Coming to America

[Daisy]

I'm off to Haines City FL on Saturday for a two week holiday with hubby's family.

We've booked a big villa on a golf resort it's got its own pool overlooking a little lake, we have tickets for Universal, Kennedy Space Centre and Orlando Magic (is it still ok to want to buy a foam finger, eat hotdogs and drink massive vats of sugary soft drinks at the basketball?).

Can't wait

[Sue U]

is it still ok to want to buy a foam finger, eat hotdogs and drink massive vats of sugary soft drinks at the basketball?

Pretty sure it's required. But what do I know, my town (Philadelphia) doesn't actually have a basketball team anymore. (Oh, we have the Sixers, but I don't think anyone's actually seen them play anything resembling basketball in well over a year.)

[Guinevere]

This is exactly what's wrong with basketball --- where's the beer and the popcorn??

God bless baseball and ice hockey!

[Sue U]

[Lord Jim]

(is it still ok to want to buy a foam finger, eat hotdogs and drink massive vats of sugary soft drinks at the basketball?).

Certainly...

(Just don't let anyone hear you referring to a basketball game as "the basketball"... )

[MajGenl.Meade]

Have a great time - despite the poor choice of (alleged) sport. You're missing the Orlando Griffins rugby match against the Savannah Shamrocks on November 8th. Mind you, it is union.... so....

[Gob]

A villa on a twat farm? Dear God Dais, was it VERY cheap?

[Daisy]

Have a great time - despite the poor choice of (alleged) sport. You're missing the Orlando Griffins rugby match against the Savannah Shamrocks on November 8th. Mind you, it is union.... so....

Wash your mouth out Meade

Certainly...

(Just don't let anyone hear you referring to a basketball game as "the basketball"... )

Why not? Surely they'll find my British accent and colloquialisms cute and endearing

A villa on a twat farm? Dear God Dais, was it VERY cheap?

The in-laws chose the villa, we didn't have a choice in that.

[Sue U]

Surely they'll find my British accent and colloquialisms cute and endearing

This is undoubtedly true; Americans are suckers for British accents -- even (especially?) northern ones.

A villa on a twat farm? Dear God Dais, was it VERY cheap?

The in-laws chose the villa, we didn't have a choice in that.

Virtually everything in Florida is on a golf course. It is apparently the state's sole purpose for existence.

[oldr_n_wsr]

Virtually everything in Florida is on a golf course. It is apparently the state's sole purpose for existence.

Along with being the new home state of New Yorkers when they turn 65. I think there is a law about that

[Jarlaxle]

Billy Joel thought so.

[Daisy]

Some observations on Florida.

The food.

Portion sizes are mental. And they keep bringing more... They even beat the legendary eating skills of my Brother-in-law.

It's soooooo salty, I can feel my heart protesting.

Eating out is so cheap, on the other hand some of the basics in the supermarket are stupidly expensive.

The cars.

I thought that the Simpsons Canyonero parody was just that, a parody until I saw the Chevy Surburban... Who needs a car that big? What are they carrying in it, a family of moose?

Front license plates? Where are they? And how do enforcement cameras work I can't read half of them 'cause of all the pictures on them.

Rear indicators... Why are they red?

Road manners, no-one in Florida has any.

You can buy my prescription painkillers off the shelf in Walgreens! Great news for me as I stupidly forgot to renew my prescription before I came out.

But on the whole, it is quite nice. The house we are staying in is beautiful, the weather has been kind (but we do have some storms forecast for tonight). We have three cranes that come to visit the lawn area at the side of house that are so tame I could walk right up to them for photos.

Four of us are off to the Basketball tonight, leaving the other three to chill in the house and watch the storm.

[Gob]

LOL!! Have fun Dais!!

[TPFKA@W]

I thought that the Simpsons Canyonero parody was just that, a parody until I saw the Chevy Surburban... Who needs a car that big? What are they carrying in it, a family of moose?

MEET

The food.

Portion sizes are mental. And they keep bringing more... They even beat the legendary eating skills of my Brother-in-law.

[Daisy]

Fair point @w.

The Amway Center (you don't know how much it hurts me to deliberately misspell centre) has free Wifi and craft beer.

The match kicks off in half an hour

[Lord Jim]

Wow, talk about "The Ugly Brit"...

You don't like our food, (that's particularly cruel coming from a person who hails from a land where they put ketchup on spaghetti) you don't like our cars, you don't like our driving skills, (at least we can figure out which side of the road to drive on)...

Hell, you don't even like our license plates...

And yet you say:

But on the whole, it is quite nice. The house we are staying in is beautiful, the weather has been kind (but we do have some storms forecast for tonight). We have three cranes that come to visit the lawn area at the side of house that are so tame I could walk right up to them for photos.

So in other words:

"America's a lovely place to visit, so long as you avoid the people"....

Don't let the cabin door hit you in the ass when you board your flight back to Limeystan...

[Daisy]

Did I say I didn't like your food? It's just a little salty, that might be just florida.

Considering the amount of accidents I have seen in just a few days here I would say that your driving skills could do with a teeny bit of honing. And big cars are killing the planet

I have never had ketchup on spaghetti. I prefer a nice vongole or carbonara tbh.

I won't judge the USA on visiting one state built on tourism. I shall reserve judgment until I have visited a few other places.

You still didn't answer why your some cars have red indicators?

[Crackpot]

Different automotive regulations

[Lord Jim]

Considering the amount of accidents I have seen in just a few days here I would say that your driving skills could do with a teeny bit of honing.

Okay Daze, I'm going to have to agree with you on one point...

I had occasion to live in South Florida for about six months back in the early 80's (I was working on a Congressional campaign) and I will admit that to this day, I saw the worst driving there I have ever seen in my life...(And that includes Angeles City in the Philippines, and even Maryland drivers on the roads of Northern Virginia... )

You would think that in a place where thunderstorms are common and road drainage is virtually non-existent, that the locals would become accustomed to encountering huge puddles on the highways, and adjust their driving habits accordingly...

Not in South Florida...

If you got on the road after a 10 minute cloud burst on any of the area's major highways, (The Palmetto Expressway, A1A, etc.) it was surreal...

Spin out after spin out, rear end collision after rear end collision, practically every quarter mile...I've never seen anything like it, before or since...

I learned to leave about fifty yards between me and the car in front of me on the highway whenever the rain started coming down....

[BoSoxGal]

A couple of points:

FREE craft beer? Or just free wifi? (I can't imagine the beer would be free!)

Florida is the nesting place of the worst retired drivers from all over the Northeast - not surprising the driving is the worst anywhere!

What color are the directionals and rear lights on cars in the UK?

LJ, British food is not the unappetizing ick it used to be - it's a very multicultural society now and I bet most Brits know how to whip up a decent curry.

As to our food - it is mostly salty, overly fatty and the portions ARE outrageous. The food is specifically engineered to keep up addicted to it - thus fatty & salty is the key component of most of it. It's the same everywhere, unless you seek out decent ethnic food in a larger metropolitan area.

Enjoy "the Basketball" and the rest of your visit!!