I was awake early so sat out on the balcony with a gorgeous view to the beach.

After a lovely coffee on the balcony we wandered down to the private beach for the hotel and apartments complex.

We got chatting to some of the other guests on the beach and they were saying not to go into the sea as the current was really strong.

I really wanted to go for a swim in the sea so we decided to go for a stroll towards Speightstown and see what was on the way.

We walked for a few minutes and passed some shacks and houses. The houses are called Chattels. They are small wooden movable houses. The term goes back to the days when the home owners would buy houses that could be moved from one plantation or property to another. The wooden house would just sit on blocks. The landlord generally owned the land, but once slavery was abolished, the homeowner could move the property and work for another landlord.

We passed the Marina at Port Ferdinand.

And on the other side of the bridge you could see the Pier One restaurant at Port St Charles.

The water here looked much calmer and as we wandered along we saw a public footpath to the beach, so we went down and found a lovely spot in the sun.

We swam and sunbathed for a while.

After a bit, we were a little peckish, so we decided to go and find somewhere for lunch.

We walked back along the road to a shack called ‘Sip and Lick’ where we stopped to try the local beer – Banks Beer.

The shack was right on the beach and it was just so relaxing.

After a beer, we literally walked over the road to Joan’s Snackette for lunch. We decided to go for the local special, which was a ‘Roti’. This is a flatbread filled with spicy meat or fish and potatoes – it was delicious.

The little shacks don’t look like anything special bit everyone is really friendly and chatty – other tourists, as well as the locals.

After lunch, we headed back to the apartment, buying some fruit on the way.

We decided to go and relax by the pool where I think we all had a little sleep.

After a refreshing shower we had a gin on the balcony before heading into Speightstown.

We made a stop at Braddy’s Bar to have a beer and watch the sunset.

The sunset was lovely again.

Once the sun went down, around 6-630pm, we decided to walk into Speightstown. A bus did go past and asked if we wanted a lift, but we stupidly said no!

It took us about half an hour to walk into town. We stopped at the Fisherman’s Pub for some dinner. I had grilled marlin with plantain and vegetables.

After dinner, we literally walked next door to Little Bristol Beach Bar where they had some live music and Mags made a new friend.

Everything here in Barbados starts early and finishes quite early. Once the band stopped we jumped in a taxi and went back to Joan’s Snackette as we had been told it was a good place to go on a Wednesday night. And it didn’t dissapoint. We had a great time chatting and dancing with the locals. One of the guys, Douglas, was an amazing dancer.

The music was amazing too – it was backing tracks and a steel drummer, Rodney, who gave us all a wicked lesson on how to play them.

We walked home and went to bed. A great first day.

It was an early start, and Ticket (Christian) kindly picked me up at 630am. and drove me to the airport.

I was the last of our group to arrive, even though I probably lived the closest. So Karen, Margaret and Faye were all chatting together, waiting fir me. We dropped off our bags, did a bit of duty free shopping (gin and vodka) and headed to the lounge.

We ate breakfast here and had a few glasses of wine and soda and g&ts. You had to pay extra for prosecco, which was a bit disappointing.

After a relaxing start to the holiday we boarded the plane and ended up with 3 seats between 2 of us as the flight wasn’t that busy. I mentioned it was Karen and Margaret’s 60th birthdays so the steward kindly gave us a glass of champagne each.

I watched a couple of films and tried to sleep for a bit. Although the flight was around 9 hours long it didn’t feel like it.

I took some photos coming into Barbados. It looks quite green and the water looked beautiful.

Karen had arranged with our accommodation for us to be picked up at the airport.

We had a lovely and chatty taxi driver, Elizabeth, who gave us lots of hints and tips on the way. The traffic was really awful so we ended up going down the back roads which were much more interesting. We passed Rhianna’s house.

As we got to our apartment, which is amazing, the sun was setting so we took dome photos from our balcony.

After a quick Rum.punch we geaded to the Fush Pot restaurant which is literally over the road from us. We sat and had a cocktail on the beach and then headed into the restaurant.

The food was delicious. I just had a starter as it was quite late and I wasn’t that hungry.

It was a very relaxing end to the day. When we got back to ours, we just unpacked and went to bed.

We didn’t get up too early as we were out late the night before. We had managed to extend checkout for one of the rooms so left all our bags there as we headed out for breakfast.

