Florida 2020 - part1 - Aaaaargh to Yeeeah!

We are in Florida at the moment, enjoying our annual escape from the endless ice and snow that makes a Winnipeg winter.

This years escape didnt start easily though as day one was a shambles of frustration and inadequacy.

We had a Tappcar (Winnipegs version of Uber) booked for 4 am and after getting up at 3.30 I was pleased to see a car sitting outside at 3.45 and a text message from the driver tellling me he was there. I was putting on my shoes and about to head outside to load the nags when the car disappeared and we were chared with a no show fee. It was still only 350am. What an absolute knobs trick. Later in the day I reported this to Tappcar and very quickly they replied, paying back the charge, depositing $10 extra as a sorry and dismissinbg the driver from their system. NIce one Tappcar! Luckily, I had also been able to get another car pretty quickly and even though the driver admitted he had been driving for 14 hours on his shift, he dropped us at the airport in good time.

The airport was also ridiculous though - really slow moving queues, a baggage system that looked like it was broken as bags were piled up in rows waiting to be x-rayed. Then more queuing and so any people at 5am that I wondered if everyone in the city was escaping from something we didnt know about.

We like to arrive early and hang around at the airport, its usually part of the fun of travelling, but on this trip it was stressful and tiring - Hannah actually made it better being her usual crazy self and making it a lot more fun for us two adults.

The plane was ok - just a quick 3 hour flight and on the arrival into Orlando, I knew a rocket was about to take off from Cape Canaveral. I was on eth correct side of the plane and could see teh coast through the clear sky. I thought one of my dreams was about to come true and I would see a rocket launch live - until the pilot turned the planeWestwards one minute before the planned launch and I could see nothig but clouds. Such a barstard plane driver!!!

Anyway, landing at Orlando, we had the usual long drive to park the plane, then big queues for customs, when we also werent given nack out stroller, so had to carry Hannah (The whole point of putting a stroller in the hold at the gate, is to allow you to place your tired, irritable child in the stroller when you land) We werent the worst off though as we saw other families with multiple child's who were far more work than ours.

Anyway, we were nearly last through customs and when we got to the baggage carousel, we saw only one bag - not a stroller and not a car seat which we had brought. After a search around we located the excess baggage pile, hidden in a corner and saw our stroller and car seat laying there all sad and lonely.

Next was car rental - the shuttle bus was supposed to pick us up, but after watching multiple busses from other companies pick up excited holidaymakers, we finally got through the the office of our company and they then decided to send a bus - we had waited almost an hour to get collected and I was beginning to get annoyed. Then witha the usual added bullshit money to the car rental fee (this time paying for toll roads - 2 choices - $14.95 a day all inclisive or $12.95 a day and I still have to pay the toll money - all because the car already has a toll pass - bollocks!!) I chose the cheaper payment a I know we dont drive on many toll roads at all .

We didnt need an escalator - Hannah loves them!!

Finally, finally finally we were on our way, under our own steam and we headed 2 hours north to the lovely city of St Augustine. We arrived about 4pm, scaring the cleaner who was mopping the floor of the airbnb and then headed into the old city to take a look around and grab some dinner.

After a long day we were suddenly calm and happy as the sunshine shone on out t-shirted backs - it was all worth it for the vitamin D high we were now feeling.

We had a wander up George St - the main pedestrianised route and stopped for dinner and a couple of beers before a slow walk home and time to put Hannah to bed. She had been so much fun all day and was really excited, so it took a while for her to fall asleep and later that evening I fell asleep in about 30 seconds before Buffy had even turned off the bedroom light!

On Sunday I took Hannah out when she woke up and we played in a local park - sword fighting with sticks and watching a fountain or 'Baf' as Hannah calls any small piece of water at the moment. Buffy had a nice lie in and when we returned from our adventure we decided to head to the beach. It was a lovely sunny day and we spent a good couple of hours playing in the sand and the surf enjoying the wonderful weather.

Hannah made friends with every dog that passed as well as a lot of the local kids, before it was time to bring her home for a lunchtime nap. We did pop into town for a short wander and to grab some lunch. The pizza place we chose came secind in 'Americas best pizza' competition, but advertises itself as 'The nest pizza in America', I mean, it was close but no one remembers second place do they!! It was pretty nice though and along with the homemade style ice cream we had, meant we were full up and snoozing along with Hannah!!

In the afternoon, the weather was still really nice, so we jumped back in the car and went back to the beach to make the most of the rest of the day. Hannah loves the beach and spent another crazy hour or two playing there and in the little splashpad and park that we found just behind a pier. it had been a perfect first days on holiday and so we eneded it up with a dinner overlooking the beach and the best shrimp I thing any of us have ever had - followed by a huge piece of Key lime pie. Delicious.

Hannah was hot.

Completely legal in Florida - probably

We were surprised when we left the restaurant to see it raining heavily, but still lovely and warm - so I went and grabbed the car, enjoying a few minutes in the warm summer rain and returned to pick up my girls from the restaurant, whwre Hannah ahd been splashing in the puddles.

It was dark when we got home and we shit outselves when we pulled into the driveway and saw an old man with a long white beard standing in the shadows in the rain - he appeared from nowhere in our headlights and when I parked up and got out he had disappeared again - like a ghostly vision, we werent sure we had really seen. A bit creepy and a strange way to end the day!!


After my turn for a lie in and  Buffy and Hannah had got back from a little adventure in and around the local college, where Hannah calls all the fountains 'Baths', we headed out for another day exploring St Augustine. Monday was a little overcast and cooler, so we took a look around the fort and the bay before enjoying a good brunch.Hannah seemed tired - she has been waking so early - we ended up back at the apartment while she had a long, well needed nap.

In the afternoon it was all ice creams and dancing as we had a good dinner in the 'Prohibition KItchen' - a large restaurant/pub with live music where Hannah enjoyed the dancefloor  a whole lot - even being joined for a spin by one of the waitresses working there!!