Our flights home at the end of our 25th wedding anniversary holiday consisted of a hop from Orlando international airport, via New York JFK then onto Manchester airport.

The first sign that it would not be a straight forward journey was a 3 hour delay to the departure time from Orlando due to bad weather in New York. Once we were airborne all went well until we were 20 minutes from landing. The pilot announced that due to bad weather we were to maintain a holding pattern just outside the New York area. As we circled the airport we could see the bad weather. A huge rain storm cloud had settled itself over New York and refused to move. The lighting from the cloud was unbelievable. Lighting seemed to be constantly leaving the cloud in all directions including upwards. It was a lighting storm to compete with any we had seen in Florida.

As we circled we noticed that we were not the only plane in a similar holding pattern. If you have see the film Die hard 2 were numerous planes circled the airport trying to land you will get the idea. It was now dark and all that could be seen were the lights from all these planes, very un-nerving.

The pilot announced that he and most of the other planes needed to refuel and as a result we were diverting to Norfolk Virginia. The only problem was the airport we were to fly into was closed. We arrived at Norfolk Virginia and after waiting 2 hours on the tarmac a fuel lorry arrived to refuel the plane. Shortly after refuelling commenced the passengers in front of us noticed a liquid pooling on the tarmac beneath the plane. It was brought to the attention of a stewardess who tried to convince us it was condensation. A statement that was brought into doubt when a few minutes later 2 fire trucks and patrol car approached and stopped at the pool of liquid. It would be safe to say that by now most of the passengers were now aware of the problem and a number had started to panic. This wasn’t helped when the fire crews started to deploy absorbent booms around the liquid and our plane was coupled up to a tug ready to be moved from the immediate area.

The tension on the plane as we were moved was incredible with many passengers wanting to open the emergency exits and leave the plane.

We eventual left North Virginia and arrived in JFK.

We were expecting a delay and some problems at JFK but we weren’t even close.

(See our unexpected New York stop over)

Brian Pearson

Great news for Animal Kingdom visitors, there is a New Baby at The Park. They are celebrating the birth of a Baby Gorilla. This is the 3rd. baby gorilla to be born in The Park

Guests visiting Disney’s Animal Kingdom can see this special treat along the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail where they can get a rare glimpse of a newborn gorilla born February 19. The very much endangered Western lowland gorilla is doing well and has already become the star attraction of the gorilla family group which includes first-time mother, Kashata, father Gino, and two other females, Benga and Hope.

They are unable to name the new born baby  yet as it takes a while to be able to find out the Gender as it is constantly in the clutches of its mother.

Sometimes the mother does not take to the new offspring but members of the primate team at Disney’s Animal Kingdom are encouraged by Kashata’s natural instincts at motherhood. Evidently  first-time mothers often experience difficulty knowing the right things to do. They must learn to properly hold the baby and be able to adapt to a demanding nursing and feeding schedule.

Since Kashata has been holding the baby close to her body, animal keepers have yet to determine the baby’s gender. Most gorilla mothers keep their offspring close for several months while the baby adjusts to the environment. Babies  nurse for approximately 12 months and may be weaned between the ages of four and five so we all must wait a while to find out both the sex and the name of the new arrival .

We are over in April so Animal Kingdom is on our “Must Do” list. Hope you all get time to enjoy it too.

Kindest regards,

Mary & Larry

Finding restaurants outside of Disney in the Orlando area can be tricky.  Most won’t be able to accommodate your gluten free diet even if they say they can.  You have to be very careful.  Unfortunately, you will find that most restaurant staff will be uninformed about proper handling of gluten free food and there is a risk with foods that are normally considered to be gluten free selections because they could be contaminated in preparation. 

Of the chain restaurants, the Outback and Carrabbas Italian Grill are the preferred choices as they both offer a special gluten-free menu  unlike many of the others.

The following is a list of  local establishments that do offer gluten-free options:

Azteca D’oro

Ethos Vegan Kitchen

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro

Drunken Monkey Coffee Bar

Nona Sushi

Bonefish Grill

Thai Blossom Restaurant

Bonefish Grill

Tijuana Flats Burrito

Though the restaurants listed are gluten-free friendly, most celiacs find it easier to just prepare their own meals.  There are gluten-free products available at the local grocery store chains, especially at Publix.  My friend found Chamberlin’s Natural Foods to be a particularly good resource.  They not only sell gluten-free foods (and other foods for those who suffer from food allergies or lactose intolerance) but also organic products, vitamins, beauty products and books.

They have the best steaks that I have ever tasted and you can see the cuts all displayed to help you make up your mind.

At the same time there is a happy hour from 4pm to 7pm - great value draft and bottled beer including wine for the ladies.

There are also special offers during the week, e.g., Wednesday night is 2 for 1 fajita night they are delicious. You get bottomless salad and sweet yeast rolls with most meals.

It has a great atmosphere but you need to make sure that you call in advance as there is always a queue to get in - so that tells you a story.

So give it a try you will not be disappointed.

