Tag: vacation

Oh Chino

by mkingdon, posted in mkingdon

Usually, about now, in the standard cycle of our endless Disney trips, I would be elbow deep in all kinds of planning activities. Assuming a summer trip, once we start to see daffodils and daylight beyond tea time it normally feels like a proper sea change in daily life, everything looks literally and figuratively brighter and I undergo self imposed and unnecessary stress about where we might eat in a few months.

Do I miss it, with our plans not involving the US this year? A bit, yes. One of the big benefits of a holiday that takes more than the action of booking it is the continuing dopamine hit of doing the bits of planning that are the milestones in the countdown.

With us heading for Mexico and an all inclusive experience I have nothing to do other than ensure I have the appropriate attire for our activities that might even fit me. On Friday, not being allowed to work, I found myself in the unusual setting of a retail location and did cast my eye over some suitable long trousers for the posher restaurants at the resort which insist on such. After about twenty minutes of pushing things around racks I left with a pack of socks and nothing related to the holiday.

There’s plenty of time yet and I as ever I hold onto the hope that I will lose fourteen stone “in a daaaaay” before July and any wardrobe additions now would be wasted. Socks however, will fit me whatever shape my body is in.

Conversely, not having to keep up to date on all the happenings at our destination to understand what attractions might be closed and what format and price this week’s FastPass system may take is liberating. I’m not saying we’ll make a habit of it but this relaxed approach to going away to relax is definitely a change and in some ways welcome, especially with work being stupidly mad at the moment.

I am even thankful that our chosen resort does not operate a reservation system for their restaurants. I am an animal of extremes! The absolute extent of my pre-holiday activity has been watching the resort post on Instagram.

I really don’t want to wait four years before returning to the US so let’s hope something happens over there to return things to something approaching normality. It may just be my soft lefty liberal echo chamber on social media but I am seeing lots of articles detailing large downturns in tourism to the US. It’s a real shame that ordinary folks in the relevant industries will be affected, unless of course they voted for him, then not so much. Maybe the downturn in numbers will see some keener prices for flights and more offers from Disney and the like, but I suspect any downturn from the UK market won’t be significant enough to make that much of a difference.

So as we enter the season of bank holidays, allegedly higher temperatures (although nobody seems to have told the weather up North), power washing your flagging and unavoidably visiting DIY shops and garden centres I find myself with nothing holiday related to do. It’s different, but I’m not too sure whether that is good or bad different. I am absolutely looking forward to our change of pace and plans, mostly because I am just sick to death of being cold!

I’ll just have to spend the next few months browsing lightweight chinos online I suppose and call that holiday planning.

Till the next time…..

The Doing Diddly In Delray Tour 2024 – Day Four Friday 31st May

by mkingdon, posted in The Doing Diddly In Delray Tour 2024

I spent most of the morning in bed doing something I very rarely do.

Having a lie-in.

It was 10.30 before I was up and about but hey, we had nowhere to be. I had some breakfast and watched some telly whilst Louise slept on. Once she arose she wanted to go out for breakfast. Clearly, as I had already had mine I would just get a drink or something at Boheme Bistro.

I don’t know how to explain why the waitress brought me this to be honest….

It was definite brunch/early lunch territory so Louise went for a BLT.

Eating Hobbit style, with a middle breakfast, might just be the lifestyle I’ve been looking for.

Leaving $60 including tip, we set off back to the hotel to take up our positions by the pool. It was rammed today, with two other people crowding us.

Louise ignored the “you have to wait for an hour after eating before going in the pool” rule….

I cowered in the shade as certain body parts were still a little well done. We only had to move beds once today to chase the shade, but I did have to make several dashes back to the room for reasons I won’t go into, but I was very glad we were not at the beach today. Nobody wants *that* in the water.

With little else to report other than more of the same for the rest of the day, Louise went back to the room around 5.30 to start getting ready and I stayed out by the pool for a bit reading.

I showered and readied around 6.30 and we nipped out to Publix for “bits”.

We dropped the car off back at the hotel and ordered a Lyft. Stand by, because after a lot of nothing happening, there is about to be some mild drama.

We were picked up in a HUGE Toyota Sequoia by a lovely female driver. Delray was rammed, being the start of the weekend, and once she got us within striking distance of our restaurant of choice, we jumped out of the car in the middle of backed-up traffic and jogged unathletically across the road to avoid death.

We walked the remaining distance to Rocco’s Tacos and approached the podium. Upon hearing my accent the young girl trying to sort us a table asked which part of London I was from. Vocally, Dick Van Dyke I am not. I rolled my eyes and explained roughly where we lived and she explained that she lived in Cambridge when she was very young as her Dad was in the Air Force, stationed in the UK.

Pleasant chat over, she asked for my mobile number so she could text me. I thought that was a little bold with Louise stood next to me, but after a few awkward moments, it turns out she meant when the table was ready.

We started walking to the bar, and I did one of 300 daily pocket pats, ensuring I had my car keys, phone, etc. A sudden sickness came over me as I felt the emptiness of one pocket. Looking paler than milk I realised I had left my phone in the Lyft!

We ran outside, knowing she had long gone and with panic raging, I grabbed Louise’s phone and tried to call mine. It would not connect.

I tried to log into my Lyft account on Louise’s phone so that I could message the driver, but that wasn’t possible as it sent a verification code to my phone!

I logged into my iCloud on Louise’s phone and could see my phone moving, so it was definitely in the car, but that was driving away from Delray.

With my mind swimming with the horrors of dealing with losing my phone whilst away, I sent the sound alarm thing to my phone many times. I then tried calling it via every method available, Messenger, WhatsApp and the like. Finally, what felt like a thousand minutes later, the driver picked up. She had heard me pinging it and realised what had happened. She very kindly agreed to bring it back to Delray once she had finished her current drop-off.

I cannot describe the feeling of relief.

We stood outside the restaurant for about 20 minutes, having gone back inside to tell them that there was no point texting me yet and I explained why.

Eventually, she pulled up and I could have dragged her through the passenger window and kissed her. Instead, I gave her the maximum tip the app would allow which was the better option for everyone all things considered..

With my sheen of sweat now subsiding, we claimed our table and sat down to eat. This was the second time that I have left my phone in a taxi whilst overseas and I can only blame the poor pocketage on my very attractive holiday shorts.

We started with some chips and Guac. Enough to sink a battleship.

We ordered a Margharita each.

and ordered the same entree….a salad….

Honest! It was called a Taco Salad Bowl and it was awesome. This was our best meal so far, perhaps enhanced by the surge of adrenaline still pumping through my body, but we paid the $120 including tip happily and left.

We strolled down to Johnny Brown’s, a bar that always seemed to have live music on. It was absolutely packed. It was a literal fight to get a drink and we somehow bagged a table right outside the restrooms. Maybe that was why.

We’ve had better views.

The band were decent but the thought of another trip to the bar and the feeling that we were getting eaten alive by something drove us to seek another venue.

We ended up in the Yacht Club again where another band was playing. This place was much less crowded and civilized and we had a few drinks here whilst listening to the band, who, again were pretty good. Unlike my photography.

We jumped in a Lyft home around midnight and bed swallowed us up as eagerly as I had that Taco Salad earlier.

Till the next time……