We met Mark and Jim at a lovely Cuban restaurant and I filled up on black beans, rice, with avocado and eggs.

After breakfast we revisted Miami Ink as we wanted to have a look inside.

From here we headed down to the Art Deco Centre. On the way we passed a lovely art deco house that is owned by Versace.

There are some really nice buildings down Ocean Drive. Thos is down to a lady called Barbara Baer Captiman. In 1979, under her leadership, the Miami Beach Architectural District became the first urban 20th century historic district to gain registration on the National Register of Historic Places. Barbara was known to stand in front of bulldozers to protect the art deco buildings and over 800 art deco buildings remain as a testament to her defiance. The drab run-down hotels on Ocean Drive were revitalised and painted in pastel colours.

Once we got back to the hotel we quickly got changed, said goodbye to Mark and Jim and took an Uber to the airport.

Once we had checked in and done a bit of dropping, we relaxed with a drink as our flight was delayed.

There was a guy sitting near us who was taking his little dog on a flight.

We landed in Lisbon around one and a quarter hours later than we should have. This meant I had to run to the gate to get my connecting flight from Lisbon to Gatwick. I made it but unfortunately my bag didn’t.

There was a lovely sunset the night I got home.

Last night we had to say goodbye to Sid, Steve and Nod as they were flying back home early this morning.

After having a bit of a lie in we decided to explore the area around the hotel. Our first stop was Miami Ink which has become world famous for its tattoos. We could only take some pictures from the outside as they didn’t open til later in the morning.

As we wondered down Washington Street we found a lovely little cafe and stopped for breakfast. Their juices and smoothies were delicious as was their Acai bowl.

We walked all the way down Washington Street past some beautiful buildings including City Hall, the Police Station (with a pink police car), the Wolfsonian Museum and a diner from an old air bus.

There was also an old Bridge Tender House which is one of two stainless steel hexagonal structures at the end of what was the Northwest 27th Avenue Bridge over the Miami River. The bridge was rebuilt in the 1980s but the Tender House was saved from demolition.

We also walked past a nightclub that had some great modern architecture.

At the end of the street we ordered an Uber into the city of Miami. The first place we visited was the area of Wnywood where there is some amazing street art. It has become a haven for aspiring painters, graffiti artists, creatives and young innovators.

Back in the 1970s Wynwood was just a collection of aging warehouses but in 2009, Tony Goldman opened Art Basel and the neighbourhood became an open air art gallery and a neighbourhood of art appreciation. One of my favourite murals was the one below.

Whilst we were in Wynwood we saw one of the Miami trolley buses.

After a coffee break we decided to get the bus back to the city centre and have a wander around Downtown Miami. We passed lots of huge court buildings.

There were also a lot of chickens just walking around the streets and lying down under the trees. Until 12 years ago ‘chicken busters’ would round up the feral chickens from the streets but thst service no longer exists.

We also saw one of the skyline trams pass overhead.

We walked down to the Freedom Tower. This is currently a contemporary art museum as well as an office for the Miami Dade University. During the Cuban Revolution it was used to house Cubans fleeing from communist Cuba to Florida. There is a huge Cuban influence across all of Miami.

From here we walked over to the Port of Miami. In 1897 the Port started to be used as a passenger service between Miami and Key West. Since then it has grown to become the ‘Cruise Capital of the World’ and is unique in that it caters for both cruise ships and continental cargo vessels.

At the port there is a Global Structure which represents all of the various modes of transport that have reached Miami to develop.

From here we walked through Bayside. This is a two storey shopping centre wrapped by Biscayne Bay with the marina at its side.

There were some Angel Wings here too so we took photos, and also a live wall too.

Hard Rock Cafe is located in Bayside so we paid it a visit to buy some tops and have a beer.

As we were sitting outside having a beer a little bird came to pay us a visit, I don’t know what it was.

It had started to rain as we were drinking our beer so we called an Uber to take us back to our hotel.

We had a few pre-drinks before heading out to an Italian restaurant at nearby Espanol Way.

Ali and I had a Mojito cocktail which was rather large and came with a sugar cane stick. The food was delicious – I had oysters and shrimp pasta.

This was a great restaurant for our last night as everyone was really friendly and the waiters got us all waving our serviettes to a particular song. Mark pretended it was his birthday so the waiters also came and sang happy birthday to him.

After dinner we headed back down Ocean Drive and decided to stop at a venue called The Palace as they were playing great music. This venue was hone to some great drag quenns and some nice looking bar staff!

