More Splitsville than Nashville - April 2017 - Day 16 - Cracker Barrel, Pool Time & Home :(

[Redrach1903]

Told you I'd get this finished before Nashville, didn’t I?

Day 15 is here

Friday 28th April

Humph. It was time to go home and we weren’t happy about it We woke at 7.15am and both felt very sleepy after our late night! During my usual morning routine of checking Instagram, Facebook and Timehop I was confronted with a memory of 4 years ago. Said memory was a very excited me as we were heading to Orlando the next day. Brilliant Given that we've had 3 prior trips at this time of year I was in for 2 weeks of Timehop torture!

Anyway, we got dressed and I stripped the bed and put the sheets in the wash. We then sat outside and took in our last morning of this view!



Hot air balloons! Pretty!



We left the villa at 8.10 to go for breakfast. Second last time going through these gates



We were seated in Cracker Barrel by 8.22am. No messing!





Chris did his usual and set about trying to crack that damn game!



Only this time he DID IT! I of course had to document this momentous occasion!



As is always the way with this game, he was unable to do it again!

Now, brace yourself people. We ordered something DIFFERENT for breakfast. On the last day?! Talk about a gamble!

I went for Multi Berry Pancake Breakfast which I believe is a seasonal offering! 10/10 for my photography skills here, huh?





Chis had the Double Meat Breakfast (Three eggs with grits and a full order of our Thick-Sliced Bacon and Smoked Sausage Patties. Comes with All the Fixin’s: Sawmill Gravy, homemade Buttermilk Biscuits, real butter and the best Preserves n’ Jam). He asked for it without the biscuits though.







Thankfully our gamble paid off and everything was delicious! A very lovely last American breakfast Total was $23.18 which we paid in the gift shop (I still think this is a weird set up) and left a $5 tip for our server who was ok, but not the best! We then had a look in the gift shop where I bought some of those cute wee barrel mints for myself, my sister and my cousin!

After that we nipped over to Marketplace to grab a few bottles of water as we had ran out. On the way out we were accosted by a guy asking us for some money. Eh no.



We got back to the villa and packed/tidied before hitting the poolside to soak up our final rays of sun!



I also let the rest of the Lays get hot before scoffing them! I miss hot lays Whoa that sounds rude At 12.30 we had to face the inevitable and get showered and ready to leave We were ready at 1.30 and just had to wait for my straighteners to cool before I could pack them! While we waited for that we put all the towels in the wash and put the pool cover on again. Such good little guests We also weighed the cases. Mine was 21Kg and Chris's was 22Kg. Phew.

At 2.05 it was time to go and we bid farewell to what had been such a lovely home for the past 2 weeks. We absolutely loved the villa and Sunset Lakes in general. We would definitely return here!

When we got in the car it was reading 38 degrees. That has to be some sort of record for April, right?! Toasty! Anyway, we hit the road and I was blue.



I was looking for Ricky and Roofus, but sadly they weren’t out and about that morning! I bet they miss me.

We stopped for gas as we had to return the car full. It was $25. I took the opportunity to grab one last 3 Musketeers bar and Chris got a Hangry Snickers!



We waved goodbye to Marker 6



We arrived at MCO at 2.45pm. We saw a Magical Express leaving the airport taking happy people to their resorts. Knife. In. Heart.

The car was dropped off with no issue. I did my usual job of going to get a trolley while Chris emptied the car. I have very important jobs you know We then walked over to the terminal to print our boarding passes and drop the luggage. The check in kiosk things were utter crap as the passport scanners didn’t work, so we had to enter our info manually. It took an age to finally get the things working and we didn’t even get our LHR boarding passes, so we had to go to the BA desk for those! What a carry on! Once that was all sorted we had a look around the shops. I of course went straight to the Disney Earport Store!



I bought a bib for Abi, some stationary for Lily, a mug for me and some plates and placemats for the house There was also a promotion where if you spent $100 you got a Mickey Mouse rucksack for $19.95! Here it is 



It's so cute! I think we’ll take it to Nashville as our hand luggage!

Here are the plates. Love these very much!



New mug! One can never have enough Disney mugs, right?



Chris bought himself one last pin as well!



It was now time for some munch. Tradition usually dictates that I have a McDonald's and Chris has a Sbarro Pizza slice (or two), but we decided that we would finally try Panda Express. I have heard many a Dibber recommend this place, but especially Abiknox, so we thought we would see if it could live up to the hype!





I went for Orange Chicken with Chow Mein and a Chicken Egg roll. Chris had Beijing Beef, Chicken Kung Pao and Chow Mein. We also had a Dr Pepper to share. $21.98.











