Didn't we have a luverley time the day we went to the seaside :-)

Our final full day in Florida dawned (yes, I know I have been a bit slack in keeping you up to date, I will try to fill you in soon) with temperatures in the mid-high 60s...a lot lower than the mid 80s we have been experiencing.
We have a table booked for Charley's Steakhouse for 6:30 this evening and a taxi booked for 6pm to take us there so a day of adventure beckoned!
After breakfast and showers all round we jumped in the car and headed south, past Tampa to the lovely seaside town of Clearwater.
We stopped for lunch at a little beachside restaurant with a live guitarist singing songs to sing along to which was definitely THE place to be. Then a walk along the beach, pulling the Stokke along with us, and rental of some gorgeous little sun-bunkers and loungers so we could soak up the sun and take time to paddle in the sea and build a sandcastle.
What a lovely day, and it aint over yet! We are heading back up the I4 to Celebration for a beautiful steak dinner.

God, Golf and Great Times!!

Wednesday morning brought with it the promise of sunshine and temperatures in the low 20s.

A morning dip in the pool provided additional entertainment with a plane signwriter flying overhead to let us know that:
U + God = :)
and
Praise Jesus


Only in America....

We took the boys to the Pirate Cove Mini Golf in the afternoon and with Zach in the carrier we played 18 holes with Benjamin getting a 'score in one!' on the 18th which entitled him to a gold coin for a free game (we might send Nanny next time!). The lady working there was mighty impressed with our miniature Tiger Woods!

Thursday promised to be a scorcher and we planned to set out early(ish) to Magic Kingdom...with one very excited little boy and one equally excited mummy!

We entered the park and straight away there was a fire truck to sit in and play with...the fun was just beginning!

On our travels we saw Mickey and Mini, Woody, Jessie, Peter Pan, Aladdin and numerous Disney princesses that we didn't have a clue about!

Benjamin drove the Go Karts, concentrating as hard as he could, and we got stuck in It's a Small World for 10 minutes, like we needed any more of that tune to get it stuck in our heads for ever more!! And we bumped into a family from our plane delay for the 2nd time in these busy, packed parks!!

Tomorrow we are planning a day of swimming and shopping and (sssshhhhh) a night out without the kids (gotta love coming on holiday with Nanny!!) if we manage to stay awake long enough...

Settling in to the American way of life

At the request of Uncle Pete by text message this morning I am writing a quick update whilst everyone is getting ready to go to 'Diserney Magic Kingdum' as Benjamin calls it.

Since collecting the bag of doom we have been settling down for a relaxing few days.

The pool has warmed up nicely so we have been swimming every morning, although Zach isn't too impressed with it!

 

 
We went to 'Old Town' and Benjamin had a great time in the amusement arcade

 

At Disney Epcot (when we eventually got there, Nan 'forgot' her tickets...) Benjamin played hopscotch and got a Mickey sticker, and met Chip & Dale

 

Hurrah!!!

Take a guess where we are going...

You guessed it, at some point on this holiday we will see something that isn't the freeway to and from the airport!!!

Benjamin woke at 7am and Ken jumped out of bed saying 'you have another hour', bless him. The next thing I heard was a commotion as a Skype call came in from home with pictures of snow and stories of schools closed! So curiosity got the better of me and I got up too.

The pool had warmed up nicely so after breakfast we had a swim before setting out at 10am on what we hope will be the final mission to collect the bag of doom (for those of you who followed our wombling adventures in 2011 it is the same bag that we left in La Guardia airport in New York)...after all it's got our sat nav in it and we only know how to get to one place....

We left Zach sleeping with Nanny but brought Benjamin on this trip...the sticker says press to close, if only it were that easy!!!

Another airport, another beer...

A six+ hour flight delay turned our day flight into a night flight and whilst the boys were beautifully behaved throughout, 8 hours in an airport terminal waiting to get on a plane followed by a 9 hour flight takes its toll on the most patient person!

Still, we arrived at Sanford Airport, cleared immigration (after being called into the interview room for clearance) and customs (all our bags were scanned for contraband goods!) and bagged ourselves a lovely new people carrier to take us to Nanny's Villa...

As we drove down south we joked that it was a miracle that we had managed to get all 6 of us and all our bags door to door....uh oh....yep, you guessed it, we had forgotten to claim one of our bags and we didn't realise until we were 40 minutes away from the airport and it was 1am. We would worry about it in the morning.

Morning came (far too quickly) and our first Denny's breakfast had a true American flourish with 'Luna the Balloon Lady' making Benjamin a Spider-Man balloon as he ate his toast.

One trip to Walmart for supplies later and Ken and I left the kids with the oldies (!) and headed back to Sanford...to find the international terminal deserted!!! And so we wait, again, with a beer in hand (a fiver for a small cup anyone?) for the terminal to open for a 4:50pm flight later.

Ever felt like someone somewhere has a grudge against you...? Good job we glide through all the mess with a smile on our faces, after all, we could be back home in cold, snowy England :)

A 10am Pint of Lager!!!!

Things just went too easy for us yesterday...we woke at 7am to an email from ESTA saying that the Visa applications for Ken, Zach and I were no longer authorised!!!
Ken jumped out of bed and rushed down to the airport to be told to re-apply for he visas, we were refused again....another check with the airline and we needed to all report to the US border authorities to request passage...
Long story short, a couple of hours of panic and sweating and the nice Border control man from Alaska said we can travel....a quick scoot through security (stressful at the best of times with a baby and a pre-schooler) and a pint was most definitely in order!!!
Now to settle down, watch the planes and sit out the 2 hour delay to our flight.

Introducing some new team members...

Since we Wombled the East Coast we have had a new addition to our little family, Zachary John Smith rushed into the world on 16 September 2012 and is a wonderfully chilled bundle of joy, on this trip we also have Nanny Ann and Wayne with us (or should we be with them seeing as it is Nan's house?).
Sadly we don't have Jakey with us this time, now a 13 year old big boy he is concentrating on his schoolwork (and planning a trip with his cousins in the summer!)
And so we settle down for a relaxing rest before the excitement of tomorrow!!!

A Snowy Start To A New Adventure

It has been a while since the Smith Family had an adventure of the Wombling kind (plenty of other adventures but that is a story for another day) but this afternoon we set of from a super-snowy Wolverhampton along the treacherous local roads and then up a surprisingly clear M6 (clear of traffic and snow) and check in for our flight to Florida tomorrow.

Now settled in a hotel room with a view of the runway relaxing after a hectic day :-)