There was a lot of street art inside the venue too.

We had a few drinks and a great night dancing.

And then it was back to the hotel for a nightcap in bed.

It was time to say goodbye to Hutchinson Island and head off to our final stop of the trip – Miami.

We packed up our bags and the bus for the drive down to Miami. It rained quite a lot on the drive down and on the way we passed the Hard Rock Hotel that was still being built.

We were staying in Axel Beach Hotel which is LGBTQI + friendly and very obviously so.

Once we had sorted out our rooms it was time to say goodbye to Bob. It was really sad to see him go and he and Cindy had gone above and beyond in organising the trip.

We were planning to head to the beach but it was pouring down with rain with thunder and lightening too. So we headed to the bar instead.

Sid and Sherrien decided to go for a swim and entertained us all with their attempts to get on the inflatable unicorn.

After a while the rain stopped so we decided to go and explore Miami Beach.

As we were on the beach a huge cruise ship went past.

There were some strange looking birds on the beach.

We wandered down the beach for a while until we got to the infamous muscle beach – unfortunately there was very little muscle on show.

We walked back along Ocean Drive and popped in to a few of the shops along the way.

We walked back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

As we were in Miami we decided to make a bit of an effort and get dressed up.

We walked down Ocean Drive again and stopped at Cardozo Hotel for some Cuban cuisine. Ali and I shared a starter of calamari and a cerveiche sampler, both were delicious, along with margaritas.

We finished the meal with a Calypso coffee, which had loads of cream on it.

We had to go into the hotel to use the toilet so took the opportunity to take some more photos.

After dinner we had a little wander down Ocean Drive before heading back to the hotel.

At the hotel Sarah, Sherrien, Ali and I had a nightcap at the bar and chatted to Eduardo and Alejandro as they served our drinks.

It was then time for bed.

All of the ladies got up early to watch the sunrise and have a swim.

It was a beautiful sunrise and the wea was lovely and warm, although it was a bit choppy.

After a delicious breakfast of fruit and yoghurt we headed off to the Everglades for an air boat tour with Captain Bob.

The Everglades National Park is a 1.5-million-acre wetlands preserve. It feels like a grassy, slow-moving river, the Everglades is made up of coastal mangroves, sawgrass marshes and pine flatwoods that are home to hundreds of animal species, including the Alligators. It contains the largest mangrove ecosystem in the Western Hemisphere

One of the first things we saw were the Anhinga birds. The name translates to ‘snake’ or ‘devil’ bird and they are also sometimes known as water turkeys. The birds were sitting in the Cyprus trees but when they are in the water they look like a snake as they swim with only their heads out of the water.

As we moved through the water we came across some purple hyacinth. The flowers on this plant bloom and then die every day, with new flowers coming the next day.

We saw an alligator quite early on in the trip. To start with you could only see the eyes and nostrils above the water. As we stopped in the swampy area we were surrounded by swamp gnats – they don’t bite but are really annoying.

We saw a great blue heron which is a very tall wading bird that measures around 4ft in length when it’s neck is fully extended. It has a wingspan of 6ft.

Hiding in the grass we also spotted a yellow bellied slider (turtle). This is a land and water turtle and is very common in Florida.

We were also lucky enough to see one of the rarest birds on the Everglades, the snail kite. This is a bird of prey that has evolved and adapted to be able to eat snails. Their beaks are hooked so they can pull the snail out of the shell. They are an endangered species, although their numbers are increasing.

We also saw a great egret among the grass.

We saw several alligators on the tour ranging from small babies up to one’s that were around 9 ft long. These are the largest reptiles in. North America and can reach speeds of up to 30mph on both land and in the water. Around 200,000 alligators live in the Everglades.

On the trip we also saw swamp chicken and a blue tailed gackle but the photos aren’t that good.

A lot of the Cyprus trees we passed were dying and covered in Spanish Moss.

A lot of the Cyprus trees also housed the ospreys nests. Ospreys are birds of prey in the hawk family. They mate for life and always return to the same nest each year. They have a reversible outer toe which allows them to have a good, stable grip on branches.

It was strange to think that not that long ago the wetlands were used for crops and cattle as they had been drained. By the early 1970s around 62% of the area we were in had been drained for agricultural purposes and canals were dug to divert the water into the Indian River Lagoon. In 1977 a restoration project started as diverting the water also diverted all ghe nutrients etc. Part of the area we rode on even used to be a race track.

