I'm in Florida.
Once again I come to you, dear patient readers, from sunny Buttonwood Bay, Sebring and this will be my home for the next 176 days or May 3rd 2011, whichever comes later. This year my location within the park is different as over the summer my friends here bought a new and much bigger house and it is from there that I send out this first post of my 2010-2011 season in America.
Eat your heart out, Alistair Cooke.
And here IS that new house.............
By the way, most of the photos this time around will be taken with my camera phone as I tend to have it with me all the time and let's face it, it's easier than lugging around an SLR and zoom lens. The date stamp in the corner will be the giveaway as, sadly, will the reduced quality.
So I arrived here on Sunday after a most excellent flight and even the security checks at Manchester (shoes stayed on and my carry on case wasn't opened up and examined - both firsts for me) and the immigration checks at Orlando went without a hitch. I was allowed IN for another winter in Florida and despite exiting the airport at the wrong terminal once again........
......Debby still found me as I borrowed a stranger's cell phone to tell her where I was. I did bring my phone with me but only to use as a wifi enabled 'computer' and not as an actual phone.
90 minutes later we were in the park and I got to see the new place for the first time. Seeing as it contains the contents of a much larger house in Michigan, the contents of the old place here in the park, most of the contents of their 5th wheel and the contents already in the house from the previous owners, it says something about the size and storage capacity of this place that it looks so good.
As I'd had to get up at 4:45am on Sunday to get to Manchester airport and then didn't get to bed here until 3am Monday morning UK time, Monday passed in a sort of jet lagged haze for me. I did nothing much and remember even less about it !
I regarded today as Day 1 and after 2 mugs of Amaretto flavoured Dunkin Donuts coffee (highly recommended), I went walkies. It was 10:30am.
It was also 78f/25c and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Glorious.
Rather than post photos of my walk here, I've put them up on my Facebook photo site so here is the link.
It was lovely to see old friends along the route and be waved and smiled at by everyone I met. Yes it was a bit like The Stepford Wives on the set of The Prisoner and this troubling image was enhanced with most people going around in golf carts. All that was missing was a big weather balloon.
Then it was back for a shower and a light lunch and now I'm sitting here watching Sky Sports News and hearing about Leeds United drawing at home to Hull City.
It may be a different house in a different country but some things never change !
By the way, most of the photos this time around will be taken with my camera phone as I tend to have it with me all the time and let's face it, it's easier than lugging around an SLR and zoom lens. The date stamp in the corner will be the giveaway as, sadly, will the reduced quality.
So I arrived here on Sunday after a most excellent flight and even the security checks at Manchester (shoes stayed on and my carry on case wasn't opened up and examined - both firsts for me) and the immigration checks at Orlando went without a hitch. I was allowed IN for another winter in Florida and despite exiting the airport at the wrong terminal once again........
......Debby still found me as I borrowed a stranger's cell phone to tell her where I was. I did bring my phone with me but only to use as a wifi enabled 'computer' and not as an actual phone.
90 minutes later we were in the park and I got to see the new place for the first time. Seeing as it contains the contents of a much larger house in Michigan, the contents of the old place here in the park, most of the contents of their 5th wheel and the contents already in the house from the previous owners, it says something about the size and storage capacity of this place that it looks so good.
As I'd had to get up at 4:45am on Sunday to get to Manchester airport and then didn't get to bed here until 3am Monday morning UK time, Monday passed in a sort of jet lagged haze for me. I did nothing much and remember even less about it !
I regarded today as Day 1 and after 2 mugs of Amaretto flavoured Dunkin Donuts coffee (highly recommended), I went walkies. It was 10:30am.
It was also 78f/25c and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Glorious.
Rather than post photos of my walk here, I've put them up on my Facebook photo site so here is the link.
It was lovely to see old friends along the route and be waved and smiled at by everyone I met. Yes it was a bit like The Stepford Wives on the set of The Prisoner and this troubling image was enhanced with most people going around in golf carts. All that was missing was a big weather balloon.
Then it was back for a shower and a light lunch and now I'm sitting here watching Sky Sports News and hearing about Leeds United drawing at home to Hull City.
It may be a different house in a different country but some things never change !
Welcome back to this side of the pond! What I needed most in the whole wide world this morning was a virtual vacation in Florida, and thanks to your wonderful FB album, I had it...
ReplyDeleteWord verification, God's honest truth, is bilime (blimey?)...
25c and sunny what's that like?!! Have had no sun holiday this year and could really have done with that.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the next 6 months, am sure you will!