The day it rained

Hi Folks, well there the Space Shuttle didn't take off, the WEDDING happened and big news, it rained.  I was safe as I have a rather nice travel bag, well, it is really a carrier bag from Baggage World.

Today they did "the washing", I kept well out of the way, you will not believe the size of those machines,  I did not photograph them as they looked too dangerous even from a distance.

Off to the beach we went and saw pelicans,

there are not so many now as hundreds died in the oil spill but they look funny flying overhead.  The sand is really light coloured not like ours and the waves are big, I have discovered that people ride on little boards over the waves/surf and it is called surfing, my lot didn't have a go though!

You get very wet.

Then it happened, drip, drip, drop, drop, whoosh, whoosh whoosh ................... I was in my travel bag all dry.

To make up for it they took me out for a meal, tomorrow we set off for Key West, it will take "The Boys" six hours of driving, they all had fish and me, I had my usual nothing.  Still keeping away from the Guiness.

Not too much to tell you today, having an early night before getting back in my travel bag to continue the adventure..

bye bye, luv Ernie

Catch up

Morning Folk's,

Right as I am over moment of madness, I think I should get down to telling you all what has been going on.

On our last day in Melbourne,that's the Florida one not Australia we all went to the beach again, they wanted to get brown but I stayed in the shade. At lunch time I met this lovely couple from England and had a cuddle from there two daughters which I really liked. They all had a beer but I stayed well away as I did not want another hang over.

So Glo gave me another drink of water. I see that Fred got on in the act again.

Next morning after they had breakfast, I was back in the bag as we set off south to Ft.Lauderdale,a long drive south.

Well, Mike decided to have a rest from driving so Tony took the wheel for a while. he did very well and soon got to grips with it.. It was a long drive to Ft Lauderdale, about 200 miles, on arrival it was very hot but I was ok once I got into the cool hotel room.

They had chicken for tea followed by an early night.

That's it all up to date, luv Ernie  xxx

ps, got woken at 5am as Sue wanted to watch the wedding, what a drag. boo hoo.

Fort Lauderdale

Hi Folk's
I'm back, have had a bit of trouble the connection at the last hotel but all ok now.

I did no go to the Space Centre as I was a bit under the weather after my trip to Epcot so I stayed in my bag.

This is Mike's third visit to the centre and is still amazed at the hangar holding the Saturn rocket. and the size of the thing that sent man to the moon.

 

Here's one of young Tony under the rear rocket showing it's size.

Lots more images in the camera, cant post them all here.

This is the other end that drops into the sea with the crew on board.

Had a great session at the centre with lots to see but cant finish without an image of Endeavour on the pad which is the final mission and lifts off Friday afternoon.

We had to leave yesterday as the roads would get busy and we had to get down the Key's by Saturday evening.

More to follow as now a day behind with the blog.

See you all soon love Ernie.  XXX

We are off............

Hi all, this is your tour operator speaking.

Well they are all packed and ready for the off tomorrow morning.

They are going over to Cape Canaveral were the launch is due on Friday. There is an estimated half a million people converging on the area on Thursday and Friday, the launch day. They will spend the day there tomorrow and then shove off away from the launch site and let the locals fight out the roads in the area. Mike says we will be well away from the area by Friday's launch which is  a shame as we would have liked to see it.

Here are a few pictures of the hotel.

There you go, Ernie asked how much for an extra day at would be $286 per day they said so they said NO, looks like the CO-OP came up trumps as there cost was no way near that.

Hope you like the images. All ready to head south tomorrow,

Nite nite for now, Ernie  xxx

Visit to Epcot

Hello Ernie here again,

We all all decided to have a lazy day at the Hotel yesterday.Glo and Mike decided to go for a swim so I  kept well away from the water and stayed in the room. as Sue and I don't like the water,

Sue braved the pool edge and took this of Mike floundering around like a beached whale.

We then stocked up with supplies for our second and last trip to a theme park.

Yesterday off we set for Epcot with me, Fred the Gnome and Percy the Harrods bear.all in a bag together. Glo taking charge of us all,.BTW, she now refers to us as "the kids", I think she has taken quite a shine to me.

 We had a great time there with loads of flower displays.

The park consists of a very large lake with lots of different themed villages all around the lake.

at the entrance of the park

They all made a bee line for this place for some unknown reason.

Ah  yes, I now know why, they serve English beer and fish and chips. 

Quite nice this,I had a swig of G G that's Glo's Guinness, whow what a kick, it knocked me sideways.

Well that was me done for the duration, what a kick.

I went round the rest of the park with my head banging but I then sobered up with a drink of water.

.

Wow, what a day, anyway here's a few more I took,sorry if the aint straight.

here's one for Mike's Kiting buddies.

Well that's it for today, we will have to go back it our bags tommorrow as we are starting our adventure south towards the Florida Keys.

All the best and lot's of luv from Ernie and the gang.

A day weary day at Disney

Hello Folk's,

It's me Ernie again, we had a lovely day at Disney with the four stooges, Sue, Glo, Tony  and Michael.

