Last night was a long night and not one of the most pleasant flights I've ever had! We did have an enjoyable wait at the airport, though, as I treated myself and my Dad at the Duty Free and then we all sat at a bar near our gate and had a couple of drinks.
Just before we took off, we had the inevitable thunderstorm and took off into very dark skies, but from then on, I couldn't see anything as they closed the blind on the very back window. We all had seats in the middle, on row 65, which was the last from the back and I will never choose these seats again! As soon as we took off and the seatbelt light went out, everyone started gathering to visit the loos which were directly behind us. It carried on like that for much of the journey, even when the lights went out and we were all supposed to be asleep! Also, the area behind us was the spot chosen by two sets of parents with babies to try and lull their little charges to sleep so we had screams and cries for most of the night too, as the parents walked up and down rocking their children!
We eventually landed in Gatwick at 8am and faced the long walk to Passport control and baggage reclaim. It was horrendously busy. When we retrieved our cases I noticed a stain on the top of our largest bag and feared the worst as this contained three bottles of wine. When we opened the suitcase my white trousers which were lying on the top were wet and stained a light pink...
Further investigation revealed that all three bottles were OK so I think it was the heavy rain at Orlando airport that had caused the stain and the wet had made the fabric hangers I'd put in one of the top pockets stain the clothes beneath. Phew! I really didn't fancy smashed bottles and red wine stains all over my clothes!
We took the shuttle to the North Terminal and luckily a bus for the Summer Special parking came straight away. The weather was misty, grey and very gloomy. Not a nice welcome back at all!
Retrieving the car was very simple and straightforward and by 9.30am we were on the M23. I suppose, in retrospect, it hadn't been too bad! The children decided they were hungry so we stopped at the next services on the M25 to get some proper breakfast (the Virgin offering had been terrible) but just as we arrived several coaches disgorged what seemed like hundreds of people...the place was chaotic, crowded and noisy and after our eight hour flight with virtually no sleep, it wasn't the best place to be!
Abandoning McDonald's we headed to Greggs, where the children chose a pastry each and I had a much needed Latte. Back at the car, Keith took over as I felt like a zombie and he drove the rest of the way home. I stayed awake but the children were asleep within minutes.
Getting home after being away for two weeks always feels strange to me! The kids went straight to bed and I unpacked mine and Keith's cases and put a wash in the machine. I was missing the huge American washer and dryer already! The weather had stayed gloomy but at least it was warmish! Last year we arrived home to wet and misty weather and it was cold!
The rest of the day was spent doing very little. I had half an hour's nap, a long soak in the bath and caught up with some recorded episodes of Neighbours. Mikey slept until 5.30pm and Sophie kept napping on the sofa. Keith slept all afternoon while pretending to watch the cricket!
In the evening Keith and I went to order a Chinese from the van in the village and popped into the pub for an hour. The annual "Groove on the Green" was in full swing and the pub was quite busy. A group of men sitting next to the bar and laughing and chatting in very loud voices drove us to go into the back room - I think we were both shattered and longing for some sleep by now but, for me anyway, staying awake and then going to bed at the normal time does help to re-adjust.
We had an enjoyable Chinese take-away and just as we were settling down to watch a film, Mikey came downstairs and asked if he could run down to the village for the Groove on the Green and see his friends. By now, I was really tired and I said no, as I didn't want to have to go and pick him up or wait until he got home. Anyway, it transpired that he'd already told his mates he could go, so I was subjected to five minutes pleading, and then threatening, if we didn't let him go.
Worn out by the arguing Keith and I agreed he could go on the condition he was back on the dot of 11pm. We watched the film (The Call starring Halle Berry and very good!) and then we both stayed up until Mikey arrived home, which he did, five minutes before his time was up! As soon as he was through the door I was off to bed...thank goodness!
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