some good things have to come to an end... reflections

So, today, John and I have been away for 4 weeks - it feels like such a long time (in a good way!).  When we look back over the holiday, some things seem so long ago they could be last year!

It feels appropriate to give you a sense of our holiday round-up - what sticks in the memory...

The best bit, of course, is about being with family - ours is one of those 'blended' families that throws people together without the benefit of the years of getting to know each other! We were just a selection of ours who could come away in August 2015 - this blog has been a way of keeping in touch with those who couldn't be here so they could share the experience (or be glad they stayed away)!  In the end the great thing about families is that we're all hopefully on the same team and supporting each other.... like cheering for the Blue Knight at Medieval Times!

Our thanks must go to Mick and Geraldine who live in York who own this lovely, well placed villa and who make it available to all comers to enjoy.  If you ever consider renting a villa in Kissimmee - take a look at this one and/or contact Mick directly  http://www.lake-berkley.com/  For us, it's been brilliant, particularly after our previous experience of renting from rather dubious Texans, who seemed to be going bust at the height of the financial crisis here in 2009 - local contacts and 'agents' were non existent and I think they would rather we'd just bought the property from them!  7 bedroom homes going for under $100,000 (did we miss a trick?)

It really is like living on a nature reserve here - you know what time of day it is by what's going on around the lake, and you know it's time to think about supper when the birds are checking in to the 'premier inn' on the island.  The lake has been like Loch Ness for some - you can easily be convinced you've seen the monster (alligator)!  But now we know that even an alligator that is several years old is not actually that big, don't we Becky?  I love being surrounded by extraordinary wildlife - whether it's the curlews and the herons on the water, the lizards on the lanai or the eagles soaring in the skies.  I'm still not that interested in the spiders and snakes though!


The swimming pool has played an important part in our holiday.  We've been swimming every day - we've swum to cool off, we've lounged around on 'noodles', we've swum in the warm pouring rain with thunder rattling around the houses, we've (well some have) cannonballed, snorkelled and dived for treasures, we've played keepy uppy until we were wrinkled prunes and our arms felt ready to fall off.

John and I have maintained our record of not setting foot in an actual theme park whereas others have well and truly 'done' them.  Holly has theme parks nailed and we are in awe of her skills.  Top of the heap, has to be Harry Potter and Hogwarts.

Visiting theme parks requires stamina, nerves of steel and a stomach for being thrown around and hung upside down.  it is not for the likes of us!

Kennedy Space Centre was much more our sort of thing, requiring only moderate effort and an ability to take in information.

We have 'shopped til we dropped' in various outlet stores and jeopardised our bank accounts in the process.  We've seen some terrible driving and been amazed at the capacity for stupidity in the face of traffic. 

Fortunately we now have the airport run cracked and can actually get to the right terminal. John, Sarah and I will be making our way there tomorrow afternoon... to see ourselves off!  ...and yes, Nathaniel, we will be on a Virgin Jumbo 747- 400

Thanks for sticking with us and we'll see UK folk soon and Sheilagh we'll aim for 2017 in Cayman!