walls and doorways covered with plastic hanging strips (think meat packing factory or similar!), up a long metal, rickety ramp which twisted and turned and had some steps as well (not fun with our carry on cases and bags) and finally into the terminal.

We didn’t have much time after all that and were straight onto our next plane, the overnight from Chicago to London Heathrow. The flight was fine although we were in a row of 3 so a little less roomy than on the way out. After a couple of hours in the lounge at Heathrow upon landing, we boarded our final flight to Aberdeen finally arriving back home around 6pm on the Friday.

And just like that, our trip was over. It was a great holiday, one of our best and we really enjoyed the relaxed pace and new things that we tried. There weren’t any real lows except the travel days and lunch at Taco Bell, and although we were a little irritated at the very long wait for a bus to Disney Springs from the Polynesian we wouldn’t count it as a low.

The moments making the top of the “high” list would definitely be the rocket launch, shooting range, Clearwater Beach and Celebration. All really lovely days out that we will remember for a long time. Also, the conservation area by the villa was a constant source of enjoyment for us. We haven’t stayed in a villa near a conservation area before, but we definitely would again… it was fab watching all of the wildlife and the beautiful sunsets.

Thank you very much for reading

[Fuellady]

Originally Posted by Mr Tom Morrow

What a great report, well done.
It does make it such a long day having to come down to Heathrow from the far north. Needs must though.
A nice relaxing break so far and some very good photos. As you say that wall art in MIA is somewhat weird but it does grow on you. Eventually!
Clearwater looks devine. Nothing like a sun lounger by the sea

See more...

Haha, you were quick off the mark... the second part is up now . I must admit I find the journey tedious, but you're right, it has to be done. It was a fabulous holiday, very relaxing and Clearwater was a highlight. Thank you for reading

[Bootrip2]

Sounds like a lovely relaxing holiday, not what most people get in orlando!

[cornishfrogboy]

I really enjoyed this report. As we have accumulated USA vacations over the years, we have pretty much reduced theme park attendance year on year. Next Easter is our first with none at all.

Thankyou for an excellent, single thread report, (very much the way that I prefer them).

[Gryff]

Sounds as though you had a great time
The large birds are whooping cranes they really are majestic in flight
But noisy when the start

[Fuellady]

Originally Posted by Bootrip2

Sounds like a lovely relaxing holiday, not what most people get in orlando!

See more...

It was very relaxing. Yes, you're right - it's not the norm for Orlando but we like to do our own thing Thanks for reading.

Originally Posted by cornishfrogboy

I really enjoyed this report. As we have accumulated USA vacations over the years, we have pretty much reduced theme park attendance year on year. Next Easter is our first with none at all.

Thankyou for an excellent, single thread report, (very much the way that I prefer them).

See more...

Thank you very much. I'm sure you'll have an amazing holiday at Easter... there are so many other things to do. We didn't even scratch the surface, just picked a couple of things that we fancied giving a try.

Originally Posted by Gryff

Sounds as though you had a great time
The large birds are whooping cranes they really are majestic in flight
But noisy when the start

See more...

We did have a great time... we keep saying this was one of our best holidays. Thanks for the info about the cranes... we thought they were some kind of crane. Yes, we always knew when they were coming, they have a very distinctive call just before they set off. Because of this I can't believe we didn't get a picture of them flying... every morning and evening they flew directly over our pool deck. Thanks for reading

[KarenG]

I really enjoyed reading this. Thank you!

We were staying near to you at the same time! We went to KSC the day before the launch and watched the launch from a road near the villa. You got some amazing photos!

[jools1302]

Thanks Lynda really enjoyed reading that... I can totally sympathise with you regarding travel from Aberdeen, it’s a real pain sometimes- although the improvements to the airport have made it a more enjoyable experience! Sounds like you had a great time... visiting the beach is definitely on our ‘must do’ list at some point in the future.