Orlando here we com..via Cracker Barrel - # 1

Ok, you cannot come to Florida and not make at least one attempt to get to the theme park centre of the world. Love 'em or loathe 'em, there is still nothing like the American theme park experience.

We decided to have four days up in Orlando and set off early on Tuesday morning to have a breakfast at a Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. These are a real culinary experience - all kinds of breakfasts either from the menu or to suit your taste. They also do lunches and evening fare.

The Cracker Barrel restaurants are usually located just off the interstates or at busy state route junctions. The one we go to is at Jacaranda Boulevard, nestled in amongst the pines and palms of the countryside. Eggs done anyway you want, Grits, Hash browns, sausage patties, bacon strips, whole meal toast, various preserves, pancakes, ice cream etc - you name it, you can have it. Your meal is complimented by a mug of good coffee that keeps being refilled.

You then walk back into the shopping area of the restaurant and can find all sorts of trinkets, books, confectionary and any manner of gifts.

Or sit outside on the stoop in one of the many rocking chairs (that are also for sale) and either indulge in a game of checkers or solitaire or simply sit and watch life pass by.

The car by the way is a Chrysler C300 - a superb car to drive. You can see them on the roads in the UK, but they look way better over here!

No sales tax free week

Despite its outward wealth, lavish homes, boats, fine restaurants and expensive golf courses, Florida's real residents are not awash with money and many struggle to make a living. The average weekly wage is $756 based on Florida State statistics and ranks the State as 27 in the US. The avaerage weekly wage in Charlotte County is between $501 and $700. I feel this is based on "professional workers" rather than your, builder, sales assistants and waiting staff in resturants and does rather give the impression of a comfortably well-off population.

The state was one of the few states to not have a state minimum wage law until 2004, when voters passed a constitutional amendment establishing a state minimum wage and (unique among minimum wage laws) mandating that it be adjusted for inflation every six months. Currently, the minimum wage in the state of Florida is $7.21 as of January 1, 2009. With bread costing anything from $2.50 to $5 for specialty bread, ponder on that one, my fellow Brits...


Unfortunately, the State of Florida has not offered its usual sales tax free week during 2009. In the past, the sales tax holiday was voted upon in the State Legislature, but the measure was not brought up for a vote this year. This event has in the past proved to be very popular with parents - and tourists I guess.


However, good to see some of the bigger stores doing their bit to help, including Walmart, Target and J C Penney, with good discounts and incentives.


In the UK we are fortunate that our education system provides for essentials such as paper, books etc in lessons. Ok, we have to buy glue sticks, pens, pencils etc for our children, but just imagine if we had to also purchase exercise books, folders etc.

OZ meets US

Australia comes to America. The latest restaurant chain to pop up in the shopping malls and plazas is "Outback" and offers an interesting choice of meals at competitive prices. Surf and turf but with a twist - nice sides, good sauces, slick service and an atmosphere that is heightened by the bizarre wall-carvings and decorations and the very subdued lighting.

We enjoyed a quick early evening meal at this one. The steaks were a good size and well cooked and the shrimp was mouth-watering. Instead of the usual fries we plumped for some jacket potatoes which were excellently baked and accompanied by a fine sauce based on Dijon mustard, lovely cherry tomatoes and some dressing - (yes, the good old US can provide a healthy eating experience).

Ok, we lost the plot a bit with the dessert - Nutter Butter Peanut Butter Pie but we shared one between the three of us. Very, very morish!



Oh, and glasses of beer that were referred to as "Australian Blokes Beer", ie you get a pint in a well-chilled glass and still only $2.50 a pint..! They do "take-outs too", just order on the phone, pull up in the car park and they will deliver to your car!

Lakeside dining

I hope our readers don't develop the view that we simply spend our vacation time eating, but you know how it is. You've barbecued your own steaks and chickens, you've lovingly prepared garlic and butter coated shrimp served with a hot rice and accompanied by a salad, the hot chilli you cooked has made you a legend in your own lifetime.

You decide to pop out for a quiet chilled beer and before you know it, some pretty, sassy waitress has plonked a menu down in front of you and with a wink and a smile, announces "I'll be right back to take your order sir".... Gets me everytime.

