Happy Anni-birth-aversary...A 33 night Celebration & HHN too.....SF & RPR September 2022 TR

[schumigirl]

Don't mean to hijack the TR thread, but Monday night was genuinely a mess. Somewhat of a fail on several levels. But kudos always to the wonderful SCs and the TMs - none of it was their fault. And now back to the regularly scheduled TR.

I think they have dealt with everything admirably as they always do. Shame they`ve had to put up with stuff they really shouldn`t be dealing with.

Yes, they do a great job.......

 

[schumigirl]

What fun you had meeting up with that sweet couple!
I love to be inside and enjoy a good storm outside.
I can imagine it is extra lovely from the club lounge.

I agree wholeheartedly about HRH. we had to wander in there a few times and it just seems like a place we do not want to stay. It may be physically the closest to the Parks, but it’s miles away from what I like.

I have to compliment you and Tom again on the quality of your photos, really immersive!

It was lovely spending time with them. Especially as their time is so limited, both have jobs that keep them so busy, so yes, it was so nice.

I love a good storm and yes, sitting inside watching it is one of the things I love to do....especially from our huge windows with the view we have. And yes, the skies from the lounge were good too.

Yes, proximity would mean nothing to me, I`d rather walk further than stay at the HRH. I do know many folks that work there, they moved there for the more relaxed ethos and love it. But, it`s not for us.

Thank you....I`ll tell Tom as he takes most of them.....he`s a better photographer than I am!!!

Glad you`re still reading along........

 

[schumigirl]

We had such a fun time in the lounge again......I swear we sit for far too long in there, but it`s a nice way to spend a couple of hours after a day of doing a lot, or not very much....as can be our days now and again.

We checked the weather an the rain was more or less off, or it could have been off altogether, I forget now.

Once we were outside it was a little cooler again which was lovely for a HHN. Sometimes it can be a little overwhelming with the crowds and heat together. We didn`t wait long for a boat and once we were heading into the studios we heard this ladies voice shouting our names from way back in the crowds......

I recognised her straight away as @Monykalyn and it was so good to see her again, it had been a long time!!! We were catching up as we headed in to the park, she was with her husband and one of her daughters who it was lovely to meet after hearing about her and her interests, lovely family.

We of course got a picture, we really should have asked someone to take one of all of us as Tom is sometimes missing from group pictures as he is always the one taking them.

I like this picture though.....last time we had met up was in the Backwater Bar with Vicki ( @tink1957 ) for drinks and that was a good few years ago now....time really does pass so quickly!!

We decided we`d go and do a house together, I forget how we decided to do Monster`s but that`s the way we headed, I have to say I walked with Monyk as Tom was stopping to take pictures as it was still quite light so you do get some good pictures

Who didn`t fall in love with these twins!!

They were incredible and every time we saw them, they were as freaky and creepy as you can imagine. Their timing was astonishing and they were one of the highlights of this years event.

Another creepy spooky dooky......

Tom told me later he thought this guy below was someone we knew tonight......turns out he wasn`t one of our friends after all....but even with the make up if you caught the eyes, they looked very similar!

We had only seen this statue scare someone once over the event, and I would try and get back later tonight to try and catch it again as she was very good!

I think this is one of the few occasions I`ve ever seen Cafe La Bamba open. It`s open for the RIP groups this event, but I always think it`s such a waste of a building not to be a full service classic and glamorous restaurant. Granted maybe a theme park that doesn`t always stay open late is not the best place for a fancy restaurant, but the building lends itself to something a little more Old Hollywood.

The walk to get to this house is quite long, and again thankful for the EP.....but it gave me a chance to catch up some more with Monyk which was so nice.

We were looking forward to doing this house again as it hadn`t been all we thought it would be, but it was decent tonight....I forget who was the victor tonight but I do like it changes nightly.

I still there`s too much Mummy and not enough of the other two, especially Dracula.

I think we all enjoyed it and then after walking 84 miles back out of the pathway, we said our goodbyes and headed off in our own directions. It had been nice catching up though.

