Chapter three - week three

Monday 27th April

We drove back to Bush Gardens in Tampa and we enjoyed the animals and Jonny the roller coasters (which I'm not bothered about anymore!!). We took Joseph back to see the Sesame Street show and he was much more receptive seeing the characters this time - he even high fives them! We got very close (under!!!) a tiger which you can see on the photo!! We saw hippos and alligators and took the cable car over the park but Joseph fell asleep on the way back!

We drove as far west as you can get, another 40 minutes to Clearwater - it was great to show Jonny the highways that literally sits in between two sides of water - reminded me of our trip Lam family!

So we checked into our hotel - the first time Joseph has stayed in a hotel - we think he knew as he was quite giddy! We will have to see how we all sleep in one room...!!

Tuesday 28th April

Joseph slept right through on his first night in a hotel - and in a travel cot too!! We all woke up earlier than normal, just before 6:30 so we were ready and full of breakfast and out for 8am! First stop was Walmart for a big umbrella as it poured down all morning! We headed north to Tarpon Springs which is a bit like a mini Greece and went to Fred Howard Park which is basically a beach on an island but we couldn't really get out because of the rain - although Jonny did!

We wanted to visit honeymoon island which is a crowd free, high quality beach but as there was no point with the rain, we headed south to St Petersburg. We parked up and got the local trolley hopper which gives a bit of commentary on the city. We got off at Albert Whitted airport which is an airport for light, private aircraft but they have a restaurant above which was great for lunch! We then visited a

local artisan market and had a fabulous cheesecake and key lime pie for pudding!!

We drove out to the most southerly island of the St Petersburg and Clearwater area as the sun came out!! It does say it is sunny here 341 days a year so we would have been really unlucky if we hadn't seen sun today! We went to a place called Fort De Soto park which is similar to Fred Howard Park but is a huge 1000 acres of beach and trails and has been voted Americas best beach for families by parents magazine. Joseph had his first experience of sand - it took several (and I mean several!!) times for him to realise that sand is not to be eaten!! We visited a fort whilst we were there, walked on the pier and played on the swings.

As Joseph is 10 months old today we decided to let him have a slightly later going to bed time! We headed back up to Clearwater on the coastal road, which basically is a single carriageway with houses, shops and restaurants then water either side! It was lovely!

We stopped and had a smoking BBQ type meal just by our hotel before getting home. We've done a lot today - but we have been out for 11 hours!!!

Wednesday 29th April

Today we left Clearwater heading to Miami!! It's a 300 mile trip but we know Joseph is up for it! We drove for an hour then the warning light came on in our car so we had to pump air into the tyres to fix it. We then drove another hour to Fort Myers for lunch. We had lovely sandwiches in his quaint little place but Joseph was far too fascinated with his new balloon off the owner and the train that goes around the top of the cafe to eat his lunch!! We had a shop whilst we were there then carried on to Miami. We passed through the Everglades National Park but didn't stop. It's all marshy where the alligators live and with all the mosquitoes we thought best to leave it.

We arrived at Miami Beach around 6 and checked in. We used airbnb to make the booking and will definitely be using it again! It's an accommodation provider but not hotels. We are staying in a guys private apartment which he rents out. The view is amazing and far more cost effective than a hotel!

Because we arrived late we gave Joseph his tea, put him in his pjs and went out for our tea, a little steakhouse down the road. Joseph was far too nosy to go to sleep especially with him not seeing night before and certainly not lots of traffic! when we were walking back and an ambulance with a loud siren flew past it scared him a little so Jonny had to carry him for a while! He fell fast asleep back at 9:45!!

Thursday 30th April

Joseph slept amazingly well considering his late night! We left our apartment at 9am and took the local bus down to the end of Collins drive which meets ocean drive - right on the beach. We'd found a really well reviewed Cuban cafe so we headed there for an amazing Cuban breakfast of eggs, sausage, potato patter and ham! After walking down Ocean Drive and admiring all the old Art Deco buildings and visiting the beach we popped into the visitors centre. We really can't get anywhere without people stopping to talk to Joseph - and if he isn't being called happy he is being called cute!!

We got day bus tickets and headed to Little Havana - on a mix of buses and the local free monorail which was hard work with Joseph but he seemed to enjoy it! We didn't think much of Little Havana

after all that so we headed to bayside which is the touristy area where the boats and cruise ships dock. We had a mojito and key lime pie and Joseph met a new friend - a little girl who lives in Miami! Everyone has been commenting how big Joseph is for his age it seems American baby's are a lot smaller than British babies!! We got talking to the babies parents who suggested we head back to Little Havana for tea - it seems we hadn't gone far enough to experience it properly!

So we headed back and went to this amazing Cuban restaurant called Versaile which was fab! We had the specials - beef stew and pork and rice in Cuban spices all complete with plantation - fried banana which tasted like a really sweet, sticky potato chip! We couldn't fit in pudding but we have bought something from their bakery for tomorrow!! The whole experience was fab, we are so glad we did it!

Friday 1st May

Today we had our breakfast with our last view of Miami! After checking out we drive north to Fort Laudrdale and did a bit (more!) shopping and had lunch in a place called the Cheesecake Factory - although we had no room for cheesecake after our main course!

The rest of the day was spent driving home with a quick stop at Aldi to stock up on fresh items and we had a quick McDonald's for tea whilst we fed Joseph - it was as rubbish as we expected!

We are pleased to have unpacked the car (which Joseph found so funny - think he was glad not to have been helping with all our luggage!) got Joseph settled, unpacked and done two loads of washing before bed! Tomorrow is definitely rest day!!

Saturday 2nd May

Today we decided to have our first rest day!

We caught up on jobs, swam and chilled out - and caught up with you guys on the phone!

On the negative side, we had to pay to get a new tyre today :(

Daddy stayed up to watch the boxing and Joseph woke up with all the cheering from next door.

Sunday 3rd May

After a leisurely breakfast we stopped off at the supermarket for a few bits then visited the local flea market - which was a total waste of time and full of junk!

After a lovely lunch outside we all had a play in the pool and Jonny and I took it in turns to get a bit of sunbathing in! I even managed to complete my second book! Joseph has been playing lots and lots today and he seems to be getting into the crawling position a lot better having managed to get on one knee but getting his front leg stuck in like a hurdle position for the past week or so. We both saw him try to crawl backwards a little but to be honest he moves far more when we leave him to it - when we get a drink or go the loo - we don't think he likes us watching whilst he learns!!

We had our dinner outside tonight too and had a great new desert - like Angel Delight only better! We let Joseph had a quick play outside sitting on the floor (with supervision of course!) where he discovered that if he throws his blocks really hard and fast they make a really loud noise and bounce! This resulted in one of his rings splitting in two but Daddy fixed it! We also did a few walking laps of the pool and now he seems to be running - moving his feet so fast!! Talk about confusing with crawling and walking!

And still no teeth!! ;)

I have planned out our last week and we still have some great things to do - watch this space!