Today was our theme park day where we enjoyed Universal Studios and its neighbour, Islands of Adventure.

The crowds were pretty light so we managed to get on all the rides with very little queueing. We were particularly impressed with the new Harry Potter section even though none of us are particularly big fans of the series. The attention to detail was stunning and the rides were very cleverly done.

Now it’s time for an early bed as tomorrow we need to be up early for our fishing trip. It’s non-stop!

Today we had a lazy morning apart from some frantic volley ball & inflatable alligator wrestling in the pool and lovebug-dodging out at the shops.

In the afternoon all 8 of us (Jen, Ben, Andy, Clare, Richard, Candice, Nicole & David) drove the hour or so SW over to St Pete’s.

We had a lovely meal on the Marina and then headed into Tropicana Field to watch the Tampa Bay Rays Vs Seattle Marinas. The Rays won 9-1 and was definitely the most exciting ball game we have been to. Go Rays!!

Our jet lag meant we woke early and so we has breakfast and headed out to the shops. Our favourite was definitely Shepplers with their rodeo bull and huge selection of cowboy boots and Stetsons!

The usual signs of the recession are here with once full malls now having many boarded up shops and also the exchange rate means the prices aren’t too different to home, so we only made a few small purchases.

The one thing that shocks us every time we come to the US is the size of the trucks!!

We thought we’d keep this blog going whenever we go away, so here is the first post of our all too brief Florida trip.

The photo below is in our favourite airport bar in Newark. Drinking Boston IPA looking out at the Manhattan skyline makes a flight connection much more enjoyable!