Downtown Disney

Departure Day-2 - "Superimposter" - Oceansize

Wow, just been to Downtown Disney, that was an experience and a half. I was there for nearly three hours. After about half an hour, I lost the ability to think. I wandered round in a capitalist haze, gawking at some of the awesome stuff they had. The Lego shop was wicked, they had a huge bank full of every piece of Lego imaginable. There was a little 'build your own Lego man' station and even an impressively built Lego Space Shuttle. I went into the sweet shop, and when trying to buy a 1/4 of jelly beans, bout about 1 1/2 pounds! The House at Pooh Corner shop actually smelt of honey. There was a Disney Art shop that sold pictures, even had people sat in it drawing and painting pictures. I was a Disney Model Castle that was encrusted with jewels and cost $37500! Yes that's right, 37K!!!!

There was a club there, and a rock show playing, but tickets were $33 and that too much to be spending on a gig of bands I have never heard of.

There was also a huge building dedicated to 'make your own remote control car'! Which was pretty cool. These things could cost thousands, little shock absorbers, spoilers, body kits, engines (motors) the lot. Was pretty sweet. But all a bit much. A friend of mine described it as "Having Mickey Mouse rammed down your throat at every opportunity" and he was not exaggerating in any way!

Now I need some ear bleeding Techno as an antidote :)

Ruskin Seafood Festival

Day 8 - "Good Morning Sun" - Ben Folds

Today (the clocks went on so I got an extra hour in bed) had a great big lie in, and by ten set off to Downtown Orlando for the "Fall Mela" and "Farmers Market" (Although what these people think they are farming I have no idea) :)

There was lots of home made jewellery and other curiosities. Lake Eola is lovely, reflecting the sky scrapers looks beautiful. After another spate of prezzie buying, I set off to Ruskin for the seafood festival. It was nice having gone from the east coast to the west coast of the state. I dipped my toe in the sea and was amazed by the white sand beaches. At the seafood festival I was un-lucky that all the "Alligator Bites" had sold out, so had Scampi, Gumbo and Crawfish (well, thats what I ordered, I'm sure I actually got Cod, Prawns and Soul, but it was still very nice).

On the way back, my sat nav thought every intersection of a road and the interstate was and entry onto the motorway... It was not so took me a long time to get back!

Now to get all my stuff ready for an exciting week with the good people at Sonitrol!

Space Coast to Orlando

Day 7 - "Heaven Alive" - Oceansize

So, most American cash machines won't accept my card, which caused me mayhem today. Also, most petrol pumps are self service, so they want your card, and then your 5-digit zip code, which caused me mayhem today.

I went to Kim Lee's Tastee Donuts for breakfast, and learned that "Boston Cream" is custard (and I'm about to find out what "Canadian Cream" is).

After packing up my tent, I cruised on over towards Orlando.

On the road I saw a sign post to the "Enchanted Forest" who were having a one day festival, so I though I'd stop by. They had a lot of trails, and people showing off local treasures they had found: Fossils; old tools; arrow heads, etc. I walked down the "Tortoise Trail" but didn't see one. It was lovely all the same.

After about an hour there I drove to my hotel and checked in. It's lovely, I have a sofa in my room, and I'm overlooking the pool which I can use for free!! :)

I drove back to the space coast for the state fair which was pretty fun. Like a fair in the UK, but not dirty and full of skallys. I watched some fan-boat drag races and tried some of the local delicacies.

So "Natchos and Cheese", are like un-flavoured Doritos, with a warm yellow gloopy substance that is nearly but not completely un-like cheese :S

And a "Corn Dog" is like the cheapest hot dog you can buy, that has been dipped repeatedly in thick doughnut batter and deep fried! Not exactly as disgusting as it sounds, but definitely not "food".

After that I drove back to the hotel, Just before my turn off I turned one too early and took me 45 min to get back to where I was! Time for a cold beer and some telly tonight, (there is an American football match on, gonna see if I can figure out the rules) :)

So, I have learned a whole bunch more about driving over here. Here goes.

1. If you see a sign that says "Constant green signal ahead", it means "Just in case you decide to slam your breaks on for no real reason, we have provided you with a green traffic light, that will always stay green, just for you" ! :)
2. You dashboard has no indication to whether your headlights are on or not, which can lead to exciting situations.
3. People can and will under take you on the wrong side, which can lead to exciting situations.
4. A sign depicting a 'forward arrow' followed by a 'red blob' means you are about to hit a cross roads where no-one/everyone has right of way, which can lead to exciting situations.
5. Your blind spot is on the wrong side of you, which can lead to terribly exciting situations.
6. Americans don't know what a yellow box is, which can lead to boring situations.