It was a brilliant tour, we all loved it.

Back at the beach huts we made up some lunch and headed to the beach. Bob made his margaritas- which were delicious. We swam and sunbathed for a bit.

We had a look around the smallsrina at our resort (Ocean Resort). We were hoping to spot some mantee but unfortunately they weren’t around.

We headed back to ours to freshen up.

We had some baked brie with red wine before heading out to ‘Pickled’ for dinner. Ali and I weren’t that hungry so we shared some starters.

It was an early night for everyone.

I woke up and a few minutes later Sid came out of her room on the way to the beach to watch the sunrise. I decided to join her and we wandered down together. It was very quite and peaceful and the sunrise was beautiful.

After breakfast we headed back down to the private beach with our chairs and tent shades.

The men decided to surprise us and dress up.

The sea was quite rough with a really strong current but we dipped in and out throughout the day.

During the day we also did a bit of nature spotting.

We saw a type of sandpiper called a Willet along the wave line. These are quite large shorebirds that eat small crabs, other crustaceans, small mollusks, sometimes small fish and also eat some plant material, including grass, fresh shoots, and seeds. When they run along the beach they remind me of road runner.

We also saw an Atlantic ghost crab which is a common crab in this area. The crabs can live up to 3 years and can move at speeds of up to 10mph. The crab we saw was obviously on the defensive but once left alone he scuttled off.

There were quite a few pelicans around. We saw them diving into the water to catch the fish too.

As well as sunbathing we had a few drinks on the beach and took some photos.

Late afternoon we wandered back to the house and sat down by the river, Indian River. As we were down there we saw a couple of dolphins swim by.

Before heading out for dinner we had some baby guinesses, expertly made by Sid.

For dinner we went to ‘Little Jims’.

As the Mahi Mahi fish had been so delicious the night before I went for the Mahi tacos with a coconut mohito.

The place was really nice, the food was very tasty and the staff were really friendly.

After dinner everyone came back to ours for a few drinks. We sat out by the river, and despite putting insect repellent on, I got eaten alive.

We went to bed around 1am after I ‘politely’ asked everyone to leave as my bedroom is the lounge.

After a good night’s sleep we left the hotel and popped over the road for breakfast – there was loads of choice of pancakes, bacon, egg, mushrooms, sausage, toast, fruit and beverages. We filled up and then set out on our way to Florida which was around another four hour drive.

In the afternoon we started on the beers and had a bit of a sing song on the bus.

Once we got to Florida we spent a little bit of time exploring our accomodation, which is like a beach hut right by the water. Outside our hut is the intercostal waterway. Thos is a 3,000-mile inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, then following the Gulf Coast to Brownsville, Texas

We are in Fort Pierce, Florida on Hutchinson Island. Fort Pierce is named after the Fort Pierce Army Post that was built in 1838.

Some weird facts about Florida; it is illegal for a doctor to ask a patient if they own a gun, it is illegal to break more than 3 dishes a day and unmarried women are prohibited from parachuting on a Sunday.

After we had sorted put our rooms – I’m on the sofa in the lounge – we headed down to the beach. We went for a swim in the sea which was warm but quite rough.

After a while it started to rain but it was only a passing shower.

We went back home when we started to get a little cold, had showers and headed out to Sharky’s for dinner.

We watched the sunset before we headed out.

The food here was amazing. We shared some Mahi bites fir starters and I had buffalo shrimps and sweet potatoes fries with blue cheese sauce and mixed vegetables for main.

The Mahi mahi fish is known as the common dolphin fish and it was really meaty and tasty.

The moon was shining bright and you could see Jupiter to the right of it as well.

When we got back home we sat on the deck and chatted for a bit. There were a lot fish jumping in the water.

It was a lovely end to the evening.

This morning we were up, showered, had a small breakfast and coffee, bus packed and on the road by 7am!

I took a quick photo of the sunrise before we left.

We had around a three and a half trip to Graceland in Memphis and had booked a tour for 10:45am.

It was quite busy when we arrived at Graceland but they split you into smaller groups so it feels OK, although there is quite a bit of waiting around at the beginning.

The tour starts at Elvis’ Graceland House. Tourists are only allowed in the downstairs part as the upstairs has been left as it was when Elvis died.

