Adventure Awaits

Well the countdown is well and truly into single digits, the week ahead is planned out and today, as I start writing this post, is probably our last completely 'normal' and relaxed day before the adventure begins. It has been our usual Monday with a home gym workout, followed by a sauna and then a lovely two and a half mile walk to our favourite coffee shop. A couple of coffees and a little time for Simon to get some art done and for me a little bit of port research and writing time before heading back home and the mundane tasks of laundry and grocery shopping.

The early part of this week is all about getting things prepped ahead of the end of week madness. I am determined to get the majority of the packing completed over the next few days rather than it all happen at the last minute!

And now as I come back to this post my hair has been refreshed... 

Back to my nice and bright pink hair!

...a segment for my podcast has been recorded, my nails have been 'Disneyfied'...

Cute nails...a touch of Disney to hopefully last a tad over four weeks!

...Simon has had his haircut and the majority of the packing is done! 

This does mean that our last full day at home can be taken at a fairly relaxed pace. We have enjoyed a breakfast out followed by a treat of coffee and cake as we walked the 3 miles home - hoping the 16000 steps walked by lunchtime has burned off the shared cake!!

Brekkie at one of our favourite local spots

And a little stop on the walk back home for some carrot cake!

The Uber has been booked to get us to our local train station, e-Sims have been bought ready for use when we get to the US, last minute jobs around the house have been done (always nice to come back to a clean and tidy house), check lists have been checked, checked again and checked once more just for good measure.

I'd achieved my goal and managed to get the majority of the packing done before the end of the week by getting everything in compression packing cubes which meant on Friday all I had to do was to get the cubes into the cases! I'd been a bit clever by making sure that one of the cubes had the clothes we would need for our first couple of nights in Southampton so that we wouldn't have to 'unpack' prior to boarding on the Monday. Next it was getting the backpacks sorted with all those things we wanted to have close to hand...and then everything was all done...which meant packing paranoia set in and I began questioning whether we had everything we needed! Or it could just be that taking our third big trip in around 18 months means that I'm now getting better at packing?!

All that remained was to grab some takeout food with our son and spend some time with him before we disappear for a few weeks. Oh and before I forgot I remembered to paint my toenails!

All that was left was to get a good nights sleep ahead of our first travel day!

Disney Time Again!

We have a countdown that is moving along at a pace but are we ready?

Everyone loves a countdown and you can't beat one that involves Disney but how come the closer you get to that all important date the faster it seems to go? And that is exactly where we are at the moment! Are we ready? Have we got everything sorted? Are plans in place? Do we even know what we are doing and more importantly when we are doing it? Well at times it can all feel a little bit out of reach but I think if we go through it all I am probably more prepared than I think we are...well at least I hope so!

So what is happening?

Well it may be a little obvious but yes we are going to Disney! What again? Yes again!!

Late last year we were extremely fortunate to take a transatlantic Disney cruise from Southampton in the UK to Port Canaveral in Florida and loved it so much that we booked a Disney 'placeholder' whilst on board. This gives you a discount on a future cruise booking if taken in the following two years, but if you don't they give you your deposit back! Win! We had friends (made on our very first Disney cruise back in 2023) who had already booked this years transatlantic which made it a very easy decision to book again for this year to join them.

Now flash forward a few months and unfortunately our friends had to cancel their booking due to work commitments but this didn't deter us from our plans. So we are now fast approaching our sail away date that will see us leave the UK for Port Canaveral followed by a couple of weeks at Walt Disney World.

Last year our transatlantic cruise on the Disney Fantasy left the UK in early November which did mean that some of the weather we had whilst at sea was a tad choppy! Crossing the Bay of Biscay was 'interesting' to say the least and resulted in a day spent mainly in our cabin only venturing out for more carbs than I had eaten in the preceding 12 years! We also had one port day cancelled due to the severity of the weather which ultimately resulted in an unplanned, but very much appreciated, stop at Disney's private island, Castaway Cay. But this year our cruise is happening in mid-September which is the usual time of year that Disney have their transatlantic cruise back to the US, so we are hoping for calmer weather!

Enjoying our surprise stop at Castaway Cay - November 2025

Our travels will start by taking a couple of trains from our home in the middle of the UK down to the South coast and the port of Southampton. We have purposefully booked a hotel for a couple of nights before we set sail so that not only do we take away some of the stress of travelling but we will also be able to spend some time with our daughter and her partner as they live close by. 

