by | Sep 15, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 31 – iFLY & Universal Thursday 13th September 2018 Once again, Sandy and I managed to slip out of the house for a bit of us time this morning. I think we had finished our Waffle House breakfast and were already on the way back before either of the kids even...
by | Sep 14, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 30 – Volcano Bay Wednesday 12th September 2018 We decided to make today a rest day. Frankly, it wasn’t a hard decision. This holiday continues to take its toll. We’ve scheduled various rest days in amongst all the theme park madness, although we haven’t kept to...
by | Sep 14, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 29 – Universal Tuesday 11th September 2018 For the past few days, we’ve had a slow start and we’ve left the house relatively late. That trend bucked this morning. Surprisingly, nobody was in a bad mood (it’s all relative in the mornings). We had planned on...
by | Sep 12, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 28 – iFly & Universal Monday 10th September 2018 Today marks the return to normal operations of daily blog writing. Jennifer and I went and spent a couple of hours in the Universal theme parks last night, and I was tempted to do a write-up for that. We got...
by | Sep 9, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 19 to 25 – Tampa & Cruise Saturday 1st – Saturday 8th September 2018 For the past week, I’ve not maintained a daily blog. We’ve been spending time with very good friends of ours and I wanted to devote all my time and energy to them instead. It’s also a...
by | Sep 9, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 18 – Resting Friday 31st August 2018 We had a really good lie in this morning. That notwithstanding, everyone was really quite lethargic. The holiday was continuing to take its toll on all of us. There really is a limit to how much fun and enjoyment you can take...
by | Sep 2, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 17 – Animal Kingdom Thursday 30th August 2018 Somehow, we all managed to get up in time for the anticipated early start. We needed this to happen if we were to stand a chance of getting a full day in at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Today is a milestone day. It marks...
by | Aug 31, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 16 – Magic Kingdom Wednesday 29th August 2018 Nobody was up particularly early this morning. Everyone seemed a bit irritable with each other. Clearly, holiday fatigue is setting in. The plan for the day was to do Animal Kingdom in the morning. Since the Weather...
by | Aug 30, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 15 – Disney Springs Tuesday 28th August 2018 We had another very late start to the day this morning. It’s always a double-edged sword when we get up late. On the one hand we do have a nice lie in, but we also tend to be quite lethargic and slow to get going as a...
by | Aug 29, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 14 – Blizzard Beach and Hollywood Studios Monday 27th August 2018 It has to be said that the holiday is taking its toll. Yes, we’re really enjoying ourselves, but living out of a suitcase in a strange place can lose its charm under certain circumstances. We’re not...
by | Aug 28, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 13 – Hollywood Studios and Disney Springs Sunday 26th August 2018 It was another uncharacteristically late start to the morning, although nobody was complaining about that. The day was NOT going to turn out as we expected. At this point, however, everything looked...
by | Aug 26, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 12 – Fixing the phones Saturday 25th August 2018 Wow! Nobody was up and about when I came downstairs this morning. Sandy, as is often the case, had actually gotten up earlier than me but she must have found somewhere else to go and lie back down again, since she...
by | Aug 26, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 11 – Blizzard Beach & Old Town Friday 24th August 2018 Well, today was going to be a nice, relaxing day at the water park with a bit of well-earned R&R. That was the plan, at least. What could possibly be simpler, right? By the end of the night, we were...
by | Aug 24, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 10 – Down time Thursday 23rd August 2018 Once again, we all enjoyed the sheer bliss of having nothing to do and nowhere to go this morning. Consequently, everyone was up and active well past rope drop for all the parks. I have to say it was a well-needed...
by | Aug 23, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 9 – Typhoon Lagoon & Old Town Wednesday 22nd August 2018 Another day, another visit to a Waffle House. In light of the variety of restaurants here, we could probably be experimenting with various other breakfast options. However, it’s already so hard to find...
by | Aug 23, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 8 – Magic Kingdom Tuesday 21st August 2018 Oh, the bliss of a lie in with nowhere to go and no reason to get out of bed. For the first time since we arrived, everyone managed to sleep as long as our bodies wanted, with no one of us intentionally waking any of the...
by | Aug 21, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 7 – Disney Springs & Hollywood Studios Monday 20th August 2018 We decided to have breakfast at home this morning. I was to take Jamie, Dan and Shanuel to the airport this afternoon. Jamie had made a lunch reservation at Planet Hollywood for noon. We wanted to...
by | Aug 20, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 6 – Kirsty & Andy at the Polynesian Sunday 19th August 2018 With no theme parks to get to today, it was a slow start to this morning. The plan was to have breakfast and then head on over to the Disney Polynesian Resort, where Kirsty and Andy and the two girls...