Agreed.



Ahhhh where have you been all my life, Panda Express? It was SO DAMN GOOD. I am literally drooling thinking about it. Two very enthusiastic thumbs up (name the movie and you win a prize*).

[continued in next post]

[Redrach1903]

[continued from previous post]

With very happy tummies, we waddled on through to security which was as chaotic as ever. Last year's serene experience was obviously a one off. Why can't they get security right at this airport? We literally didn’t move for a good 10 minutes and once we did it took 25 minutes to get through. That sign below is lies!



There was a sniffer dog moving up and down the queue as well. I so wanted to pet him, but I obviously didn’t!

Once through we went to Ruby Tuesday's to grab a drink. Chris ordered a beer for himself and a cherry coke for me. The barman asked to see both of our IDs. For a cherry coke?! Turns out he thought Chris said Gin & Cola. Eh close

Helen was texting that her cat Hero was stuck on a roof (again). Naughty Hero! When I told Chris he said "oh no, that's a CATastrophe". My husband, the comedian!

We boarded at 5.20, but didn’t take off until 6pm which was 20 minutes late.



We started our decent into Miami a mere 25 minutes later and landed at 6.40pm.

Miami Airport is huuuuuuuge! We landed in Terminal D and needed to get to Terminal E. There was the option of taking the Sky Train, but we walked it. It's a nice airport and despite being big, did not feel chaotic.



In fact we both said we would happily fly through Miami or Jacksonville again. We liked both airports! We stopped half way for a drink in TGIs where I had a Diet Coke and Chris had a Bud Lite. We then continued our mammoth walk to our gate (E6) and stopped at a shop to buy some plane snacks of course!

We boarded at 8pm and got a plane with an upstairs. Chris asked at the desk what the cost was to upgrade on the spot. $2,250. HAHAHAHAHA. No. So we slummed it downstairs with the rest of the poor people.



We were sat in a row of 3. Chris took the aisle seat and I took the middle. I was mentally preparing myself for the amount of times the guy sitting at the window would want out. However, the guy slept for the ENTIRE flight and therefore didn’t need out once. What a legend! Haha!

We took off at 9pm. I started off the entertainment with an episode of Sex and the City. Always a winner. Unless its season 1. I hate the way she talks to the camera in that season.



I also watched a couple of episodes of Friends. Also always a winner. Unless its season 5 when Ross gets especially whiny over the whole Emily fiasco.



Chris played Pacman and watched Family Guy.

Drinks came round at 9.45pm. I had an apple juice and Chris asked for a red wine. The stewardess said he could try both kinds! At this point I reminded him that he would be driving when we were back in Aberdeen and that would be his last! Haha!





I continued watching Friends and ate some more lays and sour patch watermelons. Yummy!



Chris tucked into his runts!



Dinner was served at 10.30pm. The choices were tomato pasta or chicken tikka masala. I chose the pasta and Chris initially chose the chicken, but asked to change to the pasta when he saw mine. Food envy! Haha! I haven’t written anything down about the quality of the food, so I guess it must have just been average!



I nodded off a few times, but I didn’t get any proper shut eye. Chris slept more than me, as is usually the case. Also usually the case is Chris saying he didn’t get any sleep! Haha! Yes dear, whatever you say! I watched Manchester by the Sea which was very good, but really quite sad.

Breakfast came round around 9am UK time. It was a cream cheese pretzel (WHY?!) and a cereal bar. I obviously ignored the pretzel, but I had the cereal bar.



I watched a random Pretty Little Liar episode before we landed in LHR at 10.17. We had a looooooong walk and then had to get a bus to Terminal 5. I don’t know why, but I hate airport buses. Passport control and security was as ridiculous as ever with people being unable to follow basic instructions. My eyes will disappear into my head one day if I roll them any more at airports!

We went to Starbucks for a cup of tea for me and a coffee for Chris. I also had a blueberry muffin. It was at this point Chris realised he had left his bag of runts on the plane. He was most distraught!



We boarded the ABZ flight just after 12 where we instantly spotted a hidden Mickey on the food magazine!



We took off late at 12.40pm and that's about all I can tell you about that flight as I slept nearly the whole journey! I woke up just in time for landing! Home sweet home….



We landed at 1.40pm and it was sooooooo cold stepping off that plane! Aberdeen also has a temporary baggage claim which is in a portacabin thing outside and it was freezing in there too! Unhappy faces! Thankfully the luggage came along quick enough and when we got outside the car park shuttle dude was waiting for us!

We were back in the car at 2.20pm and believe it or not we then had to go and pick up Jake. Chris was due back to work the following week, so if we didn’t see him this weekend we wouldn't get a chance to before Chris left. Just what you need after a long haul flight – a hyper 8 year old kid!