Our cruise check-in was completed a few weeks ago and we have our 'port arrival time' confirmed, and all printed out. This year we are aboard the Disney Dream and our itinerary sees us visit Vigo in Spain, Lisbon in Portugal and Funchal in Madeira with our final destination being Fort Lauderdale in Florida after seven consecutive days at sea! We haven't booked any port excursions as each port is within walking distance of their main centres and we will simply get off the ship, walk, explore, find a coffee and soak up the atmosphere. And on one of our sea days we have brunch booked at Palo one of the up-charge restaurants aboard the ship. The cruise is very much a chance to switch off, decompress and watch the world float by!

Once we reach Fort Lauderdale we will then take the Brightline train to Orlando. We have opted for their 'premium' seats as after taking advantage of a discount code they only cost us $5 more than their 'standard' seats. This means that we will have access to their Premium Lounge at the train station with free drinks and nibbles and then while on board we will be served complimentary meals! The train gets us to Orlando International Airport where we will pick up a Mears Shuttle to take us to our Walt Disney World resort hotel; Coronado Springs.

Coronado Springs at night is stunning - taken February 2025

We had the pleasure of staying at Coronado Springs in February 2025 for just a couple of nights before our 3 night sailing on the Disney Wish and were impressed by how beautiful the resort was. We had chosen this resort because in 2013 (our last visit to Walt Disney World prior to February 2025) we had been booked to stay here but upon arrival were upgraded to the Wilderness Lodge (that is a story in itself). So when we needed a hotel for just a couple of nights we decided to stay at the hotel we'd never gotten to experience. So when it came to booking for this vacation we decided that we wanted to stay at one of Disney's 'moderate' resorts and the only request from Simon was that he'd love it if there was a gym we could use...well Coronado is the only 'moderate' resort that has a gym (in fact it has two!) which made that decision an easy one. And because it's a convention hotel it has some of the expected 'perks' of a higher graded hotel but at a more affordable price - kind of the best of both worlds!

We then have two weeks to spend at 'the most magical place on earth' and those friends we made on our first Disney cruise will be joining us for the first part of our vacation. And we have friends from Texas who will also be at Disney and we have arranged to catch up with them over BBQ!

Tickets for the parks have been bought, spreadsheets are in progress, dining reservations have been made, plans with friends are in place and all the necessary transportation has been booked to get us there and home again. 

What is left to do? Well I need to sort my e-Sim for when we are in the US. Packing needs to be done and I am currently working out what we actually need and what needs to be in our hand luggage and what can stay in our main luggage. After all I need to make sure we have appropriate outfits for both the cruise (pirate night...need I say more) and the parks as well as keeping within weight limits and more importantly ensuring sufficient room for anything that I may pick up along the way!!

And just to add a small amount of inconvenience to proceedings I had an unexpected visit to the dentist in the last few days after a crown decided to fall out...perfect timing I think not...so a temporary fix is now in place until after our travels. I have the very important hair and nail appointments in the calendar, and we have now hit the single digit countdown! The Google calendar is clearly laid out with appointments and things to do so all that remains is to stop typing and actually get some things done!

March 2025

Well...It's been a while so I better get typing!

Well....here we are once again, and once again the time between posts has been so much longer than I would have liked, and had planned for. But sometimes things happen that cause the best of plans to go astray! 

In fact as I type I realised that this post has been sat waiting to be finished since late July!! So I think we need to get this done!!

Since retiring our focus on life has changed and the direction in which we find ourselves going has emerged organically over the last few months. I have always said that being retired gives you the opportunity to do what you want, when you want, where you want, if you want and with the people you want! This approach has enabled us to tackle life differently to all those years when work, inevitably, was the constant, and by default, the driving force behind how our lives played out.

But this retired way of life has taken a little time to adjust to, and being able to live in the moment rather than conforming to day to day demands has been interesting, especially as I am someone who likes (and has a need) to be organised and have everything planned out.

Simon often refers to us as Peter Pan and Wendy...he is Peter wanting to fly and explore in all directions while I am Wendy always wanting to keep us safe and calm. But together we compliment each other; Simon will push me outside of my comfort zone and I will temper his desire to fly too high and in that way we find our way through this crazy thing called life.

