Tuesday 30 November

Today marked James’ first visit to Walt Disney World.  Graeme was feeling a bit off colour so Catherine, Elizabeth and James set off to the Magic Kingdom suitably attired.   They decided to park at Epcot as we had heard that the parking lot trams were not running at Magic Kingdom meaning a long walk.  It also meant that James could have his first ride on the monorail and on the ferry over to the entrance to Magic Kingdom. 

The first stop was to meet Mickey Mouse.  We couldn’t get close up to him because of Covid restrictions but he was on fine form.  James wasn’t sure what to make of him but certainly wasn’t frightened.  Fantasyland was the next stop after a walk up Main Street.  The queue for the Dumbo ride wasn’t too long but James wasn’t too sure what he thought of it.  Next stop was It’s a small world – always a family favourite.  James really enjoyed it – so much colour, lighting and music.  We then thought that James had had enough so took him home.

After a little time at the house, we went out for dinner to Longhorn Steak House with Dottie and Larry and then home via Posner Park to do a bit of shopping.

More photos later. Am having trouble accessing them via Google Pics.

While Graeme was at home he did a few DIY jobs around the house and also met a roofing contractor to ask how much a new roof would cost.  We don't need a new roof, but that's beside the point as far as the home insurance people are concerned.  If it's older than 10 years most of the won't cover it and our existing insurer is pulling out of 'hurricane-prone' areas.

He quoted us for two types of roof shingles, one guaranteed for 20 years and against winds up to 130 miles per hour while the other was guaranteed for 30 years and wind speeds of up to 150 mph. I gently pointed out that, while this was all very interesting, if insurance companies don't want to know after 10 years, then what's the point of having a Rolls-Royce roof?! With quotes either side of $15,000 I did think we might wait till we're pushed rather than risking jumping too early!

Monday 29 November

We wanted to get going earlier as it was likely to be a busy day at the house.

Elizabeth, Catherine and James set off in good time to get to Disney Springs as it would open and Graeme stayed at the house to receive the various tradesmen who were likely to arrive.

The first one to call was from Ireland Surveying and we wanted him to find the four iron rods in the ground which would mark the corner of our plot.  A very jolly guy, he was at the house for around 30 minutes with his theodolite and his magnetometer as Americans would describe it or metal detector as we might say!

He had barely gone when the arborist arrived to give us his view on the fast-growing oak tree on our front lawn. To my relief he suggested only a serious hair cut and not removal. I also asked him about the unattractive palm tree which he said would be best to remove. I said we’d prefer something more modest and more colourful and he suggested a magnolia which I thought was ideal.

I told him I’d need to get approval from the Home Owners’ Association and that we would like to go ahead with both projects when I had obtained clearance.

Later on Arthur Brown came – a specialist in irrigation and Smart home technology.  He had already made our pool controllable remotely – the pump, the temperature etc as well as getting our irrigation system controllable remotely. We were interested in having the lights at the front controllable remotely so that we could switch the external lights on from home when new guests might be arriving late and in the dark. This would save our property managers having to turnout during that day to switch them on remotely.

Having had our boundaries determined, we realized that part of our irrigation system was not actually on our property so will have to be moved before the developers at the back get too near to our boundary.

Following on from that we finally managed to get a quote for home insurance for 2022-2023 as our current insurers have given us notice that they are no longer insuring properties in hurricane areas. The other problem is the ongoing scam from insurers who are saying that they won’t insure roof coverings older than 10 years. As ours is the original from 2005, that could have been a problem. Most roof coverings here are so-called ‘shingles’ – a glorified version of roofing felt as far as I can tell and some insurers are now saying that whatever type of new roof covering is applied, the 10-year rule will be the same!

It as then a case of tea indoors as, while it might be 21C plus during the day, the temperature falls off steadily once darkness falls. Apparently, just as we leave the weather is due to warm up – exactly what happened when we were last here in early 2020.

Sunday 28 November

We decided today we'd have a free day at Disney by using their free transport around the outsides of the parks - Skyliner cable cars, boats and buses.  We didn't get to use the monorail today.

We set off good and early for Disney's Hollywood Studios and took the Skyliner from there to Epcot.  James especially enjoyed this new experience and Catherine hadn't been on them before.  Then it was a leisurely walk around The Boardwalk where we visited the Beach Club with its gingerbread carousel and one or two small shops on the boardwalk.

From there we took the bus to Magic Kingdom so that we could get a boat to Disney's prestigious Grand Floridian Hotel where each Christmas they build a real gingerbread house. Times were when they would give away gingerbread pieces to visitors. We saw a long queue and debated whether or not to join it. Then we saw the 'menu'. No freebies any more, but chargeable at more dollars than you might reasonably expect. The pandemic has changed the world in so many unexpected ways.  There was also the castle made out of chocolate.

After that it was a bus back to Hollywood Studios so that we could get lunch at Cheddar's and be back at the villa in time for a tree surgeon to come and advise on what to do with the - much bigger than when we last saw it - evergreen oak tree on our front lawn.  Needless to say, like the surveyor yesterday, he didn't show up and yet it was he who had volunteered to come on a Sunday!

After one or two jobs - some successful, others frustrating - it was surely time for a beer!