Sebastian Clambake

Day 6 "I will buy you" - Everclear
What a day! - we awoke to clear weather, so expectantly people started staking their spots out on the river front for the launch (I now realise it isn't the sea, but the "Indian River Lagoon" - as nice as it sounds). About 10am I went on the NASA website to see how we were looking, but again there was a problem. When they began to fuel the rocket they found there was a leak, so they are going to have to drain the tank, wait a day for it to warm up, and then check it out... The next launch window in on Monday (it's Friday, and I'm not going to be here then). Didn't leave me in the happiest mood, but I soon remembered where I was and that I had much better things to do than mope about, so I headed over to Merritt Island to got for a bit of a walk to clear my head.

I went on a 1 mile train around some scrub land and saw a Red Bellied Woodpecker (I know this because it has a white belly and a red head *doh*) then drove over to the Manatee Viewing Platform one last time to see if I could catch a glimpse of them. After half an hour, disappointed I went just round the corner to the boat platform, and hey presto, a whole family of manatees playing in the dock! Accompanied by a school of dolphins! I was about an hour watching and taking photos, it was so tranquil, warm and lovely.

When I left I saw a little thing scuttling about in the car park. It was an armadillo! Soft on the inside, crunchy on the outside ARMADILLOS! - I think he was real old and deaf and blind. Either that or just plain stupid, he let me get within 5 foot of him to take his photo!

Quite chuffed, I drove over to another trail on this island (took about 3 hours) and walked through the woods. I have discovered that "Interpretive Trail in the Hammock" really means "Footpath in the woods". It was awesome to see, this forest was half palm (palmetto also, I think they are the same things) and oak, but all the oak trees have all this Spanish Moss hanging from them, all fluffy and like clouds. Saw a few little lizards and some proper dock-off spiders.

My feet were killing by the time I got back to the car, but my next destination was an hour and a half drive a way, so no time for dordling I set off.

My lovely sat-nav took me on the interstate, which was an experience., all the way down to a place called "Sebastian" where they were having a "Clam Bake". This was like a nice little town faire, only all the food was clam-related. The entertainment was a little more suspicious. They had a "Sweet-pea beauty pageant" and then a lot of little girls appears and did some gymnastics!?

So the food: I had Clam Chowder, which is all creamy and really nice, and then I had linguini with red clam sauce (tasted a lot like spaghetti bolognese to me, but still very nice).

I sat and watched the band play old blues standards as the sun set, then I drove back home.

There was a sign at the clambake saying "No Smoking In The Park". I asked a nearby police man "If I can't smoke in the park, where can I smoke" to which he answered "You want me to tell you where you can smoke Pot!?" - I think he hadn't got get accent quite figured out for the word "Park" :)

While cruising down Easy Street (because I literally did have my cruise control on while driving down "Easy St." :) ) I figured out that I have learned quite a few things about driving in america:

1. American roads are that wide because they have to be because everyone's cars are mahoosive!
2. The speed limit is there for... Oh, whatever!
3. A school bus is allowed to stop all the traffic in all lanes whenever it wants, whether it is appropriate or not.
4. Your lane may end at any time, without warning, and plonk you on cross hatchings so be on edge.
5. A constant flashing orange traffic light means "Everything is OK" (got knows what happens when it isn't)
6. And if anyone can tell me what a single blue cats eye in the middle of a lane means, I might just be a better driver.

Merritt Island

Day 4 - "Forrest" - System of a Down
What a busy day I have had today!! I was woken up by the sound of Cicada - The loudest insect going. It sounds like electricity (AC) these insects live underground and feed on the nutrients in the roots of a tree, then one day a year they hatch, crawl up the tree, make this horrendous buzzing sound, mate, and then die! Poor things.

Anyway, they woke me and I got up and drove to Merritt Island National Refuge (the same island as the Kennedy Space Center is on), It's voting day today in America, and on my way, they way a guy holding up a billboard at the side of the road telling me who to vote for and waving (there are a lot of these) but this guy was stood by a pedestrian crossing, repeatedly pressing the button so the traffic had to stop and look at him!!! Pain in the proverbial! (I heard on the radio that Trent Reznor is going to remaster and re-release "Pretty Hate Machine" and release it on November 21st!)