by | Aug 19, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 5 – EPCOT Saturday 18th August 2018 Today promised to be another full-on theme park trek. The plan was to collect Jamie and co after breakfast and drive us all to EPCOT for the day. This meant a relatively early start. I was up and active by around 6am. As I was...
by | Aug 18, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 4 – Animal Kingdom Friday 17th August 2018 Last night, just as we were snuggling up in bed, Sandy had a bit of an idea. No, it wasn’t to have sex. It isn’t my birthday until March. She figured it would be very busy at the Magic Kingdom being a Friday. There’s a...
by | Aug 17, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 3 – Kirsty and Andy Thursday 16th August 2018 I still have high hopes that we’ve kicked the jetlag but given that Sandy and I were both up and on the couch downstairs chatting this morning from around 3am, despite us going to bed before midnight, suggests our body...
by | Aug 16, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 2 – settling in Wednesday 15th August 2018 Thanks to the comfortable beds, we all slumbered serenely through the night. I woke up at around 09:00am and gently tried to get everyone else up. If we are to stand a chance at kicking the jetlag, we’ll have to adhere to...
by | Aug 15, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 1 – getting there (part 2) Tuesday 14th August The first flight, despite being the longest at fourteen and a half hours, finished and we emerged relatively unscathed. We deliberately allowed the rest of the plane’s occupants to disembark before we got out of our...
by | Aug 14, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 1 – getting there (part 1) Tuesday 14th August I’ve called this blog entry day 1 but in truth, the first day will end up spanning at least a day and a half. This is because of the time zone shifts we’ll undergo as a part of this journey. We’re travelling half way...
by | Aug 11, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Pre-departure 3 – one last night out with the boys Saturday 11th August So, I wasn’t planning on putting out another blog before we left but one or two interesting things happened today and I think it would be best to record them for posterity’s sake. The day started...
by | Aug 9, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Pre-departure 2 – just a few more things before we go Thursday 9th August I had originally thought that once the household contents were whisked away that we would finally have a chance to stop and breathe. Alas. Our days have actually been kept very busy this past...
by | Aug 4, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Pre-departure 1 – the calm between the storms Saturday 4th August Yes, I’m afraid it’s true. The Morgan family (well, this one at least) is leaving Australia after moving here just nine years ago. This wasn’t actually something we planned well in advance. In fact, the...
by | Jun 10, 2018 | Gold Coast Sep 15
Gold Coast 2015 – Day 8 – Dreamworld (4th visit)…last update from the Gold Coast! Well, just as we were all starting to slow down a bit towards the end of the holiday and expecting a bit of a rest, we’re hit with an absolutely massive last full day that will leave us...
by | Jun 10, 2018 | Gold Coast Sep 15
Gold Coast 2015 – Day 7 – Dreamworld (3rd visit)… I don’t know if it was whether I slept awkwardly or whether the exhaustion of hitting the theme parks every day has finally caught up with me but it was around 8:30am when I got up this morning. Ordinarily, and on a...
by | Jun 10, 2018 | Gold Coast Sep 15
Gold Coast 2015 – Day 6 – Seaworld & Movie World… I’m up at 5:45am this morning! Are you serious!? If this trend carries on, I’ll soon be getting up before I go to bed each bloody night. Why is it that my body clock works on a 25 hour day ordinarily but a 23 hour...
by | Jun 10, 2018 | Gold Coast Sep 15
Gold Coast 2015 – Day 5 – Wet ‘N’ Wild & Movie World… Clearly, the exertions of the holiday are starting to take their toll on me. I was up at the shamelessly late time of 7.30am this morning. Naturally, Sandy and the kids were well into overdrive by this time and...
by | Jun 10, 2018 | Gold Coast Sep 15
Gold Coast 2015 – Day 4 – Dreamworld (again)… Wouldn’t you know it, the kids were up and awake at around 5am this morning. Don’t they realise we’re on bloody holiday!? Sandy was up before me as usual but I managed to lie in all the way through to 7am, which is at...
by | Jun 10, 2018 | Gold Coast Sep 15
Gold Coast 2015 – Day 3 – Seaworld… I’m not sure what it is about being on holiday that always causes me, and everyone else, to be awake and up early. Aren’t we supposed to be on holiday? Aren’t you supposed to be able to lie in when on holiday? Sandy was indeed...
by | Jun 10, 2018 | Gold Coast Sep 15
Gold Coast Sep 2015 – Day 2 – Dreamworld With yesterday having been a busy travel day, filled with more stress than was originally anticipated, we had resigned ourselves to the idea that today would be a rest day. In the end, it turned into a full-on day...