We stopped off for a drink and some food, we got the Tinsel Town Terror which had bourbon, cherry brandy, sweet vermouth, cherry bitters and tart cherry syrup.......sounded delicious....but wasn`t quite worthy of such a nice description for a drink. I love cherry flavour drinks, weirdly except for cherry coke.....but this just tasted so artificial.

The Good Guys Burger was one of the things we wanted to try, so we ordered one and it looked good, and there wasn`t really anything wrong with it but not something we`d order again. We don`t have a picture of it as we were standing up and the camera took one blurry one handed picture which could have been anything!

We did Descendents again since we were passing and I think the line with EP was fairly short of around 15 minutes. I didn`t take a lot of notice of wait times this year only what the EP line would be.

We weren`t fond of this house, but tonight it was actually ok and we thought we`d do it again another night as it had improved.

And Bugs was absolutely not on our list of to do again houses.....not because of the theme, it just wasn`t scary in the slightest.

I really liked this picture......spooky moon.

Conjure the Dark is a very good scare zone and we again enjoyed this one tonight, the SA were classically on point in every area and the SA on stage was phenomenal.

A couple of years ago in the Vamp85 zone, there was a SA who played Freddie Mercury and he was exceptional, sounded just like him when he spoke...quite freaky actually. But, this guy reminded me so much of him and Freddie too of course, maybe a little of an older Freddie.

Maybe it`s just me though as one of my friends just didn`t see it at all....

As the burger hadn`t hit the spot for food, we wanted to try the Pizza Fries, and we had been told don`t try them from anywhere other than Louie`s. So, we popped in and it was fairly busy, but we didn`t wait long for our order. Although I will say after we sat down the line ended up crazy busy and we were glad we came in when we did and didn`t wait any later.

The pizza fries however........no. Not for us.

I do wonder if we were unlucky as so many folks love them, but they were just a pile of gloop that seemed to just be congealed together and when you took a bite everything was indistinguishable from each other.

Not something we`d order again.....and so far the food from this year was not winning us over. We did like the Zombie Brains though......

We turned back and did Blumhouse again and we thought the same as before, Freaky was not that great but The Black Phone was very, very good. We got a huge amounts of scares tonight and timing was everything as always. We more or less walked straight into this house tonight, have to admit, I wouldn`t wait long for this house, but it is decent.

We found ourselves a little bench and sat for a while and just people watched with a drink...I forget which drink we got but it was from one of the bars where there was a mysterious lull in the line, so we pounced in and then found a bench, sat back and watched folks get scares. And this is something we always enjoy, just sitting back and chilling out, enjoying some down time while watching the crowds have fun.

We went to do Dead Man`s Pier and the regular line was 70 minutes, a TM told us the EP was about 25 minutes maybe less with a wink......so we hopped into the line and she was right, it was around 20 minutes which didn`t feel too bad as it was again cooler than it had been.

This house was the star of the event for us and many others. It`s beauty and quite simplistic storyline with stunning visuals makes it an overall winner for house of the year. We liked everything about this house from start to finish.

We missed Chupacabra as it was now much later than we planned, but we did Halloween which was around a 25 minute wait too for EP, I forget what the regular line was but we did thank our lucky stars we weren`t waiting it.

Tonight this house was again marvellous. It had the better Loomis at the beginning and the SA just worked perfectly for us as I got so many scares and one that did render me unable to move for that split second or two......that`s a good scare.

We weren`t going to bother with Spirits of the Coven but we thought we`d give it another try....and it was very good tonight, probably the best we`ve ever gone through that house. The witches aren`t scary and the storyline is weak, but I did jump a few times and screamed out loud once or twice, so we were glad we did it.

We were both getting tired now as it was almost midnight, so we decided to see what the line was like for Hellblock, it couldn`t have been too bad as we deemed it worthy of a short wait. I don`t remember much of this one tonight, so I guess nothing much happened of note in this one tonight.

