23rd August 2004
Hi all... from Atlanta, Georgia!
Been here two days, so I don't have any news from here to report. What I do have is a report on our week in Clearwater.
What a week it was too. Gorgeous weather, lots of wonderful things to do, places to go and things to buy. Did I mention the weather already? Did I tell you how much time I spent by a pool sipping ice-cold Mountain Dew?
(Sorry, can't help myself!)
The only small problem I experienced was of a niggling cough that stayed with me most of the week. On reflection it was probably due to the painting that was taking place at our hotel, but the good thing is that I discovered a good treatment for sore throats. Move over Advil, the medical product to bring back from America is now Honey & Lemon flavoured Cepacol! Magical stuff in spray form, just what I could have done with when Gareth Taylor wore a Palace shirt.
As a matter of fact Cepacol wasn't the only thing we discovered at the nearby pharmacy. With one thing and another we were there every day. Sun cream, after-sun, more sun cream and more after-sun. Before we left on Friday we went in for something different - getting all my photos off my digital camera and onto CD. I needed to do that because the internet cafe next door was highly disappointing. The equipment looked more dated than that used by Matthew Broderick in "War Games", and the food didn't look too promising either, so we gave that a miss.
Lorraine and I were actually staying in Clearwater Beach. For those of you who haven't been to Clearwater Beach before I can highly recommend it. It is about half-an-hour West of Tampa (making it part of a tri-cities region along with St. Petersburg) and is accessible from Clearwater by a number of small bridges. Clearwater Beach is an island a couple of miles long, with a beach stretching down the west side and an inlet of water to the east side (I hope that's right, as I couldn't find a description for love nor money. Yes, Google has finally failed me.). It is wonderfully picturesque (especially from outside our hotel room on the 5th floor), and the weather never seems to be anything other than perfect.
Sitting on the Gulf of Mexico water sports activities are numerous, so I forgot about what the outlay would be and did something I had always wanted to try - jet-skiing. Actually I don't know if what I did was actually jet-skiing, given that I hired a Waverunner, but it was on water and was pretty fun. Lorraine came with me and proceeded to scream into my ear continually from a range of about two inches. She assured me she had enjoyed myself.
Some points for anyone thinking of hiring a Waverunner:
1) No-one tells you how powerful they are. Seriously, those things have got some grunt.
2) When you hire a Waverunner you'll be asked to sign a waiver. Read it, sign it, but try and not think about all the clauses while you're on the water. These things are fun, never forget this.
3) If you are going out on the water with other people who are more experienced than you are be prepared to be embarrassed as they zoom away from you.
4) If your wife is riding with you will continually think, "I can't go too fast on this. If the Mrs falls off my father-in-law WILL kill me."
Am I glad we did it? Too right. Would I do it again? Probably.
Another amazing thing happened while we were in Clearwater. I actually got to like the beach! Normally I don't like beaches. I hate sand getting between my toes, I'm not the sort to lie about sunbathing and the quality of most British seawater is well-known (especially in and around Portsmouth, where I breathed in the odour for about eleven years). Clearwater was totally different. Okay, the sand still stuck to you, but it wasn't much of a problem with the showers near the beach. Furthermore the sea water was wonderful, warm and clear.
Of course that isn't to say that the beach was perfect. The refreshment counters nearest the beach didn't sell Mountain Dew (I can't stand warm Coca-Cola), shade was hard to find (I'm paranoid about burning) and on one occasion one lady decided to throw bits of bread to the birds, only she was throwing it in our direction. A bit of common sense would have done her the world of good.
And the hotel pool? Pretty nice as well, not to mention near to our room... and refreshments (which have included orange juice and mineral water, just in case you think I've drunk nothing beside Mountain Dew). Our normal daytime routine would be breakfast, pool or beach, lunch (I've been testing how many different things you can get from Subway), pool or beach, shower and then dinner.
I did come unstuck one day at the pool. Early in the afternoon Lorraine had gone to get a drink. Meanwhile I was alone with the pool at my mercy. John Smith time! Not risking slipping I took slightly shorter run-up, and then did my own "running bomb". I emerged from underneath the water with a smile. It wasn't until I took a shower that I realised I no longer had my chain with me. As it turns out a kind fellow guest had picked the various pieces out of the pool. Not one of my better ideas.
Besides the glorious weather one of the attractions of Florida is the shopping. Shunning Orlando again we stuck within the Clearwater area, mainly the Countryside Mall on the 19. Using a tip I heard some time ago we picked up a local Sunday paper, filled with lots of information about where to find the bargains. Needless to say Lorraine has been in her element (sending Old Navy tills into meltdown in the process), and I haven't done too badly either in terms of jeans and the like.
Of course somewhere down the line I was going to frustrate Lorraine. Looking back I should have realised the matter in question would be footwear! Being the typical guy that I am I picked out a pair and tried them on. "They'll do," I said, knowing the likely response. "You're trying on other pairs," Lorraine said, a subtle glare forming from her eyes. So I was forced to look at other pairs. I picked another two sets to try, and nearly bought them both. The first pair was left a long way behind. I think Lorraine will want to try and help me buy shoes again in future, which might or might not be a good thing.
While we were in the same sports shop I took a look around at a few other bits. I mulled over some shorts, gawped over some baseball bats, picked up some bottles of Mountain Dew (hey, we were thirsty!) and headed for the queue to pay. Then Lorraine noticed I had picked up something else. Gloves. In Florida. Gloves. I would explain, but if Lorraine didn't think much of my explanation I don't think anyone else would either.
Now we've completed our journey up the I-75 to Atlanta, where we'll have more to report next week.
Have a good week!
Tony
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