We stopped at the Co-op to grab some supplies for the house and for a picnic tea tonight and we were home by 4pm to a freezing cold house! The heating was promptly cranked up! We unpacked and enjoyed our picnic tea with Jake before watching a movie (I can't remember which one now) and going to bed!



Steps combined from the Friday and Saturday – 14,707 (6.42 miles)

So there we go, the end of yet another wonderful Floriday! Thank you to everyone who read along and to everyone who took the time to comment Normally I'd be super sad right now, but I am the exact opposite as I know we are off to Nashville NEXT WEEK! Waaaaaa I will be doing a Trip Report for anyone who fancies reading! My Pre Trippy is already on the go and can be found here.

TTFN


*You won't really win a prize, but you will receive a virtual fist pump.

[mmahon1974]

Brilliant. Glad you got it finished before you headed off to Nashville.

[Perladal]

Enjoyed reading your trip report! Still 400+ days til our next trip

If your husband is desperate for a runt-fix I noticed they sell them in Topshop now!

[beth21]

Lovely trip report thank you for taking the time
Looking forward to the Nashville one

[HelenJNT]

Ohhhh last day sadness. So bluuuue.

So. Forget "hot Lays" for a sec. I don't know about Chris, but I don't think I could order a "double meat breakfast" with a straight face.

Getting the trolley at the airport was a very important task. If I've learned anything from this TR, it's that trolleys are not to be underestimated.

"two very enthusiastic thumbs up"... Clueless! 👊🏻
PRIZE PLEASE (I read the small print and chose to ignore it)

"CATastrophe" 🙈😹😹😹

Also, the sentence "Chris tucked into his runts" made me snort.

So I'm really sad it's over. Loved sharing this with you - both during and after. But very flipping excited for Nashville! #watchoutDeacon

[globedust]

Loved reading along as always. Will be so interested to hear how Nashville goes...enjoy!

[WileyCoyote]

Ah not so bad for a travel day but cream cheese pretzel for breakfast , really? The breakfast choices just get worse !
Unlike Cracker Barrel which sounded delicious.
Been a great trip, enjoyed reading along . Thank you for sharing.

[Redrach1903]

Originally Posted by mmahon1974

Brilliant. Glad you got it finished before you headed off to Nashville.

See more...

Thank you Michelle. You can get off my back now Haha! x

Originally Posted by Perladal

Enjoyed reading your trip report! Still 400+ days til our next trip

If your husband is desperate for a runt-fix I noticed they sell them in Topshop now!

See more...

Thank you! Don't worry, it will come round before you know it!

Ooooooh I shall have to tell him that! x

Originally Posted by beth21

Lovely trip report thank you for taking the time
Looking forward to the Nashville one

See more...

Thanks for reading x

Originally Posted by HelenJNT

Ohhhh last day sadness. So bluuuue.

So. Forget "hot Lays" for a sec. I don't know about Chris, but I don't think I could order a "double meat breakfast" with a straight face.

Getting the trolley at the airport was a very important task. If I've learned anything from this TR, it's that trolleys are not to be underestimated.

"two very enthusiastic thumbs up"... Clueless! 👊🏻
PRIZE PLEASE (I read the small print and chose to ignore it)

"CATastrophe" 🙈😹😹😹

Also, the sentence "Chris tucked into his runts" made me snort.

So I'm really sad it's over. Loved sharing this with you - both during and after. But very flipping excited for Nashville! #watchoutDeacon

See more...

Pahahahaha I did think Double Meat sounded a bit dodgy

Haha there has been a bit of trolley action hasn't there?

WAHAAAAAY! You win! Maybe i'll send you some tablet

Hehehe at first I wrote "Chris got stuck into his runts". That sounded worse

Thank you for all your lovely comments and for living it with me live while I was out there xxx

Originally Posted by globedust

Loved reading along as always. Will be so interested to hear how Nashville goes...enjoy!

See more...

Thanks so much x

Originally Posted by WileyCoyote

Ah not so bad for a travel day but cream cheese pretzel for breakfast , really? The breakfast choices just get worse !
Unlike Cracker Barrel which sounded delicious.
Been a great trip, enjoyed reading along . Thank you for sharing.

See more...

I KNOW! Why would anyone want that?!

Thanks for all your lovely comments xxx

[EJSakaAnna]

I need to try Cracker Barrel, it looks so yummy! I'd be so sad to leave that villa view behind, not quite the same in sunny Scotland...!

Really enjoyed this report, glad you aren't making us wait too long for the next one xx