On the tips of the wings are cameras and still photos or a DVD can be purchased after your flight. They are of a superb quality and you also get the negatives if you want to have them enlarged. A 15 minute flight costs $240 but the actual time is about 1/2 hour that you are in the plane, from taxeing to take off and landing. Of course If you are very brave then why not go for the 30 - 60 minute aerobatics flight where you can actually control the plane to do loops and rolls. What a great photo that would be, upside down at the controls with an aerial view of Kissimmee above you. Awesome !!! The “pilots shop”  is always worth a visit. They have shirts, hats and lots of memorabilia there. You can even buy “Warbird bucks” $100 to give as a present towards that special persons dream flight.

Warbird Adventures used to be known as “Flying Tigers” but in 2004 Hurricane Charley came along and put paid to that and Kissimmee Air museum was formed in its place. Opening times are from 9.00 to 17.00, 6-7 days a week but it does depend on the season so check before you go. You can just turn up but it is “First come, first served” Telephone number 407-870-7366.

My husband and I have watched these planes flying over our villa for the last few years and he has been mesmerised by them so guess what I have bought him for his 60th next year. Boy will he be thrilled.

As you get near to Daytona but before you reach the “Racetrack” there is the biggest Farmers and Flea market for miles on the right. It is all under cover and all aisles have ceiling fans to keep you cool while you shop.

There are numerous aisles with something for everybody. Lots of motor bike gear of course, lovely leather coats, shoes, etc but prices much lower than the tourist areas. We brought lots of t-shirts, towels and items for our villa. We had a hummer car and that was full by the time we came out. There are also lots of places to eat in there and much cheaper than in Daytona.

It was just a short drive to the beach and for $5, you can park your car on the beach all day. The ice cream van goes up and down so there is no need to leave the beach to buy ices for the kids. There are even mini 3- wheel cycles for the kids to hire to use on the beach.

After unpacking all the gear, the kids were off with their boards to the sea. It was a bit rough that day but very warm. After a while, they all seemed to be having so much fun jumping the waves that I  thought I would join them. We were all having so much fun that none of us noticed a huge wave coming at us until it landed on top of us all and we were thrown over.

We came up laughing and then I realised that my cap was not on my head and neither were my prescription sun glasses. !!Now Daytona is a very long beach and we went up and down there looking in the hope that they would have been washed up. No such luck. My advice to anyone going with prescription glass on holiday to Florida is to pack a spare pair or you will be like I was for the last few days………Very short sighted.

Cirque du Soleil are in Down town Disney resort and the show is called LA NOUBA which means “To party or to live it up” Audience participation is a must.

 If you are a big kid at heart like me, then this appeals to all ages. The magic of seeing performers do the impossible on high wire, German wheels, skating, and flying trapeze is certainly breathtaking. The shows lighting and costumes grabs your imagination, emotions and your senses. The music has 2 distinct sounds, smooth and dynamique and certainly has a French/Canadian style.

The atmosphere and make up are amazing and you will be enthralled for every minute you are there.

This company started with 20 humble street entertainers in 1984 in Quebec, employed 73 people and celebrates its 25th Anniversary in 2009. It has won numerous awards. It now has over 4000 people employed which include over 1000 artists. It has visited over 200 cities world wide and 90 million people have seen a show since 1984. There were 15 million visitors alone in 2009.

If you have a celebration coming up and want a special night out, you must go see this show. Prices are not cheap with front row seats $117 for an adult and $94 for a child. Tickets can be booked by phone 407-939-7600 or can be booked 6 months in advance.

My daughter and her family are going to Florida this year and staying in my villa and will be out there for their  10th wedding anniversary. So as a surprise, I went to the theatre in July, this year, and managed to get front row seats on the actual day of their anniversary, 5 months in advance.

I don’t know who was more excited, my daughter, her husband or my 8 year old grandson. As long as when the 8 year old returns to London, he doesn’t try to copy all the tricks he saw at the show on his BMX bike.

Spoil yourself, you will remember it forever.

One of the trips I would like to recommend to anyone going out to Florida is an air boat ride. We picked the one on the Boggy Creek road as it is only 19 miles away and an easy 25 minute drive and you don’t have to book either.

The cost per ticket is $25 for ½ hour and slightly less for kids but do look in the attraction tickets booklets in Wallmarts for money off coupons for this and others.

We only waited a short while for our time slot and the waiting area was under cover which as the temperature that day was over 100’ was very welcome. There was an area also that you could look into that held quite a few young crocodiles.

Our number was called and we picked up our ear defenders before boarding. These are necessary as the noise from the engine fan at the rear is quite loud. The boat holds approximately 30 people and we were lucky enough to get the first 2 rows.

