*And we're off ! * From Rock'n'Roll to Creole. The 5 State Road Trip September 2017

[vanlou]

Wow Amanda this trip sounds amazing Love all the names of the food places but as you say, some of those hotel prices are

New Orleans looks really interesting - cemetery visit would be on my list too. You deffo need to do the paddle steamer though. Can't be in the Deep South and not do that

[WileyCoyote]

Originally Posted by vanlou

Wow Amanda this trip sounds amazing Love all the names of the food places but as you say, some of those hotel prices are

New Orleans looks really interesting - cemetery visit would be on my list too. You deffo need to do the paddle steamer though. Can't be in the Deep South and not do that

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Hello

This one has not been a cheapy but what the heck, I am only half a millennium once ( unless I get to 100 in which case I will have done it twice !)

Andy is definitely not fussed about the Paddle Steamer - I think as its a buffet thing it just doesn't tick our float our boat, bad pun. And it takes a decent chunk of time out of the day when there is loads else to see, but who knows. We will go over to the riverfront so he may change his mind when we are there.

[WileyCoyote]

Days 12-14 Largo

Up early doors for our 0730 Southwest flight to Orlando. I think this will mean leaving the hotel around 5.30 so we are there just after 0600 for check in. Ugh.

Flights were £180 for the two of us, including luggage

Choice of flights is poor with only Spirit, American and Southwest offering either really early or really late flights into Florida. Ideally we wanted Tampa as its closest to Largo but the times were horrid.

We debated spending the extra day in NOLA and losing a day with Andy’s Cousin but decided against it – plus the following day being a Saturday, there was even less flight choice.

It’s a 1 hour 40 flight but due to timezones, the flight gets in at 1030 .

Pick up a hire car from Alamo – again a Chrysler , £200 for the remaining 6 days.

We will drive down to Ellenton Outlets for a mooch about and then back up to Largo in time for dinner.

Learning from last time , We will pre book ourselves into Sonnys BBQ Pit to avoid a repeat of the Hank Marvin meltdowns

Days 13 and 14 have no plans but I am sure food, cocktails, the pool/beach and general laziness will feature.

Days 15-16 Orlando

Early on the road on day 15 to Orlando to max out the shopping and chilling time

Our final destination is Sapphire Falls. £360 for 2 nights.

The Orlando hotel has been such a saga. We dithered so long on the plan that I missed out on the Rosen Plaza. I then decided I wanted to go a little upmarket but the Swan and Dolphin were fully booked ( I was after dinner at Shulas !) and the Bohemian at Celebration was a dead cert – until they doubled the rate for the second night … :angry:

I didn’t feel we could justify any of the other Universal hotels – we are not visiting the parks so the FOLP is wasted on us and we have so many offsite places that we want to eat that we also felt club level was just an unjustified expense.

But I wanted to finish my birthday trip staying somewhere that still felt special and where we could go out at night without the car. I was a bit unsure about this place but after re reading a couple of trippies , I am sure we will enjoy it.

I just wonder if I will hanker for a quick nosy into IoA though …

I even pondered a day ticket to Epcot to sample Food and Wine Festival so who knows, if I get a job soon and we can afford the extra luxury of some park tickets, maybe ….. But for now, its not on the plan.

So.

No real plans – shocker.

But You know our Orlando routine

Shop to the max.

Eat pancake breakfasts and steak dinners

And chill out by the pool avec cocktails.

Sounds a pretty perfect end to the trip to me

We have yet to agree the places we will eat – with only two evenings and 3 days, its blimmin hard to fit in all the places we love.
I would place your bets on Perkins or Cracker Barrel, Longhorns, Panda Express, and Hash House ( only as I have a voucher to use !) . Still room for a couple of others I think but tough choices !

Day 17

Travel Home Day –

We will have a full last day being on the 8.30pm flight

Check in at Disney Springs to ditch the cases and then free to do what we want – not sure what that will be just yet

We have bubble seats – I have no idea what to expect , I am just hoping it will be quiet

It will be the first night flight where Andy isn’t in exit row or ELR seats so please Lord, a nice recliner in front of him …..