We headed back to the boats passing huge numbers of folks seemingly still soaring in to the park. I was praying there wasn`t a huge line for them as I was shattered now. At this time of night they have been known to allow only folks from the hotels access to them and they have checked room keys, but not tonight. But, it wasn`t too long a wait, one left full and we only waited till the next one came along and not long before we were tucked up in bed again.

I have been quite critical of this years event, and I stand by every word depsite the fact we really enjoyed tonight. Everything had been fun, we could see where things were missing or could be improved, but we`d had so much fun despite the flaws.

I knew we`d sleep like babies tonight.

 

[shh]

Really enjoying the pics - especially of the scare zones. These really give me a sense of what it was supposed to be like. We didn't see any of these cool folks when we were there - not the creepy twins, statues coming to life or most of the others you and others showed in TRs.

I think it was just an off night for us. When we walked through the zones, most had maybe 1 scare actor - no skits going on or anyone on stage. Majority of guests were mostly just walking straight through to get to their next destination. I think they were missing a ton of scare actors Mon night - but the park itself was packed. Huge crowd.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

I hope the people who did it were caught and properly dealt with, that is dreadful, what lowlife would do that to someone.




I remember the lovely girl who played the Cyborg Ballerina a couple of years back, she only had one full arm, the other arm was only down to her elbow, she had water thrown on her and someone else (might have been her too) was attacked by some idiot. They were banned for life, I`m sure they were arrested but not sure what happened to them after that.

Agreed. Now granted if they accidentally elbowed the human that would be one thing, but given what I went through last year in just a scare zone, it wouldn’t surprise me sadly if it was on purpose. I hope they got trespassed.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

I think they have dealt with everything admirably as they always do. Shame they`ve had to put up with stuff they really shouldn`t be dealing with.

Yes, they do a great job.......

Agreed on all counts!

 

[KathyM2]

No, we`ve never gone. Many folks that have say it`s fabulous, but not sure we`ll ever go to Leavesden be honest.

But, if you`re travelling all the way over here, absolutely go and visit it.

I will check out how far it is from London and see if we have time....BTW...looks like my son will be going study abroad from Jan-May in London!! So I may be out to help get him settled at mid-end of Jan! So excited!

I recognised her straight away as @Monykalyn and it was so good to see her again, it had been a long time!!! We were catching up as we headed in to the park, she was with her husband and one of her daughters who it was lovely to meet after hearing about her and her interests, lovely family.

@Monykalyn is great!! I had the pleasure of meeting her at WDW a few years ago!

 

[schumigirl]

Really enjoying the pics - especially of the scare zones. These really give me a sense of what it was supposed to be like. We didn't see any of these cool folks when we were there - not the creepy twins, statues coming to life or most of the others you and others showed in TRs.

I think it was just an off night for us. When we walked through the zones, most had maybe 1 scare actor - no skits going on or anyone on stage. Majority of guests were mostly just walking straight through to get to their next destination. I think they were missing a ton of scare actors Mon night - but the park itself was packed. Huge crowd.

That`s such a shame you didn`t get the full experience of what it could be like on a HHN. It should have been better for you.

It did sound like it was crazy busy though, that and other nights too, so maybe not completely an off night, I hope that`s not going to be the norm going forward. But, if they can sell more tickets they absolutely will.

Hopefully next time you venture to the event it`ll be a better experience for you

 

[schumigirl]

Agreed. Now granted if they accidentally elbowed the human that would be one thing, but given what I went through last year in just a scare zone, it wouldn’t surprise me sadly if it was on purpose. I hope they got trespassed.

In 2016 I accidentally caught a female SA in the leg with my nails in the Survive or Die: Apocalypse Scare Zone.......she was standing right behind me as we listened to the SA up on the scaffolding, I turned round and apologised so quickly, she knew it was a complete accident. So much so she shouted up to the guy who was trying to claim all our souls not to take me as I was too nice......lol.....

Yes, there`s a big difference between an accident and deliberate.

Agreed on all counts!

 

[schumigirl]

I will check out how far it is from London and see if we have time....BTW...looks like my son will be going study abroad from Jan-May in London!! So I may be out to help get him settled at mid-end of Jan! So excited!