The boat goes quite fast and twists and turns before slowing down and moving into a small inlet with reeds and shallow water. All of a sudden we saw a croc and edged closer to it. It was about 4 foot long and was only about 18 inches from the side of the boat. All of a sudden he opened his mouth and we all edged away although it wouldn’t have been able to get near anyone on the boat.

We then went to another inlet and saw another croc but it scuttled away before we could get some more pictures.

The boat then picked up speed and for the next 10 minutes we were flying all through the weeds and across the water, zig zagging as we went along. The kids loved it.

All too soon it was time to go back to shore but the highlight of the day was to get to hold a small croc and have your photo done with it. I’m very glad to say that his jaws were firmly taped together.

We very often drive to St Cloud which is an easy run on the 192 and you get to experience a much laid back way of life. During our last visit we came across a free local paper that I think is worth its weight in gold. It’s called “Orange Peel Gazette” and it advertises itself as “The hottest little paper in town”.

It has a mind field of information in it plus articles, adverts and quiz’s.  Local handy men are cheaper to hire and as a property owner, invaluable for finding local business that are just a phone call away and who actually turn up to give you a quote.

We were looking through and found this brilliant Seafood restaurant, called “One Eyed Grouper”.

It’s on Canoe Creek Road, behind Winn-Dixie Plaza and is open 7 days a week. You can get, oysters, grouper, clams, crab, and even gator bites, they also do burghers and ribs for the kids if they do not want to be adventuress enough to tackle the gator bites. (I love them)

They also do an “All you can eat” Fish and fries at $9.95 before 6pm. Mondays special is dinner for two at only $11.99. Very good value for money and you will definitely need a siesta around the pool after trying the all you can eat.

This little paper gives you everything from local barbers, locksmiths and where to get your BBQ apron embroidered.

One I liked the best was an article about  what to do if you are ice fishing and your car breaks through the ice in water more than  fifty feet deep. “Remember to exhale slowly as you descend to avoid bursting your lungs. Also to watch out for “Walleye” and if possible, note their approximate depth and what they are feeding on”!!

Last thing you would be able to do when your freezing cold, wet, and fighting for breath is to watch for Walleye!

Pick a paper up the next time you drive through St Cloud, you will be fascinated by it.

Jackie Wakelin

We all get dressed up in our check shirts and cowboy hats. Havent got the boots as yet, always been too hot to wear.Wouldnt dream of doing this in England though! The car park is full of custom cars and some even have steer horns on the bonnets.

The arena is huge and every seat has a good view. We always try to get down to the front to watch the “cowboys” trying to mount the cattle.in the holding part as that is very nerve racking to watch. The cattle always seem very calm while they are being mounted but that soon changes.

The arena goes very quiet and then the bell goes and the gate is opened and thats when the fun begins. The cowboy only has a rope to hold onto and must only use one hand. Of course he also has no saddle so trying to stay on is doubly difficult.He has to stay on for so many seconds with out being bucked off.Many of the cowboys are thrown in the air but seem to bounce back. They then have to run as fast as they can away as the “Bull” cattle seem intent on trying to go after them.

In the arena are two huge oil cans and in each of these are two clowns in bright clothing and painted faces,  just waiting for the right time to distract the bull . They then jump out and try to distract the bulls while the cowboy escapes over the fence.The arena is now in uproar in case the bull attcks the clowns or the cowboy.

Injuries have been known to happen to these clowns and cowboys.

If you love to see a show that is authentic “American” put this on your to do list.

Don’t forget to wear your cowboy hat either. You will love it.

Surrounding the villa is conservation woodland and “Poohshouse” backs onto it. From the pool area you can see the beautiful butterflies and numerous red admiral birds feed from the bird feeder. Buzzards fly high over the area and an owl or two has been seen on the branches of the trees by the pool area as well as the small eagles. it is so relaxing to get up early morning and sit with your coffee and listen to the birds and the wild life.

In October, the houses are decorated in the Halloween theme and we have to make sure that we have plenty of sweets ready as the whole estate gets involved and whole families come dressed up, knocking at the door to “Trick or treat”. So far we have been lucky not to have had a trick played on us. (Thank heavens for Wall Marts endless supply of sweets, dressing up masks and witches hats, which I might add is open 24hrs of the day).

In December the whole estate comes to life again with all the villas decorated with twinkling Christmas lights over bushes and candy stick lights in the ground, there are blow-up snowmen, and even reindeers on the roof. Each year there seems to be competition to see who can get the brightest of displays and all friends and neighbours get involved in decorating the houses.

On New Years Eve we all head off to Disney for the New Years Eve firework display. AMAZING NIGHT although very packed it is nice to see the firework display and the excitement for both adults and children.