Today was going to be another glorious day although we were rudely awoken at 6.30am by a spam call on Karen’s mobile. After breakfast we decided to nip out to the shops to purchase some different cereal for Karen. As there was a Marshalls next to the Super Target, Karen dashed in for a quick browse but came out with a bag full of bargains.
In Target we purchased the required cereal and the beer that Barry had requested for his imminent arrival later in the week. Whilst there Karen thought it would be rude not to make use of the Starbucks store inside.
Back at the villa, we roasted by the pool as the temperature hit 87f for a while before making our baguettes for lunch. During this time I was keeping a close eye on Neils flight which we knew had taken off slightly late due to someone having packed their required medication in their checked in baggage. His flight seemed to have made up most of the lost time though.
The hours passed and it was soon mid afternoon when we made a move to drive to Winter Park before picking Neil up from the airport. Due to the roadworks on the I4 we missed the Winter Park exit but the good old Sat Nav easily rerouted us back to the Historic District along Park Avenue. We parked at the Train Station but had to wait a while to cross the tracks as two trains arrived in different directions. They were both short in length passenger trains but enormous in height when stood on the pathway below them.
Winter Park is just a nice place to wander and spend some time. We popped in a couple of shops and I purchased a T Shirt. The Toy Shop is another favourite of mine being very old fashioned and having lots of interesting stock. I could spend hours looking round it but I know it doesn’t hold much interest for Karen. I’m not too sure why I have the fascination with the toys/games. It may be a harking back to childhood or the fun element with the risk/chance/skill element, I really don’t know. I do have some friends who I know are real board game collectors/players and have rooms full of them. I like them but not to that extent.
We wandered further along the street and then Karen had to have her arm twisted to go into Starbucks for her second fix of the day. It was very pleasant sitting outside as I again tracked Neils flight. From here we went back to the car and drove the short distance to the second reason Karen likes Winter Park – The Cheesecake Factory.
Giving the time we had before we had to get to the airport and we were unsure whether Neil would want to go out to eat tonight we decided to have something light and Karen would get her Cheesecake ‘to go’. I ordered a Skinnylicious Caesar salad without chicken whilst Karen ordered an appetiser of Sliders. Mine arrived and was a large dish of salad and was delicious. Karen’s order was flipping enormous. She had 5 big sliders and put together would have been much larger than than a real big burger. There was also chips with the order. It seemed more food than a normal entree.
After finishing our food, Karen ordered her Cherry Ghirardelli Cheesecake to go and we got another slice for Neil. We drove to the airport. The roads were busy as it was still rush hour and there were problems elsewhere meaning we think traffic had diverted onto the route we were taking. Eventually we arrived in the Cell Phone Waiting Lot and saw that Neils flight had landed. I was impressed to find the Lot had Wifi and we messaged Neil to tell him we were waiting and to let us know when to drive round to collect him.
When we heard from him he told us where he was waiting and so we set off to collect him. Unfortunately we took the wrong turning from the Lot and ended up driving miles out of the airport before we could turn around. We found Neil easily then and were very pleased and excited to see him. I think Neil was even pleased to see us and pleased to be back in Florida.
The drive back to the villa was full of excited chatter on our part and full of gloom and doom about Norwich from Neil despite our recent run of form. No change there then.
Back at the Villa, Neil had a quick shower and then we headed out to the close by Outback. Karen decided to just have a drink whilst Neil & I ordered the usual Outback Special. However as it was only a few hours since my mound of Caesar salad, Karen ate my salad whilst I devoured the Steak.
We chilled back in the Villa for a while before retiring. Thats one son safely here and only a couple of days before the other one joins us. Happy days!