@Monykalyn is great!! I had the pleasure of meeting her at WDW a few years ago!

Yes, Monyk is lovely, very easy to talk to and a lot of fun!! Nice family too.

It takes about 20 minutes by train from Euston, then you take a coach that takes about 15 minutes, so it`s easy to do really.

How fabulous for your son!!! I hope he has an amazing time in London and marvellous if you can get out to help him settle in. London is an amazing city and so easy to get around. It`s one city I`d recommend the City tour bus, you can get your bearings and I always find London relatively easy to get around anyway.

Keep us updated when it happens!!!

 

[Pumpkin1172]

Finally all caught up again after a few busy weeks for me!

Your pictures are (like always) are amazing. And the food porn!!!

The anniversary meal at Eddy V's looked amazing. I forgot about that place when we were there!!!! We totally would have went there for a special night out meal.

Your bangle That is beautiful!

When we were in Diagon Ally - dh couldn't handle the crowd. It was too much, so sadly we didn't spend much time there I had wanted to do more exploring. It was extremely crowded on the holiday weekend we were there. I had ZERO idea that there was a holiday weekend when we were there. If I had known, I would have picked different park days Oh well, we survived to tell a tale

The Bread Box - YUM!!!! I love a good burger/sandwich!

Carole`s Punch........

OMG!!!!!!!

How exciting!!!!!!!

The pizza fries however........no. Not for us.

I do wonder if we were unlucky as so many folks love them, but they were just a pile of gloop that seemed to just be congealed together and when you took a bite everything was indistinguishable from each other.

I am not a big fan of what would be considered "park food". That would be a pig NOPE from me. The what we call " americanized food" is not something we eat often...and don't eat in the parks. I never understood the obsession people have with the dining and food at Disney. I know I am in the minority when it comes to that...but whatever park food it is, it is still a form of fast food - food that they can mass produce for the least amount of money and push out extremely fast. I know it is a me thing...my stomach just can't do too much processed, commercialized food.

I am glad I have finally caught up with your report! Now onto others to get caught up on @Robo56 and a few others

 

[schumigirl]

Finally all caught up again after a few busy weeks for me!

Your pictures are (like always) are amazing. And the food porn!!!

The anniversary meal at Eddy V's looked amazing. I forgot about that place when we were there!!!! We totally would have went there for a special night out meal.

Your bangle That is beautiful!

When we were in Diagon Ally - dh couldn't handle the crowd. It was too much, so sadly we didn't spend much time there I had wanted to do more exploring. It was extremely crowded on the holiday weekend we were there. I had ZERO idea that there was a holiday weekend when we were there. If I had known, I would have picked different park days Oh well, we survived to tell a tale

The Bread Box - YUM!!!! I love a good burger/sandwich!



How exciting!!!!!!!

I am not a big fan of what would be considered "park food". That would be a pig NOPE from me. The what we call " americanized food" is not something we eat often...and don't eat in the parks. I never understood the obsession people have with the dining and food at Disney. I know I am in the minority when it comes to that...but whatever park food it is, it is still a form of fast food - food that they can mass produce for the least amount of money and push out extremely fast. I know it is a me thing...my stomach just can't do too much processed, commercialized food.

I am glad I have finally caught up with your report! Now onto others to get caught up on @Robo56 and a few others

You have had a busy few weeks!!

Thank you, I adore the bangle and wear it whenever I can, certainly not when I`m working around the house......lol.....

Eddie V`s is amazing, we had two meals there this trip and both were exceptional.

Yes, it`s a shame you were there during a Holiday weekend, it can just get too darn crowded at times. We saw some very empty areas in the park, but Potter areas were always crazy busy.

We have found some decent park food that`s fresh, especially if you have allergies. Confisco has lots of fresh options as does Lombards, their Shrimp Cocktail and Ahi Tuna are very good indeed, but there are plenty of places we`d never consider eating in the parks. But, when things don`t agree with you, it`s best avoided.

Glad to see you all caught up and hope this weekend goes well for your daughter and family with the move.....

