Florida day four

We played crazy golf this morning with the children. It was a total rip off at $7.50 per person for a very basic course, but the children had the best time. Mark especially just went round and round the course, having a whale of a time. The final hole was the funniest - everyone ended up with their balls in the water, as it were.

We avoided the temptations of the packed-out crepes restaurant, and got in the car to drive to Sarasota to visit some friends of Sue's from when she lived in Venezuela, Bruce and Pat Higgins. They were very welcoming, and the children got to play in their pool, and scream a lot.

Mark had a total meltdown, which we fixed by feeding him. I don't think he's all that well, but the main solution as usual was food, including the most delicious fresh bagels.

Then we had a 2.5 hour drive to Orlando. Florida freeways are madness. People sit in the fast lane at 70mph, or the middle lane at 65mph, so of course everyone else ends up either tailgating or undertaking. Everyone else was weaving in and out of the traffic. By the time we got to Orlando I wanted to be back in Maine where the roads are empty. (Well, apart from the fact that they're getting over a foot of snow right now.)

We checked into the Holiday Inn in about five minutes, then went to find food. We drove along International Drive giggling at the many funny sights, and decided to go to Bogards because it looked like it would be entertaining. I think it was supposed to be a faux biker restaurant, pretty expensive but the kids had fun watching the ice come down from the upper floor via a long plastic chute.

I fully intended to have the grand marnier chocolate cake but instead I just about fell asleep at the table after the main course, and had to be ladled gently into the car for the drive home.

Mike was very pleased that he managed to bodge the hotel TV to connect our DVD player to it. (Someone needs to tell Holiday Inn so they can stop people from doing that.) I snoozed while the children watched Horton Hears a Who in bed.

And now we're watching the Oscars and wondering if I will ever actually see any of these films.

The children have finally gone to sleep, and tomorrow Disney awaits us.