I went into the visitors center and had a walk across their "Boardwalk" into the forest and got some lovely photos. It's so strange being in a different eco system, with all the different plants and creatures and sounds! They had a butterfly garden, their butterflies over here, some of them are the size of bats!

In the Visitors Center I talked to a nice lady who gave me a map and looked up Cicada for me. Randomly, half way through a conversation she said to me "Hey, D' you wanna have you're photo taken with this gaitor head?" ! - Not the kind of question one gets asked every day, so of course I did.

My next stop was the Black Point Wildlife Drive, which I was informed was an "Auto Route" (means you drive through it) So I drove down this track for about an hour, real slow, looking at all the wading birds, saw an eagle, and stopped at one of the trails. I was going to walk a trail, but had forgotten my water and just eaten half a pack of beef jerky (Salty) walked about 300m and decided I might die, so turned back to my lovely air conditioned car.

Another stop I got out and saw a wild alligator sunning it's self in a swamp with it's mouth side open, showing off all it's  teeth! - I saw another 3 "gaitors" at the next stop too! - I drove down to the manatee viewing platform, but couldn't see anything, and at about mid day, headed over to Titusville to try and find some thing to drink.

I checked out some of the Fast Food joints at lunch. I went into a Taco Bell and got me a Taco and a 16oz lemonade (I asked for fanta and the girl looked at me like I was from the moon and told me all they sold were "Pepsi" products... I didn't really know what that mean, but apparently it meant un-carbonated lemonade too, which was lovely) - A Taco is a fajita that they haven't folded for you, this thing cost me $2 and I finished in 2 bites. Word to the wise, Stay Away!

Still a bit peckish I thought it'd try a "Wendy's", which as far as I can tell is just the same as Mc Donalds or Burger King. I got myself a burger called a "Baconator" which I guarantee you, cannot be said sensibly without putting on an American accent. When I sold the lady I wanted "One, Un-stacked, Single, Sandwich Baconator" she didn't believe me (I think people usually order more than just that!) And I have no idea what Stacked means, as appose to single or double :S. I gotta say, it was pretty nice. Like Mc Donalds, but sweeter (more sugar I presume), and despite it's nice taste, it did nearly kill me.

Now they have drive through everything here. A drive through Pharmacy (no less!) and I also believe they have drive through Liquor Stores (a recipe for disaster if you ask me). But a good idea, Drive Thru Cash Machine! Nice, I like it.

Next I went down to the "Astronaut Hall of Fame" (the civilised bit of the Kennedy Space Centre) which is more like a museum and has all the knickknacks they didn't have space for at Kennedy. The had this huge globe that they projected images on all the planets on which was pretty cool. There was a Gemini capsule that you could have a sit in (and I did) :) - There was also a few simulators where you got to dock the space shuttle, and then land the lunar module. I know it's software that you can download and play at home, but it's so much cooler playing with all the joysticks and buttons :)

 After that I went back to the Space Centre (the tickets are valid for 2 days) and watched the "Hubble 3D" on and IMAX screen, which was Phenomenal. They had lots of footage of them on the last repair mission. The best bit was a fly through of the M38 galaxy, incredible on that screen. (Got my photo taken with a guy in a space suite too - super excited) :)

I had a little guided tour around the rocket garden and got to walk down the gangway that the Apollo 11 astronauts walked down (I was as excited as a school kid) :) Then I went over to the "Mission Briefing" centre to find out how we are doing with this launch due tomorrow. I found out the reason that they had put it back was because the payload was not ready, but now they have found another problem with the circuitry with the backup systems for the main engine (It is a triple redundant system, but they still want it to work before they take off) and this sounds like a big problem. So we might be lucky to see the launch :( - The Delta IV that is taking off on Thursday will not have it's launch time published, so I might be lucky to see that too :/ - Even if I see no launch though, I have still had a fantastic time, and it's only Tuesday!

Kennedy Space Center

Day 3 - "Cold Sunrise" - Low

This morning I got up at half six (the stars were still out) and walked down to the water. Sat and read a book for two and a half hours as my camera took a timelapse of the sunrise.

There are lots of little fish in the water that like jumping out in the funniest looking way. I saw the heron catch a fish and eat it too. There were lots of americans doing early morning fishing, I didn't see one of them catch anything.

Also, at about the moment when the sun first touched the water, a school of dolphins went past, their fins and tails gently popping out of the water, an incredible site!