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

I just love that picture with all four of us and the cocktail as I can remember the emotion we all felt when we were discussing it.

Whew I’m finally caught up again! I was so far behind and you’ve been so busy, even on your lazy/relaxy days lol.
I’m not sure I’d ever be brave enough to do HHN but I’m loving all your updates and photos but even more importantly I love that you are now officially famous with your very own cocktail!!!!
The photo of you all is just perfect and you can see how emotional and happy you all are. So great to see you’ve got your very own cocktail now and I’ll be sure to order it off in ever in SW.
Your bracelet is beautiful too and a lovely anniversary gift from Tom. Congratulations again and here’s to the next 30 years

 

[schumigirl]

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10TH​

Up early this morning again despite our later than usual evening last night. We really do sleep like rocks here....well, we sleep like rocks all the time to be fair, but there`s something we like about a comfy hotel bed.

We chatted to Kyle this morning who had run a 10K on Friday and was doing a fun 5K run this afternoon, so we had a good catch up on that and had a look at his medal and race shirt they get for taking part. They were very nice. Then we headed over to the lounge and had another fun breakfast where I again had some champagne, Tom was driving....again.....oops!! One of the guys in the lounge this morning we only ever get to see on weekends as he has another job and he is such a nice guy and we always enjoy when he works so we can have a nice catch up with him too.

We don`t hang around long this morning, we head back over to Sapphire, get in the car and we make the drive to Flagler Beach.

Never went there before and we fancied going somewhere different instead of New Smyrna Beach. We do like the Atlantic side as much as the Gulf Coast, some folks aren`t fond of this side as the waves are a little rougher than the calm side of the Gulf. But, we have visited NSB when it was flat calm, and just as pretty as any beach.

The drive was quite interesting, we planned to take the A1A, everyone suggested we go that way as it is so pretty and they were right......excpet we first had to drive through what was easy to imagine as clear swamp land once upon a time.

It was quite a pretty journey, but it was a little freaky how close the road was to that very deep and murky looking water....and all we could think about was one wrong turn or a mistake and we`d be in that water!!

It was a lovely road, everyone who told us to go this road was right, and it was fairly quiet for a Saturday. It wasn`t long till we arrived in Flagler Beach

We were very lucky as we found a parking spot right on the front as someone pulled out as we pulled alongside them, parking certainly seems to be hard to find on a busy weekend as we thought we`d be far away from the Pier, but timing again.

Although we are not sit on the beach people, there is nothing nicer for us than to walk along a beautiful sandy beach in the sunshine and heat or Florida and this was a gorgeous beach and quite honestly I loved this lifestyle of spending time doing this every weekend.

We live five minutes walk from a beach at home, but.......it is not as pretty as this, plus we don`t get this heat......ever!!!

The pier looked beautiful, sadly now some of it has gone as it was obliterated by the Hurricane about a third of the way from the end. We watched it live on tv and quite upsetting to see such a lovely pier destroyed like that.

You have to go into the Bait store to pay entry on to the pier, it`s a nominal fee, I forget what it is, maybe $1.50 or $3.....one of the two......Tom went in and got chatting to the man who was asking all about Scotland and how often we visisted America......an easy subject to chat about for us.......the man was lovely and insisted we didn`t pay to go on as we were Scottish and he wouldn`t take our money as he loved the country so much. Such a lovely man....I went in to see what was keeping Tom and at that his friend who did look like he belonged on a fishing boat out in a rough sea somewhere, came over to me, took off his cap and said how sorry he was on the death of our wonderful Queen, said what a wonderful woman she was and how much she would be missed.

Have you ever been knocked off guard and just not expecting someone to say something so touching?

I could feel the tears welling up but managed to answer that yes indeed she was a wonderful lady and she would be sorely missed by so many people and she would be mourned deeply. We are very much supporters of most of the Monarchy, certainly not Andrew or Harry, but for the most part the leading royals work incredibly hard and have our support. So, yes, we were incredibly upset over the death of Her Majesty, but do think Charles and Camilla will make a wonderful pairing for the future.

