Moving day arrived, and we were in no particular rush. No alarms were needed as we were still adjusting to the time difference.
Our leisurely start may have been influenced by the early kick-off at Carrow Road, which — courtesy of the VPN and the Sky Sports app — we were able to watch perfectly on the iPad. I thought we started the game well but remained pessimistic about our inability to actually put the ball in the net.
I took the streaming iPad with me into breakfast but was disappointed to find that today’s “egg of the day” was cheese omelette again. I took that as a bad omen for the match — and how right I was to be proven.
It didn’t take us long to pack up after breakfast, and during half-time we loaded the car and set off on the 30-minute drive to Ellenton Outlet Mall. We arrived just as the shops opened — and just as City conceded their second. Our roving reporters at the match described the second-half performance as, at best, “pathetic.”
We headed to the Columbia store where, although neither of us was after anything in particular, we still managed to leave with a bag full of bargains — made even cheaper thanks to Karen’s Blue Light Card.
Then it was on to the Asics store, where Karen spent nearly as much as this whole trip had cost us on the special trainers she needs for her dodgy feet. I thought the new pair looked smart and sturdier than her current ones.
Not to be outdone — and with the explicit approval of the Biomechanics Department at the hospital — I bought myself a rather nice pair of Skechers trainers, which were also a bargain.
We finished up in the Old Navy outlet before sitting outside the ubiquitous Starbucks for a drink in the sunshine. I had just iced water.
Then we drove the 93 miles to Celebration, where we had lunch outside Panera Bread. It was, as usual, delicious. After that, it was time to do the big holiday shop in Publix before Neil arrives tomorrow. Hopefully, I won’t be faced with such a large shopping bill again this trip.
As there was a Coldstone Creamery next door, Karen thought it would be impolite not to treat herself — which she did, with a large chocolate creation. I made do with a small $2 tub from Publix.
By now it was past 4pm, so we headed excitedly to the villa. Apart from the community gates being stuck (and manually opened by a friendly UPS driver (Doug – IYKYK), we got into the same villa as last year with no issues.
Or so we thought.
We opened the door to a mess. We couldn’t tell if it had been left like that or if the cleaners had started and gone. It was annoying and upsetting. There were sheets hanging on doors — possibly clean, possibly not — the floor was dirty, and Karen was unconvinced that the fridge had been cleaned.
I tried to call the management company immediately, but my phone wouldn’t let me make outbound calls — even though I’d paid for Go Roaming and mobile data was working. Frustrated, I tried Karen’s phone, which, although with a different provider, had the same issue. By now, I was getting very annoyed. I even tried the landline in the villa, but that wasn’t working either, despite a note over it saying that all US calls were free.
At a loss for what to do, I unloaded the car and then realised I could contact the owner through the VRBO app. He responded within minutes, apologised, and said he would get everything sorted.
About half an hour later, I managed to get Karen’s phone working by resetting the network settings and finally spoke to the management company. They said there had been a misunderstanding and promised that the cleaners would return within the hour. The owner then suggested we go out for an early dinner on him while the cleaning was finished.
By then, though, Karen was already scrubbing the inside of the fridge so we could at least store the food we’d just bought. We’d actually planned a quiet night in with takeaway pizza — and decided to stick with that.
The cleaners turned up and apologised, explaining they’d thought we weren’t arriving until Monday. They said most of the cleaning had been done and that they were just airing the sheets before making up the beds and finishing off. The two of them finished in about 45 minutes — just before the pizzas I’d ordered arrived.
We ate them with a nice glass of red before Karen settled down to watch the Halloween Strictly show. I spent the time trying (and failing) to sort out my phone, after first reading about the shenanigans following the disaster at Carrow Road.
After hearing me moan about what needs to happen to fix the problems at the club, Karen suggested that rather than just complaining, I should write to the owner — so I did. It was professional and polite, with some helpful suggestions (even Karen said so). I felt better for at least trying, even if he never reads it and it goes straight to junk mail.
After a bit more joint admin and finally getting ourselves organised in the villa, we made our way to bed. I’d forgotten how comfy the master bed is here — but also how high. It took a bit of a run-up to get onto it. I was asleep by the time Karen emerged from the bathroom, so I’ve no idea how she managed to climb aboard.