Farlows on the Water in Englewood is great for a late lunch. The lake borders the restaurant on three sides and it has pretty gardens and even outdoor dining if you wish. A chicken piccato, garlic mashed potatoes and two chilled beers later, we're off on our travels again.

They also have superb evening menu and offer live music three or four times a week. We often pass this restaurant and its car park is usually packed, and I mean packed. Probably why it's been voted a number one restaurant in the area for a number of years running.

We dined here once on St Patrick's Day some years back - everything was green - the beer, the wine, the steaks, the desserts..... and interesting experience in more ways than one!

Cooking up a storm...

Sometimes, especially in August, Florida's weather system reverts to typical status - hot mornings, bit cooler in the early afternoon, followed by a good dousing of rain. Unlike the UK, it remains hot enough to sit outside - under cover of course - and you know that once the rain storm has passed, the sun shines again, hotter than ever but everywhere looks fresher and brighter.

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!.

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!

Unconditional Surrender

This photo, taken by Rebecca, shows a magnificant statue in all its glory on the waterfront in Sarasota Bay. The statue is a reconstruction of the famous wartime photograph "Unconditional Surrender The Kiss" taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt on 14th August 1945 - VJ Day. The statue stands some 25 feet high.

The statue resided in Sarasota Bay for several years before before being moved to San Diego, following complaints from a local citizens movement who complained it obstructed their view of the Bay..! Whilst is resided in San Diego, it was also met with wide acclaim although art critics hated it. However, public opinion won the day, especailly by couples who love to be photographed under or by the statue!

An anonymous donor came up with the money to bring it back to Sarasota and a private citizens group is now working to raise $700,000 to keep the statue here permanently.

I have included a copy of the original photographe referred to above for comparison.

Think outside the box..!

St. Armands Circle - "think outside the box and get into the circle..!" - a catchy advertising slogan that has helped develop this small island community into a tourist hotspot. Some 45 miles up the coast from our house, a pleasant drive takes us along route 41, the Tamianni Trail, through Englewood, Venice, Nokomis (home of the Tervis Tumbler) and into Sarasota. St Armand's Circle is a now a thriving community of bars, restaurants, shops, art galleries and vacation rental homes and is one of the most visited areas in Sarasota.

There are many restaurants here - Hemingway's Retreat, The Crab & Fin, excellent seafood, street dining like it should be and accompanied by the background music from a classical piano player - and my favourite, the Columbia Restaurant, a fine Spanish restaurant that specialises in steak and seafood. Superb food, amazing service and some of the best cocktails I've ever tasted. They also make and serve a mean Cuban Sandwich and delicious home-baked Cuban bread.

The art galleries are amazing and one such gallery, the Wyland Gallery specialises in commissioned glass work. One piece we viewed on our trip yesterday featured dolphins riding the crest of a wave. Standing some 6 feet high, this centre piece was made of "bullet-proof" glass with the dolphins hand-fashioed in pewter. $34,000 will secure this piece of unique art work...!

There are several ice-cream parlours offering an amazing choice of home-made ice-creams and sorbets and one establishment even makes peanut-brittle, which you watch being created in the store whilst waiting for your selection of ice-cream. St Armands has an interesing history and much of its background can be seen in the form of statues and plaques in the lovely park and surrounding circles.

The development started in the early years of the 20th Century. Visionary circus magnate John Ringling purchased the St. Armands Key property in 1917 and planned a development which included residential lots and a shopping centre laid out in a circle. As no bridge to the key had yet been built, Ringling engaged an old paddle-wheel steamboat, the "Success," to service as a work boat.

His crews laboured at dredging canals, building seawalls, and installing sidewalks and streets lined with rose-colored curbs. In 1925, work began on a causeway to join St. Armands Key to the

mainland. Circus elephants were used to haul the huge timbers from which the bridge and causeway were built.

One year later, amid much pomp and ceremony, both the John Ringling Causeway and Ringling Estates development opened to the public, with John Ringling himself leading a parade across the causeway and his Circus Band playing from a bandstand in the center of the Circle. Every hour there was free bus service from downtown to St. Armands for prospective buyers and sightseers. Even when busy, the Circle seems peaceful and quiet, offers a wide selection of places of interest, things to do and places to dine. One of the few places in Flordia where you will find roundabouts...!