Tom came out at this point and wondered why I was rubbing my eyes.....I told him what lovely words the man had uttered and he also was very touched.

The flags were all at half mast for Her Majesty which was touching too.

The restaurant in the background was where we would be eating lunch and this place you were indeed spoiled for choice with eating options. But, we had several folks tell us to try this place and we trusted their opinions.

The beach is stunning here, very beautiful and my goodness the swell looks terrifying to me as a non swimmer.....I could watch it for hours though and we sat for the longest time just enjoying watching the water surge in and outwhich to be honest looked like a seismic surge, but I`m also known for being a little dramatic in my thoughts of deep water But, many folks enjoyed frolicking in it whether it be swimming, surfing or just bouncing around together and it did look like fun.

We spent about an hour on the pier, watching the fishermen and some kids at the end, until they started gutting their catch or cutting up more bait and then I was out of there .......but it is a beautiful pier and worthy of a visit.

We chatted briefly to the very nice men from the bait store, what gentlemen they were......and again said some very kind words towards the relationship between the US and the UK and how much they enjoyed visiting Scotland a few years back salmon fishing.

They also told us we made a good choice for lunch.......

Right on the pier this place is so convenient for what we were looking for and with the positive reviews we were looking forward to it.

We got a friendly welcome and were taken to a booth inside and we had a lovely lady taking care of us today who was also a huge fan of the Queen and chatted to us a lot about her and asked lots of questions, some of which we couldn`t answer of course....

Tom ordered just water and I of course opted for a Blackberry Margarita, no salt rim....bleurgh......not a fan of anything on the glass at all.

The Margarita was good, but not great.....I didn`t leave much though!!

Onto lunch.......

We opted to share bacon wrapped shrimp which was glazed with pineapple bbq sauce and they were delicious!! Although maybe a little more spice in the glaze would have been nicer, but that`s being picky.

I can`t resist peel and eat shrimp, love them....but I was good and didn`t go for a full pound....decided half pound was enough....darn it.......but being honest Tom only had one, so they were mostly mine.

I was surprised by Tom`s choice for lunch, he picked the fried seafood platter which was haddock and shrimp, with fries and coleslaw.

We tend not to order fried fish in the US as it`s never as good as back home...one of the few things to be fair, I think someone told me it`s all to do with the temperatures.....but this was ok. We both love haddock and of course shrimp but I prefer blackened or grilled and so does Tom, but it just caught his eye.

It wasn`t half bad to be fair, I picked the batter off and just ate the fish, Tom said it was too heavy for the amount of fish. But, we had enjoyed it and glad we visited.

We had spent longer than we thought here just wandering along the water....and still never got a tan!! But, around 3.30 we decided it was time to head back home and again, another nice drive home. Until we got to Orlando of course.....there is something about that area that seems to make drivers crazy!

Back home we freshened up, and as usual headed over to the lounge and had several glasses of bubbly each.....and chatted our heads off as usual with our American kids....and again time passes so quickly.

Around 7ish we head downstairs and order our Uber......whooooo...yep, again.......and it was there in 3 minutes. This guy was nice but tried to rent us a car.....he siad he`d do it much cheaper than the rental companies.....er, no thanks.....it might be a lot of money from them, but who is this guy.....we thanked him and declined. He gave us a card and said to contact him next time we were visiting........that card went in the trash.

We got to the Mall at Millenia a few minutes later and we did go and get a few things for my upcoming birthday, the usual perfume and bits and bobs......I did tell Tom my bangle could really cover both this year....but he still likes to get me little things to open, even if I know what some of them are. I had noticed some little parcels being sneaked into his suitcase when he thought I wouldn`t notice


The Mall is pretty and moreso at night. They do have an amazing Christmas Tree for the holiday season which we would miss this year, but it`s a lovely place to visit anytime.

We weren`t too long shopping tonight, but we got what we needed then headed down to PF Changs for dinner. This was somewhere we had meant to go back to for years, but never got around to it. Very few folks are disappointed it seems when they eat here so we were excited to try it again.

