Occasionally, just occasionally, the rain can go on a bit and at that point, it's probably best to have another activity in mind. We decided to ditch the rain, the wind, thunder and lightening and opted to drive to Port Charlotte to visit the cinema.
The cinema in the town is attached to the shopping mall which has most well-known stores such as Sears, J C Penney, Maceys, Beales, Radio Shack, Victoria's Secrets and many many more. There is also a wide choice of international foods available in various restaurants and outlets in the food mall - funny how it never smells of food!. Also, dotted about the shopping mall are mobile phone kiosks, specialist sweet stands, a rather interesting "hurricane" pod where kids can stand an experience hurricane force winds for $1 a time... not quite as interesting 
as the real thing but pretty close. We were here in 2004 when Hurricane Charley hit the area - now that was an experience and was free!.
as the real thing but pretty close. We were here in 2004 when Hurricane Charley hit the area - now that was an experience and was free!.The cinema is a multi-plex and offers some 15 screens, some offering 3D versions of the films. The ticket price as risen recently to $9 (about £5.50) for adults but these are superb screens, sound systems and - deep joy - fully reclining seats! So if the film you are watching is not quite rocking your boat, you can drift off to sleep in comfy armchair-style seats that recline, in a temperature-controlled environment. No-one behind you kicking your seat or throwing popcorn at you! Indeed, the screens are patrolled and heaven help anyone who steps out of line. Even the hidden-camera detector is state of the art - to stop people from filming illeagally. All nice and well-behaved - just don't snore!
We decided to watch Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - an ok film if you like that sort of thing but I have decided we really ought to go and see GI Joe.
If you have't seen G-Force yet - get there, one of the funniest Disney films out in ages! - Armed with the latest high-tech spy gear, a guinea pig named Darwin (Sam Rockwell) and his team of specially trained rodents are often the last line of defence against chaos and destruction. But when the government shuts them down and ships them off to a pet shop, Darwin and his gang will have to find a way to break out and prevent a mad billionaire (Bill Nighy) from taking over the world. Bet this will be a yop selling DVD when it's released!
Small hint and tip - there are some cracking good films coming up shortly - District 9 promises to be a good view and also watch out for "9" or "Nine" - this is a Tim Burton film and I will wager it will be a number one hit.
The new Sherlock Holmes one looks good too, with Robert Downey Jnr in the lead role. Bizarre casting I know, but it looks like it works!
