Here is the breaking news flash from the State of Florida – ITS BLUEBERRY SEASON. It seemed every time we got in the car including when we picked it up in Louisiana that blinking advert appeared on the radio almost on repeat. We haven’t heard ‘See Ya in a Kia’ once which is typical as we are driving one.
Today was the day that Karen was convinced that we would finally run out of luck with the weather. As we got up though it was fine and so the decision was made that we would stay by the pool in the morning and go out at noon after having a very early lunch.
I swear Karen spends more time looking at the 3 different weather apps on her phone (BBC, Accuweather and Apple) than she actually spends sitting outside enjoying the sun. There seems be a constant stream of updates coming from her which my brain recognises to filter out. At one point this morning she informed me that according to one app the rain was about to start in 4 minutes when there were no clouds in the sky overhead.
It does seem over here they seem to overestimate the weather whereas at home the forecasts seem to underestimate what is coming. I tend to just look up at the sky over here but always carry a rain jacket in the car just in case.
I started reading The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer on my kindle by the pool. There were a few laugh out loud lines and it was an easy quick read.
Almost on the dot of noon we were in the car and heading for the Disney Boardwalk. We were worried that we would not be allowed into the car park but had no trouble although controversially we were told to turn right into a parking area rather than left. Funny how silly things like that got us both going ‘Ooh’.
As we walked to the Boardwalk entrance the heat really hit us and it was no surprise when we saw that temperature had hit 30c for the first time this trip. As you know Karen has a very narrow window of acceptable temperatures and this was outside of it. The start of our walk round the Lake (anti clockwise for those who know) was peppered with her seeking shade under trees.
There was a wedding taking place at the outside pavilion as we walked past. I tried shouting ‘Don’t do it’ but as I did so a round of applause broke out and Karen said I was too late to save the poor groom from will obviously now be a life of misery.
We got to the Epcot bridge and asked if Karen wanted to ride the Skyway. She was initially reluctant as her app was telling her about imminent storms and she was worried that it would stop running and we would be stranded away from the car. I pointed out there were no dark clouds on the horizon in any direction and so she agreed.
We walked straight on and I suddenly thought it would be fun to Facetime Barry whilst we were on it. He answered immediately and it was lovely to see him as he had just finished work. The problem was that we could hardly hear him above the noise of the cable moving coupled with the never-ending safety messages being played. Nevertheless, we had a quick chat and were able to show him the view as we went past Epcot.
At the Caribbean Resort stop we got off and then headed back to the Riviera Resort. Here we thought we would go and see if one of our favourite ‘secret’ spots for coffee was free on the 1st floor (in USA terms the 2ndfloor). It was and so we sat outside on the balcony in the shade overlooking the grounds for probably much longer than we should have. We sent a few messages using the free Disney Wifi.
Then we made our way back to the Skyway and caught the next one back to Epcot where we continued our walk around the Lake. We didn’t get very far before Karen wanted a cold drink. We stopped at Hurricane Hanna’s bar at the Yacht and Beach Club. For reasons I didn’t really understand Karen got the drink for free which made it taste twice as nice, especially when she went and got herself a refill as well. We sat on some very comfortable chairs so long I thought they might give us a wristband so that we could go into the pool itself.
Eventually we made our way around the rest of the Lake and went into the shop at the end. We were sorely tempted to buy Ellie a Stitch topped Pineapple Candle holder, but it cost $35 and was very heavy to bring home in a case.
On these trips there are several treats that Karen likes to have each time. One of them is a Mickey shaped Ice Cream. These are now $6 each but despite this I still got her one.
Whilst eating it outside we literally bumped into Daisy Duck with Chip & Dale. I missed getting a hug from Daisy because a pesky kid was hogging her, so ended up just having a selfie with Dale instead.
Instead of heading back we drove to the outlets as I had had second and third thoughts about the jacket I had purchased earlier. It was an omni heat one and had a reflective lining like the blankets they give out to marathon runners. I decided it really wasn’t the look for me even though you couldn’t see it once the jacket was on. So, Karen kindly nipped in to return for me whilst I loitered in the car waiting in the car valet pickup area so that it wasn’t too long a walk.
As we were near The Cheesecake Factory the decision was made to get another piece. But as there was no queue for a table (it was early) we decided to have an early evening meal at the same time. Karen had the Breakfast Brioche Sandwich whilst I had a Stuffed Cheeseburger. We were both stuffed afterwards but it didn’t stop Karen taking some cheesecake for later.
We relaxed in the villa for an hour or so before watching the latest Race across the World. After this as we were up to date with everything else, we have been watching we started with the first episode of ‘Nolly’ on ITVX. It was light weight and just about ok.
After that we retired for the day, with chants of ‘Its Blueberry Season’ still going round inside our heads.