As we hadn`t booked we expected quite a long wait and were prepared to go sit at the bar if it was too long a wait, but they told us about 10 minutes which was ideal for us.

I was glad we waited and not go sit at the bar as we got a nice booth and our waiter appeared immediately for our drinks order and Tom asked if I wanted to order a bottle of champagne...

​

He really didn`t need to ask...

It was quite funny though, our waiter on hearing me ask for a bottle of champagne asked us in all seriousness....did I mean Prosecco.......lol....I must have looked like a pauper......I said no, we`d like champagne please.....he did look a little surprised all the same. Tom was smirking at this point and he also said we must look like we couldn`t afford it.......lol....

It was very nice champagne too!!

The menu is beautiful and we were torn with what we really wanted to eat tonight.

Usually we share an appetiser, but couldn`t decide which one so we opted for two of them and would still share, so we chose chicken lettuce wraps and vegetable spring rolls.

The spring rolls were nice, wouldn`t order them again, but the lettuce wraps were divine!! Absolutely beautiful and we wished we had ordered one each.

There was a decent gap between courses which we like and when our entrees arrived we were pleased with what we had ordered....

I had opted for the Spicy chicken with fried rice and Tom went for pepper steak with his beloved noodles.....I`m not really a fan of rice unless it`s with Chinese food.

The food was delicious, sizzling hot and full of flavour and huge portions.....really huge portions, but we had loved every mouthful of this dish.

Our waiter asked if we wanted a box for what was left, but we never take food away which surprised him, yes, we are quite unusual there.

We paid and ordered our Uber which they said would be 5 minutes....I was seriously impressed with this modern invention called Uber.......

A few minutes later we were back home and went straight into Strong Water where Fernando greeted us immediately as he was at the entrance when we wandered in.

He took us to a table at the back, kind of our favourite table and I ordered Carole`s Punch of course and Tom went for a very strong Mai Tai.....I`m not sure why we never took a picture of both, but I don`t seem to have any for tonight.

They have a couple who sing on a Saturday night and tonight the lady was different, she was very good, but we prefer the original lady and they were a little louder than usual, so we were glad we were furthest away.

I`m sure you know by now, but we love Strong Water Bar......it is warm and welcoming and they offer the best food and drinks around. I can`t imagine anyone not having a good experience here as they make sure everyone has a lovely time.

Fernando came and sat with us tonight again and we could spend hours chatting to him, we have spent some lovely evenings chatting to them and we shared the Thanksgiving Feast last year which was lovely. He is the nicest and kindest man and his knowledge of wine as well as rum is fantastic.

We love a good Argentinian Malbec and he has given us some good recommendations to try and all have been lovely. But, we chat about everything and anything and always enjoy our time in there. All of the folks in there are wonderful.

We sat for a fairly long time and enjoyed a couple of drinks before heading to our suite, it had been a long day and we were tired now to be honest. I had missed my nap today

It wasn`t long before we did hit the sack and I think I was asleep before I even hit the pillow.

Tomorrow we move homes for the rest of our trip.......

 

[schumigirl]

Whew I’m finally caught up again! I was so far behind and you’ve been so busy, even on your lazy/relaxy days lol.
I’m not sure I’d ever be brave enough to do HHN but I’m loving all your updates and photos but even more importantly I love that you are now officially famous with your very own cocktail!!!!
The photo of you all is just perfect and you can see how emotional and happy you all are. So great to see you’ve got your very own cocktail now and I’ll be sure to order it off in ever in SW.
Your bracelet is beautiful too and a lovely anniversary gift from Tom. Congratulations again and here’s to the next 30 years

HHN is a lot of fun, but I agree it`s not for everyone....and YES!!!! I have a cocktail named after me.....yes, I`m thrilled!!! That was a lovely moment when Fernando explained it was going on the menu and the lovely story of what everyone had said about it. Yes, you have to order it next time......

Thank you......I do love it and yes, I hope the next years are as wonderful.......

Glad you`re all caught up, life does get busy sometimes

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Love that you got to experience PF Changs (the lettuce wraps are my favorite too!)