We found Walmart (www.walmart.com ) excellent for all kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and tableware items, and also baby items.  Local stores to US192 are:

Walmart Super Center                    Walmart Super Centre

4444 West Vine                             3250 Vineland Road

Kissimme, FL 3474                        Kissimmee, FL34746

Tel (407) 397 7000                        Tel (407) 397 1125

(near marker #15)                          (near marker #9)

Target (www.target.com ) stores were also useful for kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and baby items.  Local stores to US192 are:

Target                                         Supertarget

3003 W Vine St                           4795 W Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy

Kissimmee, FL34741                  Kissimmee, FL34746

Tel (407) 846 6611                     Tel (407) 594 0029

For outdoor furniture, the difficulty was matching the existing furniture.  Palm Casual have a showroom full of patio furniture (including sling style), and cushions, etc.  By looking at their website (www.patiofurnitureinc.com ), we were able to match up our cushion fabric prior to our visit.  They are located at:

Palm Casual
11701 S. Orange Blossom Trail
South Orlando, FL32837

Tel (407) 438 2330

(Not far from the Florida Mall)

For furniture, we found Furnitureland USA (www.furnitureland.org ), who have a large showroom full sitting room, dining room and bedroom furniture, and often next day delivery is available.  They are located at:

Furnitureland USA
2345 Orange Blossom Trail
Kissimmee, FL34744

Tel (407) 847 8518

For sports equipment for the games room, we visited the Sports Authority (www.sportsauthority.com ), and found everything from billiard cues to table hockey.  They are located at:

Sports Authority
The Loop
3214 N John Young Parkway
Kissimmee, FL33741

Tel (407) 846 6844

For bedding we visited Sears (www.sears.com ) at The Florida Mall (www.simon.com ) – they have an end of range aisle which is always worth a look at to get a bargain.

The Florida Mall
8001 South Orange Blossom Trail
Orlando, FL 32809

Tel (407) 851 6255

Many items in our villa had a palm tree theme, and we found everything from table linens to doormats in the FloridaMarketplace range at Bealls (www.beallsflorida.com ).  They are located at:

Bealls
4081 W Vine Street
Osceola Square Mall
Kissimmee, FL34741

Tel  (407) 847 4301

(near marker #15)

We are still searching for a window valance company…….

This article focuses on themed dining - there are many different themed restaurants in the Orlando area, covering many different themes.  Two of the most popular are themed around the entertainment industry - Planet Hollywood and the Hard Rock Cafe.

Planet Hollywood

Planet Hollywood is located on Downtown Disney, and is easily spotted by its distinctive shape - the large blue ‘globe’ (similar to the chain’s logo) is visible from some distance.  With plenty of free parking, it is easy to get to, and offers theming around the movie industry.  With large screens showing excerpts from films new and old, there is always plenty of entertainment on offer, be it from the classics or more recent blockbusters.  But the real star of Planet Hollywood is the massive collection of memorabilia and props from the movies.  Everywhere you look inside the restaurant, you will see items collected over the years - many are instantly recognisable.  There is also every opportunity to buy the Planet Hollywood merchandise, be it shirts, glasses etc.  Oh, and the food - it is easy to forget that the reason for a visit to Planet Hollywood is for a meal.  The menu has a reasonable choice, largely built around burgers, steaks and pasta.  It may be true to say that better food is available elsewhere (and the bill may be less), but perhaps the real reason for your visit to Planet Hollywood is for the theming.

Hard Rock Cafe

If Disney offers Planet Hollywood, Universal provides the Hard Rock Cafe.  Hard Rock’s theming leans more towards the music industry than movies - but there are similarities.  The memorabilia includes gold discs, posters, artwork, costumes - from a wide range of international artists.  Whether your musical tastes are from the 60s, 70s or more recent, you will recognise many of the items on show.  Hard Rock also offers occasional live concerts, and is situated just outside the two Universal Parks (free car parking applies in the evenings only).  The food at Hard Rock tends to have many similarities to Planet Hollywood - accompanied by music throughout the meal.

Summary

It’s difficult to pick one of these restaurants above the other - they both have fabulous theming, and your choice may depend on your entertainment preference (music or films).

During our holiday in 2007 we visited the Florida Keys. We booked in advance for a 3 night stay at the ragged edge resort on Islamorada.

We chose the keys as we wanted to be somewhere peaceful and quiet on the actual day of our wedding anniversary rather than the hustle and bustle of New York (which we had visited a few days earlier) and somewhere we had not visited before.

We drove from Miami to the keys and had been used to the 2 and 3 lane Highways and Interstates now we were on US 1 a single lane road behind a slow moving truck loaded with construction materials.

It was our own fault. We hadn’t taken much notice of the distances involved in driving too and through the keys.

We just assumed we would drive out of Miami, cross a few bridges and arrive at our destination shouldn’t take us long, wrong.

It’s like most things in America everything is on a big scale and the distances between the keys and therefore the bridges linking them are no exception.

 When we arrived at our destination a feeling of dejavu came over us both (not for the first time on this holiday). Before we got the Florida bug our annual family holidays were to a Greek island and that’s were we felt we were, on a Greek island. The buildings looked as though they belonged in Greek holiday resort.

Our accommodation, the ground floor of a 2-story villa, was no more than 30 feet from the Atlantic Ocean. The view was breath taking and instantly reminded us of a small Mediterranean village fishing port.

The tranquillity was a world removed from New York and the theme parks you associate with Florida. We spent a lot of our time talking to vacationers and taking walks around the island.

We visited Key West not a short drive but well worth the journey.

 We had intended to find a restaurant on the day of our anniversary but as we had spent the day relaxing and had one or two drinks by the time we decided to take ourselves off to a restaurant neither of us could be bothered to drive.

We decided to walk to the nearest bar and check out the menu.

The pub we came across had the un-reassuring name of Chilly Willies and appeared not to fall into the category of the type of venue Carol had intended to celebrate her wedding anniversary.

How wrong we were. The food was excellent, some of the best we had ever eaten and the service was second to none.

 If you want to see a totally different side to Florida and want nothing more to do than relax and chill out then I can thoroughly recommend the Florida Keys.

Brian Pearson