Now I'm sat in the campsite having some buffalo chicken tenders and fresh orange for breakfast. Someone else on the site is cooking bacon, the bastards, and it smells lovely. These flipflops are killing my feet so I'm off to Titusville later to get some propper shoes!

The launch has been put of from Monday till Wednesday now (and if it doesn't happen then it will be delayed till December) so might go to the Kennedy Space Center today!

-- The squirrels here are Tiny! They are gray, but half the size of our british ones, they seem really playfull too :)

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Spent all day at the Space centre. Had a go on a shuttle simulator, which was really quite scary! Wobbled me all over the place (Hmmm, maybe need to loose some weight). And the Saturn V rocket they have there (real and full size) is SO big you would not beleive. Finally got myself a hat (flippin necessary in this weather!). The launch has been put back till Wednesday because of the weather, although I don't know why, cause it's still clear blue skys and too hot. - Got to see the shuttle (or at least the main engine of it) waiting on the launch pad, next to a huge "Liquid Oxygen" container with the words "No Smoking" in mile high letters :) - The ladys next door want me to try some kind of "Bean" meal tonight!

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The Bean meal last night was nice. It turns out in Louisiana (where they are all from) it is tradition that housewives who have lots of laundry to do on a Monday morning (washing everyone's church clothes) will put some beans into soak in the morning, and by the afternoon they are ready. So a nice simple meal. Was still nice!

Cocoa Beach Airshow

Day 2 - "We Used To Wait" - Arcade Fire

Awoke to see the sun rising over the sea 100m away from my tent. Beautiful. Having not quite landed yet I set off a 9am and drove to Cocoa beach (for the air show starting at 12). Had to pay $25 for a car park!! But then spent a good few hours strolling up and down the beach getting my bearings.

Bought a pretzel, some suntan cream (good grief it's hot in this part of the world) and now I'm heading off back to the beach with my beachtowel to get burned and watch the air show :)

So, spent all day at the beach for the air show (which was truly awesome, americans do big, overblown and spectacular in a good way). I arrived 2 hours before the airshow to "get a good spot" (I was on a flippin beach, like it mattered!). The airshow hadn't finished by half past 2 but after four and a half hours in the sun, I definitley had. I had no hat, and had to buy another tub of suntan cream, and I was still getting burned. When I stood up and tried to leave I found that all the glue on my trainers had completely melted, leaving them shreadded! Drove bare foot to a "Beachware" shop and got my self a $10 pair of flipflops. Dropping by at a supermarket I went back to the campsite, feeding myself up on florida grown baby tomatos, little peppers, beef and cheese, all washed down with fresh florida "OJ", which was unbelevabally good.

Nature around here doesn't half have some weird things to say for it's self. Some of the noises going on on this campsite are so weird! There are always squirrls chucking nuts (or somthing) down from the plam trees, there are some crickets, and then god knows what these other sounds are!

It is haloween tonight, and I have carved myself a little tiny pumpkin to celebrate. A lady called Janice from the next tent along has invited me over for soup and beef later, which was very lovely of her. Now for a beer, and to watch the sunset over the palms! :)

Spent last night talking to the 3 lovely ladys from the tent opposite. I learned that "Candy Corn" is actually fudge, and I got my first american trick'or'treat candy. Everyone liked my little pumpkin. Spent a bit of time on the peir with one of my new friends, looking at stars and trying to work out what constellations we could see. Saw two shooting stars, it was lovely!

Manchester to Florida

Day 1 - "This Is America" - Spacehog

So! Virging Atlantic is alright! They came round and offered me a free drink (saying it was a full bar service!) So got me a brandy. Then they gave me a dinner and a glass of wine and I settled down to watch the flim on the back of the headrest infront of me! Toystory 3! Just what you need when you're heading towards disney land :) Later on I even got a buttie and a cookie! Nice.

They give you a little bag full of things, I got a pillow, a blanket and some socks (not quite figured out why socks come free with a plane flight, but oh well. I got a window seat, but also there was no-one next to me. 3 seats all to myself!

Landed in Florida just as the sun was setting and got my rental car just as it went dark. A real trial by fire saw me drining in the wrong side of the road, in  a country with strange laws in a left hand drive automatic in the dark to a strange location. Scared the Crap out of myself, but got the hang of it fast (like I had an option).

Found my campsite and cause a but of a panic cause I had arrived a day early (oops, my bad!)

But the time I arrived (about 9) was like 2am for me. Knackered I put my tent up and passed out in it.