Also if you ever go there and don’t take an Uber-they have a refresher drink it’s strawberry, mint and cucumber and I LOVE IT!

Also that was really nice of that human to offer condolences on the passing of the Queen. Gave me a nice reminder that there is still some good left in this world. And regardless of anyones thoufhts, it’s so weird to me that she’s gone. My whole life James Bond served under Her Majesty’s Secret Service. And to think all she lived through was just wow.

I also learned so much more about the UK from her passing then I ever thought I would! I will admit I got teary eyed when Sarah Clarke was the last to pay her respects and then I immediately realized I didn’t know who she or what the Black Rod was! But that moment is one that has stuck with me.

That whole week was weird. The Queen passed and there was this weird feeling of just what I was used to was no longer there. And then Phantom announced its closing on Broadway, and while that admittedly hit me more than the queen for a multitude of reasons, later that night I just sat in a weird phase of mourning. Two constants that had been around my whole life were gone or going. It was very weird. I still don’t know if I’ve entirely processed either to be quite honest. It’s just very weird and numb. I can’t even imagine what you and Tom and everyone as Brits are going through. This transitional period will definitely be rough at times, but I know you all will get through it.

 

[saskdw]

I am so having a Carole's Punch in December!!

 

[disneyseniors]

Carole, I agree with you on the Atlantic Ocean. I like the wildness of it much better than the calm gulf side. I guess that's probably because we aren't beach people and don't swim in it. We love to walk the beaches too, and I like the evening walks more than daytime.

LOL, I had to laugh about your comment about the horrible drivers in Orlando! My husband refuses to drive in Orlando, and we always hire a car service or take the resort bus or a taxi. I haven't tried Uber yet, but it sounds like the best way to go.

Good News! I just booked 4 days at the Royal Pacific Resort in mid February! I can't wait to get back to that beautiful resort and to Universal. This is from a one-time disney fanatic. I wouldn't go back to disney now with all the changes and their attitude towards their guests. I guess we won't go back at all anyway. Universal just is a better deal and a wonderful park to visit. Love the atmosphere and unique offerings. I guess I'm just babbling on, but I Can't Wait!!!! At that time of year we will have had a lot of snow for months and really cold weather. It's a good time to get out of Minnesota.

Awaiting the rest of your fun report

 

[schumigirl]

Love that you got to experience PF Changs (the lettuce wraps are my favorite too!)

Also if you ever go there and don’t take an Uber-they have a refresher drink it’s strawberry, mint and cucumber and I LOVE IT!

Also that was really nice of that human to offer condolences on the passing of the Queen. Gave me a nice reminder that there is still some good left in this world. And regardless of anyones thoufhts, it’s so weird to me that she’s gone. My whole life James Bond served under Her Majesty’s Secret Service. And to think all she lived through was just wow.

I also learned so much more about the UK from her passing then I ever thought I would! I will admit I got teary eyed when Sarah Clarke was the last to pay her respects and then I immediately realized I didn’t know who she or what the Black Rod was! But that moment is one that has stuck with me.

That whole week was weird. The Queen passed and there was this weird feeling of just what I was used to was no longer there. And then Phantom announced its closing on Broadway, and while that admittedly hit me more than the queen for a multitude of reasons, later that night I just sat in a weird phase of mourning. Two constants that had been around my whole life were gone or going. It was very weird. I still don’t know if I’ve entirely processed either to be quite honest. It’s just very weird and numb. I can’t even imagine what you and Tom and everyone as Brits are going through. This transitional period will definitely be rough at times, but I know you all will get through it.

lol……mint and cucumber are a huge no in drinks! I can just about tolerate cucumber in a salad, but mint in any form is almost as bad as cilantro! I do like strawberry though.

It’ll be fine over here and has been since she passed. Charles, Camilla, William, Catherine, Anne, Edward, Sophie and some others are doing a fabulous job.

The man was indeed very kind and thoughtful.

 

[schumigirl]

I am so having a Carole's Punch in December!!

Well, I really, really hope you like it!

I love it……lol……