So just what has life dealt us these past few months? Well at times it has all been a bit of a whirlwind! 

We have been able to get out and about with our fellow Star Wars cosplayers as part of The East Midlands Garrison. Devoting time for this at weekends is now much easier as we no longer have to juggle work and free time. We have also been able to get involved with special troops during the working week. In July we were able to support a local charity called Ducklings at the children's school within Nottingham Queens Medical Centre hospital. We have also taken part in our local comic con in Nottingham, Emcon; both during the event and helping with their promotion leading up to it. We were also able to get out to a special cinema troop which celebrated the 20th anniversary of The Phantom Menace, along with some smaller events along the way and at each event we helped raise money for The East Midland Garrison's chosen charity of Pasic.

Promoting Emcon in Nottingham - May 4th 2024

Cineworld Sheffield - The Phantom Menace 20th Anniversary

Simon’s extensive, four decade, career in video games has opened up the world of retro gaming with invitations to take part in various events. We had a lovely weekend at the Nottingham Video Games Expo where Simon not only spoke at the event but he was able to share some of his original game design documents along with selling some of his game related art. He was even able to produce a piece of canvas art live throughout the event. He has also worked with a local college to share his experiences of working within the industry with their students and is looking forward to more collaborations in the future.

Nottingham Video Games Expo - art in progress

Nottingham Video Games Expo - completed art

Earlier in the year Simon had used his knowledge of electronics to help a friend with their university project. They were completing their final year in costume design and needed help with the programming of LED lights in their Neuromancer inspired outfits. After attaining a first they had one last thing to complete; a catwalk show and we were invited to attend. It was a great evening filled with friends, laughter and too much Chinese food. 

My favourite band, White Lies, we're out and about with some special gigs playing two of their albums in full; Ritual and Big TV. We were able to make one of their gigs in Manchester and got to experience Big TV in its entirety. As this album features one of my all time favourite songs, First Time Caller, I was very happy and excited to be able to hear it live! And as a bonus we had a great couple of days in Manchester too!

White Lies at Gorilla, Manchester - July 2024

There have been lots of opportunities for catching up with family and friends. We've had movie nights, a dark arts craft fair, a retro computer museum evening and multiple cinema trips. There was a weekend visit to Bournemouth to see Molly and Dan to help celebrate Mollys birthday. They then came to see us a couple of months later which resulted in a trip to a local Ninja Warrior centre...I was the official photographer for the day and let everyone else throw themselves around!

An earlier trip to Amsterdam in April had opened up an opportunity for Simon which resulted in another visit, at very short notice, in early August. And that visit resulted in an art commission for Simon in which he had 3 weeks to create 6 paintings for a fashion show!

August also saw us make a trip to London to meet a new friend for lunch while Simon spent every spare minute drawing to ensure that his commission work would be completed on time. 

Grabbing every spare minute to draw - sat on the train home from London

We also made it to the Droid Builders UK event where Simon was able to show off a couple of his own builds!

Droid Builders UK meet-up - Simon's creations - August 2024

Ethan finally completed on his first house at the end of July, almost a year after first seeing it! But as there was a fair amount of renovating required there was a lot of work to be done; quotes, planning, house sitting and more to squeeze in around our busy schedule and Ethan's work! In fact as I write the house has now been rewired, plastered, decorated, a new boiler fitted, a new bathroom installed, numerous deliveries have been managed and the kitchen and flooring are now being fitted! All very busy, and all very exciting for him. And I think Simon and I have become unofficial project managers!!

Ethan finally getting into his first home for the first time...now waiting for all the renovations to be completed!

And while all that was happening Simon received an invite to speak at an Amiga event in Spoleto, Italy. An invite with some of the expenses paid...well that was an opportunity we couldn't turn down! We also decided to make the most of the flights and extend our stay by a taking a few extra days in Rome. So as Simon was busy drawing away for his art commission I was busy organising flights, car parking and hotels.

Oh and as September rolled around we also had our second Disney cruise and this time we had the kids join us. And four days after we returned home we flew out to Italy for a week!

And breathe...I am hoping that as life calms down I will be able to find more time for blog writing which will mean I can share more about our recent travels to Amsterdam, Italy and of course our time on the Disney Dream. But for now I will stop and recharge my batteries!