Boy was it HOT, about 100 degrees F, I nearly took my Jumper off., here's me with my mates.

As it was Easter there were a load of people but my mates managed not to get themselves lost, we had a great but tiring day.

Walt and Mickey still stand proud in the park as they did 11 years ago although the castle in the background has been altered.

Tigger and Poo were there and had a great time with the children although they must have been hotter than me and my mates.

Well although I'm a bear at least I have my uses and took a picture of them all.

As it got dark the Magic Castle came into it's own, this was just before the parade.

A shot at the beginning of the Electrical Parade, ain't I a clever bear taking this.

Love this one of the American flag and eagle at the end of the parade.

Well, loads more taken but we are off out now to wander International Drive on our REST day,so back in the bag till tomorrow.

luv to all Ernie

We are here

Hi Folk's,
Ernie your tour guide here, we are here in sunny Floridia. It is very warn at about 24 C very warm and sunny it is a bit too hot with my jumper on but I am not taking it off.  I have wore this jumper for eleven years and am not stopping now.
I have a new friend but I don't know his name, he is a Harrod's bear bought at Gatwick, I had a very eventful plane ride and met Isabell.

She really took a fancy to me and I thought she was really nice, she had only worked for the airline for three months.
So off we went in the nice blue sky towards America:-

We arrived very tired but they all kept eating at drinking, there was nothing for me because they said I hadn't got a ticket, oh well, nothing different then!

We picked up a big black car from the Airport and drove to our Hotel still daylight, where I met Fred the Gnome and we spent the evening on the windowsill with the Harrods Bear.

I am not too sure about him, I think he fancies me, here we are looking out of the 20th floor window down to the Convention Centre on International Drive, Orlando.

After breakfast we went to Daytona Beach and I nearly got sand in my jumper but Fred came to the rescue and we managed to keep away from the water.

This is silly Sue & Gloria paddling in the water they got their knees wet and I chuckled from the safety of the Hood (that's American for Bonnet).

Just finishing for today with two more pics from warm and sunny Daytona:

Back to the Hotel after dinner and back to the shelf.  To all my watchers, I will be back soon.

Bear in the air

Hi, Folk's,

Well, stand to attention, I am in charge as from now.

I dont think much of this packing lark, I have been stuck in the spare bedroom for two days all on my own. Those two  have been running around like possessed bears getting themselves ready. I suppose it will be worth it in the end. I have laid a few GROUND rules for the trip, that's a bit silly as we will be in the air for 10 hours.

I will Not go in the main suitcases in the hold  but have a seat on the plane so that I can look out of the window. This is a bear necessity as I am going back home and being 11 years old I need all my creature comforts.

Well not so bad, they put me in the hand luggage all ready for our trip in the morning
Ah well that's it bed time and an early start tomorrow.

Bye bye to all you Bears in the UK, Love to Daisy and Holly

Not long to go now

Hi Folk's

Well not long to go now, grass all cut and shipshape, don't really know why I bothered. It will be about 2ft high when we return, anyway it's done. Suitcases at the ready and I bought a new pair of scales yesterday as the old spring ones were a bit naf..

Guess what we are going to the pictures tomorrow, I know but this is what ere indoors wants and I have been married too long to argue. We are going to see, I cant remember was her reply yarning, Oh well it must be good only £3 to get in at the Odeon Dockside, then we can have lunch at Boomers to finish off the day.

Had a good day at Ightham Mote on Sunday with the family and he had had a great day.

Here we have a shot of the lovely couple at Ightham,Claire and my son Ian. Daisy is running around somewhere.

Well onwards and upwards must get on with the packing...................

Ernie takes over tomorrow, watch this space.

All the best Mike

Come on Button

Hi Folk's,

Well that's another day over and another day nearer the trip. Spent some of the day getting everything together and making a master list for both of us to add to and so as to not forget anything. All the camera and computer gear sorted, good job we have a 50 lb luggage allowance I might be able to squeeze in a pair of undies and some flip flops.

Poor Sue has been working in Larkfield from 3-9pm tonight and looks ok on it. I have helped a bit by doing some shopping and putting some cheques in the bank, mind you moving money about is not my speciality. Ah yes I hung the washing out including a pair of rather small knickers belonging to you know who. Also I had a purge on the garage, that was fun as it still looks as bad as when I started.

Off to see "little legs" tomorrow after I have watched the F1 on the telly. I hope we, that is Button and Hamilton do well and  have a good race. After a clean up we are off to meet up with the family.

My blog would not be complete without a Daisy picture so here is one on Wednesday of her in the Trolley at Notcutts.

Looking through my "old" images I found this one taken in the same Trolley 20 months ago.

What a difference, she puts on the seatbelt on her own now. I think the Trolley has kept well due to it's age. at least it has not ended up in the Medway like most of the Trolleys in Chatham do.  I also love the sun hat.

