Seaworld & Church Street Station

We once again awake early. Anita and the kids enjoy their breakfast in the hotel while the rest of us go off to the Ponderosa again. Anita is beginning to get an earache, however she doesn't mention it much at this point. We decide to use our second day at Seaworld today. Joy and Chris want to do other things, so the other six of us go together, and leave them to do their own thing. We travel in the A - Wagon, back to Seaworld. As we have seen the majority of the park, we take it a very leisurely pace. We once again visit the Shamu stadium, and view the show again. Shamu is very spectacular again. Andrew and I laugh over the fact that Shamu has his own web site www.shamu.com. Andrew wants us to visit the site when we return home. I tell him we will (and in fact we do). As we walk around the park, we enter the Dolphin pool where we view the false killer whales (a type of dolphin actually). They are not performing at this point of time, but are playing with their trainers. It is absolutely brilliant watching them, and the obvious love that both the trainers and the dolphins have for each other.

Anita, Lauren, Andrew & Brigitte with a Turtle.

When we leave the Shamu stadium, there is a guy with tickets that give free goes on some of the side-shows that are in the park. We decide that we will use these, so go off. I manage to win a stuffed crocodile, by landing a rubber frog onto a lilly pad by use of a hammer and a seesaw! The kids are very happy over this. Russell wins lots of small soft toys on another game, and combines them into a bigger one. We all have a gas on these games.

We go back to the Dolphin area, but decide that we wouldn't feed them. However Lauren did not get to touch one previously so we go and stand next to this woman who is feeding them. She is really lovely in that she gives Lauren a fish to feed them with. We thank her a lot as Lauren finally gets to touch one. It is at Seaworld where we buy a couple of really brilliant prints. They are the kid's names but printed by use of rubber blocks, in the forms of birds, animals etc. We really like them. (When we return to England we get a couple of frames made for them, which cost about ten times the amount that the prints cost). These prints along with two blown up photographs of the kids on this holiday now adorn a wall in our lounge.

Whilst we are enjoying the free beers again, Anita and Brigitte decide to get a piece of chocolate fudge cake. The piece that they obtain is approximately the size of half a normal cake. Everyone devours it very quickly, however not before Brigitte manages to stick some into Russell's face.

We return to the hotel to prepare for another evening out. This time we are going to Church Street Station, which is the night-club area of Orlando. The cost of this trip is free, as it is a gift from Virgin. (Thanks Virgin!). It includes the coach trip, so no one has got to drive tonight. Anita's ear is starting to get worse, but she soldiers on with the pain, without informing us or whinging about the pain.

Andrew & Lauren on a dolphin.

We board the coach after having a meal. All eight of us are going tonight. We arrive at Church Street station and disembark the coach. We are able to take the kids into most of the clubs. We start off together as a group. We begin in Rosie O'Gradys. This is a jazz club. Russell and I have half yards of Bud, which comes in a plastic glass, which you get to keep. Anita and Lauren have Flaming Hurricanes, which is the speciality of the house. Lauren's has no alcohol, whereas Anita's is made with Bacardi. You again get to keep the glasses, which in this case are made of glass. However I was a little worried over carrying the dirty glasses, I should not have worried, because as you go to leave, they exchange the dirty glasses for clean ones and insert them into special bags.

The jazzband are superb, and everyone gets into the swing of things. The waitresses (or hostesses as they are called here) perform a can-can on the top of the bar. Not much space, and if you make a mistake you would probably hurt yourselves (and probably the rest of the performers as well). They do a grand job. Chris and Joy decide to go off on their own, while the six of us stick together.

Our next port of call is to the Rock and Roll show. As we approach a table, I bump into some other tourists. Regrettably one did not have a tight grip on her camera, and as it hits the floor, it breaks up into lots of bits. I say sorry, and she says something back to me in what I believe is German. She goes off. We enjoy the show. We are unable to attract any of the hostesses so we don't get to have a drink in this one. We decide to try the Country Club (as in Country music, not as in golf club). This time we get served quite quickly. The band once again is very good. They do a good version of the Devil went down to Georgia. After this club we go and walk around the shopping area. I get thirsty and purchase a bottle of Bud in a club where the kids are not allowed. As I go to leave the club with my bottle in my hand, the bouncers inform me that drinking on public highways is not allowed. I therefore down the bottle in one, and return to the party.

As it begins to get very late we head back for the coach, and then to the hotel, and bed.