On the Road Again!

Into double figures now. Day 10. Always the countdown to going home. It must be my age but I am finding a mere 220 mile drive to be tiring. It should be easy. The car is automatic.  Just sit and use two pedals.  It has cruise control to take even that job away from the driver. But. It's the sheer volume of traffic.  The rules of the road that seem to be few and far between.  Overtaking on both sides. Lane discipline that even in India or Vietnam would be sniffed at. Disregard for red lights at junctions... it all adds up to needing 360° vision. Today we had a lie in. The studio has stunning views and it was sunny all day.  A leisurely shower and coffee and then out to brunch.   We both like Perkins or Denny's.  No Perkins around here so Denny's  it was. Light lunch of egg and bacon with a pile of hash browns and a couple of pancakes. Nice. Then to Publix for "stuff". Bagels for breakfast. Pre-prepared salad for dinner. Yum. A bit of time on t...

The drive down avoiding toll roads was partially successful.  It was a long slow drag along 192 to Melbourne where we joined I95. Orlando and the outskirts seem to extend  for miles and miles.  After two hours we had covered 70 miles. Our first stop was for a coffee and a Dunkin Donut near Sebastian FL. It's a little over half way to Pompano Beach. I came off  I95 again near Delray Beach so we could get gas and get some lunch. In the end we got a roast beef sub and coffee drink from Publix.  Gas. I guessed $30 and that filled the tank. We arrived at La Costa Beach Club just about 4pm to check in. Parking looks to be at a premium here. Despite the kerfuffle of the last few days before we flew out, we seem to have lucked out as we have a sea view. Okay. It's floor seven. But there is a lift. We can sit on the balcony and enjoy the view. Anniversary Dinner was next door at the Sea Grill. Lovely food. Live music and $82 bill. We eat less expensively for the rest of...

First world problems . 1. Ordered currency last night. "Collect after 11am". Snag. Go to Post Office. Show my paperwork and ID. Not enough USD to fill my order in the till. A few phone calls and another branch has enough. Nice walk. Only a mile and get the cash.  2. SMS from Claire. RCI left message.  Pompano Beach still closed after Hurricane Maria.  Call them. Difficult as mobile and in post office. Waiting for call back from them. Hoping for a replacement exchange. Has to be where there is space I guess.  My bet is Weston FL. There's always space there. Update: 27th September 19:07 Okay not all of Pompano Beach just Wyndham Sea Gardens.  Good job RCI called at 10am this morning and left a message and that Claire listened to it and set 2. above in motion. Luckily the guy at RCI, Steven, put a hold on a nearby resort for us at  La Costa Beach Club Resort. As when I eventually got in just before 4pm there was little left for the week we needed in the whole ...

So after a pretty exhaustive search for hotels in Florida for the second week of our stay, five nights in total, I decided to use up another timeshare week. It seems a waste but when you consider the exchange fee for that week is £169 and hotels are looking  more like £400 for the period, then it is worth it.  Plus we get to stay somewhere a little different. I looked at Lauderdale by the Sea, and then slightly further north at Pompano Beach.   In the end choosing the  Wyndham Sea Gardens resort. It is right on the beach off A1A between the Atlantic  and the Intracoastal Waterway . Looking  at the Weatherspark site to see what the average temperatures are, they look pretty good for us British . So another plus point for Florida.  And another thing sorted.