Well what will I be missing whilst we are away......... ah yes the "wedding", I see the papers are full of it. I bet we will know more about it that you as we will be with the people that are in the "know" on the other side of the pond. No Easter egg hunt at the Darley's and no dancing around the Maypole. The thing that I will MISS most of all is the price of  fuel as we will be touring around a lot. $3 a gallon out there which is about £2 over here.., LUVERLY.

Will also love turning right at an intersection and of course, the open road. Nashville here we come..

Best wishes, Mike

Well that's it

Hi Folk's

Well all jobs done and returned so that's it, time to start thinking about packing and all the paraphernalia that goes with it. Camera's laptop, tripod etc etc a well as all the other bits and bobs  like a tooth brush and clothes.

Before all that the house needs sorting, grass cut and borders trimmed, must start a list in the morning. Oh dear the thought of all this is getting a bit overwhelming, still will be worth it in the end.

Taken with Sue's new little Pentax at Riverside

Will see my son and daughter in law on Sunday and also that gorgeous Daisy.

We have Monday and Tuesday to pack so that will be plenty of time. Leaving on Wednesday morning to go to Gatwick were the adventure starts.

Ernie is looking forward to the trip and meeting up with his old friends in the States.

Right, off to bed now, the blog should improve as we get on our way.

All the best, Mike

Happy Moment

Not a lot happening today unless you want to here about a Lexus.

Good thing happened yesterday, I got this of Daisy on the slide. The shiny surface acted as a reflector and lit up her face, this was the fourth attempt as she loved the slide and forgot about me.

Right, back to work I go, only two more jobs before the holiday

Cheers all, Mike

I don't like cameras Dad Dad

Hi Folks,

Just been to Riverside Country Park with "little legs" what a great day although being the school holidays didn't help. At the swings, we really had to watch her as the older children were a bit boisterous to say the least but at least Daisy held her own. After another go on the swing which seemed to be the safest bet we attended the loo which is the normal thing for her.

We then returned to the car parked in the field to have our picnic.
Cheese sandwiches she cried with glee and soon polished a round off followed by a drink of juice from her bottle and an Apple for good measure.We then had a kick about with her girly ball ( a Hanna Montanna one) that is and off we went for a walk along the river.

Notice how she is posing for the camera, Not.

I tried on several occasions to get a shot of her with the camera but at usual she doesn't like the camera and looked away at every opportunity. I had shutter priority at 2000th of a second and never got a good image. She is either bombing around all over the place, all I got loads of half body and a bit of head shots. For some reason she hates anyone taking pictures of her, it must be her Royal Blood I suppose.
 She did enjoy rolling down the grass bank but all I got was loads of shots of her knickers. Anyway enough of the Country Park we made our way back to the loo's again only to find them closed as they were flooding. Just our luck, so off to the the Dockyard outlet for a communal leak and a quick look around the shops before we went home.

Ah well enough for today,

All the best, Mike

Introducing Ernie

Hi Folk's

Just a line to show our Tour Guide for the forthcoming holiday, his name in Ernie and he comes from Naples on the west coast of Florida. He was born, well bought in the Crackerbarrel gift shop and Sue rescued him from a sales bin.  He is eleven years old now and knows all about Florida he has been back to his homeland three times and has also had a trip up the CN Tower in Toronto Canada.

I had to hold onto Sue as she was scared of  heights.

This one was even worst, Sue plonked me on a large Bear's hand and I wanted to go home to England.


Well that's all from me for now, please try to follow me on our jaunt around the USA in a weeks time


bye bye for now, Ernie, Mike and Sue

silly Saturday.

Hi Folks,

Wot a funny day this was, I was going kite flying at Hillyfields in Gillingham but woke up with a bad head cold. I blame this on Daisy who thought It would be nice to sneeze in Dad Dad's face ( that's what she calls me) last week and then told me to put my hand over my mouth when I sneezed,..... kids.

Out into the garage I went to clear it up yet again after I made such a mess the day before. Sue keeps telling me to clear up as I go but that don't work for me, I like being in a mess.

Then onto another favourite job, cutting the grass, what a chore that is. Why in the world of technology cant they make grass stop growing but still stay green?  I know, Astro turf but I don't think ere indoors would  like that.

I did say I wanted to go Kite flying, well this never happened  I got side tracked once again watching the not so Grand National. By this time I had given up and had another cup of tea not knowing at the time the plight of those two horses that the BBC covered up.

Oh well that was it, get changed as Pam and Garry, old friends were coming for a Chinese and spending the evening with us and guess what, no Kite flying.

That's it for today

Better sport on tomorrow, F1 at least the drivers have a choice.

All the best, Mike

Well, a bright but pretty dull day

Hi Folk's.

This is going to get hard as yesterday all that happened was that I had to work. I am sure you all don't really want to here about that.....

I think I will add a couple of pictures

This is one on the new flower beds a Leeds Castle.

Then I came upon this funny looking thing, what the ....... is it?

Anyone any ideas, it was very near the stream so it must like water.

Well I nearly deleted this blog, but what the heck.

All the best, Mike