by | Jun 10, 2018 | Gold Coast Sep 15
Gold Coast Sep 2015 – Day 1 – getting there… Ok, here we go again! Exactly 2 years ago, we were doing the very same thing – rushing around trying to get ready for a week’s worth of Queensland fun. We’re even staying in the same accommodation...
by | Aug 20, 2017 | Europe Jul 17
Europe – July 2017Day 21 – The EndFriday 18th August Well, I guess it had to happen eventually. The trip is, finally, at an end. The fat lady has sung. The curtain has closed. Everyone has left the theatre. Being the last person out of the building, I’ve...
by | Aug 20, 2017 | Europe Jul 17
Europe – July 2017Day 19 – Venlo & last full dayThursday 17th August This will be our last full day before beginning the long, and no doubt arduous, process of travelling back to Melbourne and our former lives. We have no further obligations to fulfil,...
by | Aug 19, 2017 | Europe Jul 17
Europe – July 2017Day 19 – VenloWednesday 16th August With yesterday’s hotel breakfast fracas still fresh in my mind when I woke up morning, I was determined to have a hearty meal and so made sure to get to the breakfast hall with more time to spare....
by | Aug 19, 2017 | Europe Jul 17
Europe – July 2017Day 18 – KerkradeTuesday 15th August Yesterday was a very long day. Actually, to be honest, every day for the past two weeks has been a very long day. Our stay at the Center Parcs holiday park was to be the holiday within the holiday and...
by | Aug 17, 2017 | Europe Jul 17
Europe – July 2017Day 17 – Center Parcs to KerkradeMonday 14th August Sandy and the kids were still asleep when I got up this morning. First order of the day, after emptying my bladder, was to see what the fresh roll fairy had delivered this morning. Alas,...
by | Aug 17, 2017 | Europe Jul 17
Europe – July 2017Day 16 – Center ParcsSunday 13th August It seems I’m getting into the habit of being the first out of bed lately. Everyone else was still slumbering soundly when I found this morning’s batch of fresh rolls in a bag by the front door....
by | Aug 15, 2017 | Europe Jul 17
Europe – July 2017Day 15 – Family reunionSaturday 12th August Although the kids would have loved it, there was no time this morning to go back to the swimming complex for another splash. On the cards today was a pre-organised family and friends reunion,...
by | Aug 12, 2017 | Europe Jul 17
Europe – July 2017Day 14 – Kerkrade to Center ParcsFriday 11th August Once again, a gloriously late start to the day was on the cards this morning. We couldn’t leave things too late, of course, since we’re checking out of Kasteel Erenstein. We’ll be back...
by | Aug 12, 2017 | Europe Jul 17
Europe – July 2017Day 13 – KerkradeThursday 10th August We had a slow start this morning. Since I wasn’t sure whether breakfast was or wasn’t included in our stay, I dressed and wandered down to reception to inquire – in that order. Fortunately breakfast...
by | Aug 11, 2017 | Europe Jul 17
Europe – July 2017Day 12 – Paris to KerkradeWednesday 9th August As planned, we had a late start to the day. To be honest, I think we were still all pretty lethargic from the past few days. We’re really going to need a holiday after this one. Be that as it...
by | Aug 10, 2017 | Europe Jul 17
Europe – July 2017Day 11 – Disneyland ParisTuesday 8th August Sandy didn’t sleep much last night. I woke up and found her using the toilet as a seat and the bathroom counter next to her as a desk. It’s just about the only space to sit anywhere here in this...
by | Aug 8, 2017 | Europe Jul 17
Europe – July 2017Day 10 – Arrival at Disneyland ParisMonday 7th August Since we wanted to spend as much of the day as possible exploring the Disneyland Paris parks today, I was fortunate to have remembered to set the alarm for this morning. I got up...
by | Aug 6, 2017 | Europe Jul 17
Europe – July 2017Day 9 – Catacombs and Eiffel TowerSunday 6th August We made a conscious decision to not try to cram as much as possible in today and not to worry about getting up and out very early. This resulted in an absolutely terrific slow start with...
by | Aug 6, 2017 | Europe Jul 17
Europe – July 2017Day 8 – Seine river cruise & Notre DameSaturday 5th August A blissfully lazy start to the day awaited us this morning. Although we originally planned a fairly packed schedule here in Paris, Sandy and I mulled it over and we’ve decided...
by | Aug 5, 2017 | Europe Jul 17
Europe – July 2017Day 7 – Arrival in ParisFriday 4th August The mood this morning was a tad sombre. Once again, we find ourselves saying goodbye to loved ones. It never gets easy. Fortunately, Sandy had already done most of the packing last night but there...