Day 18

Arrive home by lunchtime

Complete Depression

Spend taxi journey praying kids have cleaned the house so no volcanic eruptions on entering the front door . With 17 days of Men Behaving Badly meets Dog Borstal , I am not sure I want to contemplate the potential scenarios.

Dish out vast quantities of guilt purchases that I will have made

Reflect on the fact that this time the following week, I will be a half millennial

Consume Cocktail to feel better

Post Highs and Lows on Dibb

Crash Out

Begin Trippy …..

And there ends the plan.

Still work to do on the food for Nashville and NOLA but the rest is looking ok.

I need to re check the hotels as I currently have a double booking for one place and we don’t want any extra charges – that’s the down side sometimes of the free booking - I make too many choices and then forget them …

I am going to pre book as many tix as I can for the various museums and sort the transfers – that will make it easier to budget while we are there as we will just be spending on food and shopping.

Next update will be when I have made those bookings and sorted our food plans for Nashville and Orlando ...

pics courtesy of google images

[Melbatb]

Wow - it really is a fabulous trip! Will be very different without the boys!

[Mary A]

If you're visiting the Ryman in Nashville I can recommend Lulas, food was really tasty and Puckett was good too. Have a look at Mothers for lunch in NOLA, a man v food place - delicious poboys. Have you looked at the rendevous in Memphis? Best BBQ we've eaten, atmosphere was fantastic, mentioned in a John hiatt song.

Your trip sounds fantastic, the Don Kelly band who play in Roberts western world on Broadway, Nashville are a must for us to see. You're making me want to go back!

Eta, loraine hotel and civil rights museum were very emotional and although not an Elvis fan I thought the trip to Graceland was the highlight of that holiday

[WileyCoyote]

Originally Posted by Melbatb

Wow - it really is a fabulous trip! Will be very different without the boys!

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Yes Yes to both !

[WileyCoyote]

Originally Posted by Mary A

If you're visiting the Ryman in Nashville I can recommend Lulas, food was really tasty and Puckett was good too. Have a look at Mothers for lunch in NOLA, a man v food place - delicious poboys. Have you looked at the rendevous in Memphis? Best BBQ we've eaten, atmosphere was fantastic, mentioned in a John hiatt song.

Your trip sounds fantastic, the Don Kelly band who play in Roberts western world on Broadway, Nashville are a must for us to see. You're making me want to go back!

Eta, loraine hotel and civil rights museum were very emotional and although not an Elvis fan I thought the trip to Graceland was the highlight of that holiday

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Ah, thanks for these tips, that's great. Will deffo look at Mothers for lunch. Yes had looked at Rendezvous - I think it might be a bit too filling though as we have a big dinner planned - although we could share a meal Thanks also for the other places to look at in Memphis. It looks quite compact so we may get more done that we think.

[Mary A]

Originally Posted by WileyCoyote

Ah, thanks for these tips, that's great. Will deffo look at Mothers for lunch. Yes had looked at Rendezvous - I think it might be a bit too filling though as we have a big dinner planned - although we could share a meal Thanks also for the other places to look at in Memphis. It looks quite compact so we may get more done that we think.

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You're welcome!

Do you know there's a free shuttle bus that takes you from Gibson factory (very close to your hotel) to Sun studios to Graceland? Maybe not in that order, can't remember the circuit and DH has gone for a walk

[P&S]

It all looks and sounds amazing
Some of those hotel prices though but worth it

[WileyCoyote]

Originally Posted by Mary A

You're welcome!

Do you know there's a free shuttle bus that takes you from Gibson factory (very close to your hotel) to Sun studios to Graceland? Maybe not in that order, can't remember the circuit and DH has gone for a walk

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No I did not know this ! I will definitely look this up , would be useful to get to Sun Studio , save more walking in the heat

Originally Posted by P&S

It afll looks and sounds amazing
Some of those hotel prices though but worth it

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Thank you The prices just seem high this year what with exchange rate and staying in cities with less choice than The plentiful Orlando. Makes a Florida villa holiday seem positively bargainous