Taxi to Wycombe station at 6:30 we'd already bought the tickets so straight onto the train (6:50 to Marylebone) and then tube to Victoria (changing at Oxford Circus - its really easy as you just cross platforms from the Bakerloo line to the Victoria line). Then the Gatwick express to surprisingly Gatwick. Plane was going to be on time but we were early enough to have some breakfast and join the IRIS recognition program run by customs - hopefully on the way back in we can jump the queue and go through the IRIS recognition channel! In reality if it works I'll be most surprised and we'll probably end up at the back of the queue for entering the UK. Plane was a strange 3 - 3 - 3 so we had 5 in a row ... read more

Last day The very last day. We got up @ 9 ish and as the hotel doesn't have a restaurant we went for a walk along Broadway to look for somewhere to eat. The Manhattan Diner (review at http://www.hiddenboston.com/NewYorkRestaurants.html) was packed and we had to queue outside. For about $4 you got Orange Juice, a cooked breakfast, toast and as much coffee as you could drink. Come on London why can't you do this? After breakfast we packed out bags and left them in storage. As our flight was at 21:25 we booked a taxi for 17:30 which would allow us an hour to get to JFK (should take 40 minutes) and 3 hours to check-in (Virgin were opening the check-in desk 4 hours before the flight so that everyone could clear security). The kids ... read more

Further on the TaMiami trail Nobody is getting up early anymore. Should be fun next week as we all woke between 8 and 9 ET (13:00-14:00 UK time). Packed the only bag we had taken in with us and headed of to Miami through the Everglades. Stopped at a viewing spot and as it was quite early we were the only car there. A boardwalk headed into the swamp and we followed this for the best part of half a mile. Lovely air plants growing in the trees, saw a snake poking it's head up but that was just about all the wildlife (apart from the children). Continued on the way and stopped at an Indian village for a bite to eat. We had been on one of the air boats last time we were ... read more

A quiet day We deliberately took things easy today as from tomorrow we will be on the road again heading for Miami. Some more fishing at Fred Howard Park - we've got the knack now (and the squid bait) and reeled in 5 or 6 very quickly. Then went swimming for a couple of hours. After lunch we were coming back when we saw Dolphins (see the pictures). Great to be so close to such interesting creatures. Packed bags, deflated blow up toys (dolphins etc.. before you ask). Got ready to move on. Booked hotel in Miami and New York, the Internet is great what would we do without it? Blog may go quiet if I can't get Internet access. ... read more

The place Holiday is just outside Tarpon Springs which is near to Tampa. Our current residence is 1140 Lodestar Drive but we'll be moving on on Wednesday as we need to be in Miami by Friday night as we are flying back to New York. Tarpon Springs is an intresting place as it was populated by Greek sponge divers and even though it's a bit of a tourist trap it still has a certain charm. We eat at a lovely place called Rusty Bellies. It's so cheap to eat out because of the strength of the pound we've eaten out most nights, we also had a barbecue by the pool. The place I liked called Cody's was a typical old fashioned restaurant with peanuts in their shells, when you had finished with the shells you ... read more