Three weeks of pleasure and fun

As is now traditional (well the last three times) I conclude this year's holiday blog with a brief summary and review.

Highlights

It has been a great holiday and I could list for each day one or two exceptional events which have provided great memories, and on some days many more events. But stopping at the end of the holiday, with most of the clothes washing complete and life about to return to the normal routine I think I should challenge myself to pick one or two of the most special memories.

For me the two special highlights were Marco Island and Key West. Marco Island because it lived up to all that had been promised when Karen Fitzgibbon suggested I should include it in our visit. The air-boat in the Everglades and the real boat in 10,000 islands were occasions I will remember for as long as I have a memory. Key West because it was so distinctive, exceptionally laid back, and so different from anything I have experienced in my many visits to the USA. 

Disney World was wonderful too, but having been here once before as well as to the Paris version, the pleasure was high, but didn't stand out as much as Marco and Key West as new experiences. Though the room and the view of Cinderella's Castle from our Grand Floridian Room was rather special. <<Co-pilot's note: We also got to meet Merida, it turns out she is a lovely lass and not at all scary as she appeared on the parade. She and I were going to have some cake for my birthday, but I had to go and have dinner with Mr B instead!!>>

In truth I wouldn't remove any aspects of the holiday, it has worked really well indeed and provided a good balance of busy times and relaxation.

So what would I have done differently. I think the most obvious would be to have found out more about Miami than I had done in advance. The detailed planning for what we were going to do on each day in Disney, and the plans for Marco Island meant that Key West and Miami came as something of an afterthought, this worked well in Key West where exploration on foot was easy, but less so in Miami, which we could have got more out of with better planning. Still it wasn't a bad experience.

Travel

I often mention mileage in these last post summaries, but this year we only drove 1,158 miles in 28 hours and 36 minutes compared to close to 4,000 miles in recent USA trips and 2,500 last year going to, and around, Scotland. We have also done much more walking than in previous holidays.

Our walking the first week in Disney is reported here with an average of 5.53 miles a day. Our second week was less active in walking terms with an average of 1.83 miles. Then in the last week we did: 

• Sunday in Key West - 5.9 miles
• Monday in Key West - 7.9 miles
• Tuesday between Key West and Miami - 3.8 miles
• Wednesday in Miami - 6.6 miles  
• Thursday in Miami - 6.3 miles 

So while we have eaten a lot we have exercised too, so my belt is still in the same belt notch as it was when we came away.  

Food

Talking of food, my best meal was definitely that for Drew's birthday at the Queen Victoria Room in Disney World, a close second was Truluck's in Miami. We have also been lucky with much more rough and ready places which have still achieved excellent food. The Snook Inn on Marco Island and El Siboney in Key West were not pretentious, but served wonderful food that I really enjoyed. As I write I am remembering many other lovely places, but I'll stop there, as otherwise you might end up with a long list. With only Nacho Mama's in Marco Island disappointing.

Help on the Journey

Friends have been active on the blog, flickr, facebook and twitter in commenting. It always makes the blog more interesting when we get feedback, so thanks to all of you who have taken the time and effort to make a contribution or even a 'like'. It has been a great joy for us on the journey.

Mentioning Flickr reminds me that we have 3,042 photos in this year's holiday album. Compared to 2,290 in Scotland, 3,389 in the USA in 2015 and 2,789 in 2013 though nowhere near the 3,978 we took on our train tour of Southern Europe in 2012.

Looking Forward

So thank you all, this is the end of the blog. Having celebrated Drew's 40th this year, it is my turn for the big birthday next year (i.e. I'm 60). So our next trip will take us from Marblehead in Massachusetts to Seattle in Washington state via the four Canadian Provinces we have not previously visited - Quebec, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba along with one we spent a day in during 2015 (Ontario). So why not come and join us next August as we head out on our next adventure.