Elvis bought Graceland in March 1957 and paid $103,500 for the house and 13.8 acres of land. He was just 22 years old. He had a stone wall built around the perimeter of the property and installed the music themed wrought-iron gates.

Elvis lived at Graceland with his parents Gladys and Vernon as well as his paternal grandmother Minnie-May.

The furniture and decor in the rooms are amazing. In the dining room the crockery on the table is a gift Elvis and Priscilla received for their wedding.

These are the ground floor rooms and are the lounge which includes a baby grand piano, the dining room, Elvis’ mum’s bedroom, the kitchen and then the stairs going up as well as the ones leading to the lower floor, which are all mirrored.

On the lower ground floor is the jungle room, which is an extension built onto the original house as well as the pool room and media room.

We then walked across the outside paddocks to the recording (Vernon) studio and also a small area where Elvis practised shooting with his friends.

We then walked through a space where there was lots of information about Elvis and his family. Elvis and his parents originally lived in Tupelo and in relative poverty. They moved to Memphis in 1948 so Gladys and Vernon could find work.

The next area showed various trophy and items from Elvis’ life and lots of photographs of him. One of the items was a tv that had been gifted to Elvis by a film company and there was also a photo of his favourite horse- Rising Sun. Elvis made 31 films during his life.

We then wandered outside again to the Meditation Garden where Elvis is buried alongside his mother, his father and his grandmother.

Elvis Presley was originally buried next to his mother at Memphis Forest Hill Cemetery, but his body was moved back to Graceland after an attempt was made to steal his coffin and hold the remains the ransom. His mother’s body was also then moved to Graceland.

It was actually quite emotional standing by the grave of such a superstar.

As we walked out of the garden I spotted a butterfly and took a photo.

As we drove back towards the entrance we passed the wall that everyone signs.

Our next stop was to have a look at all the cars – all owned by Elvis and this was only part of his collection. Obviously there was the focus pink cadillac as well as the 1970 Mercedes-Benz 600 Saloon Limousine which was one of the.mpst expensive cars Elvis owned.

There was then another area which provided a lot of the information about Elvis’ life in the army as Private Presley.

It was during his time in the army that Elvis met Priscilla, who was just 14 when they first met. They eventually married in May 1967 in Vegas when Priscilla turned 21.

In February 1967 Lisa Marie Presley.

The last stop of the tour was to the aeroplanes, one which was named after Lisa Marie. The plane was certainly very luxurious.

It was an amazing tour and quite surreal at times.

After a quick lunch stop at Burger King it was back on the road for the long journey to Lake City.

The total mileage for the day was 867 miles and we passed through 5 states: Tennessee. Mississipi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida.

In America every 5 miles of the highway have to have a 1 mile landing strip. This is 1 mile of straight road so a planes could land. This means that a plane can land anywhere in the country and was introduced by Eisenhower.

On the journey you could see the full moon, the Hunters moon.

Ali, Sarah and I shared a bottle of red wine on the journey – it was hard to take a photo as the roads were very bumpy!

We arrived at the Holiday Inn in Lake City around 130am. I had a whole room to myself and slept really well.

Today we had a lazy morning before getting ready to go shopping. We left Bob and Cindy to bit of peace and quite and headed into town.

Our first stop was Hard Rock Cafe where I bought a hoodie.

We then wandered down Broadway in the search for cowboy boots, and passing lots of interesting stores on the way.

We stopped off at the Lucky Bastard Saloon for a photo opportunity. We also had some jello shots as they were buy one get one free.

We carried on walking through town to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

We were planning to have a look around but the queue was massive so we just took some photos and left.

On the tour the day before our guide had pointed a boot shop that was good  quality but not too expensive so we made our way back there down some of the side streets.

I did end up buying a pair of cowboy boots which I then had to wear for the rest of the day.

Not far from the boot shop are the famous Angel Wings, so we made our way over to them. There was a bit of a queue to have your photo taken but Ali, Sherrien and I decided to wait, the rest of the group went to the pub.

On our way back to Broadway we passed a shop with another photo opportunity.

Back on Broadway we stopped off at a Tapas restaurant for a late lunch. It was quite expensive and the service was rubbish so we asked them to remove the service charge from the bill.

From here we decided to explore Printers Alley. On the way we passed the Ryman Auditorium. This is a huge live venue and is the original site of the Grand Ole Opry. It is known as the mother Church of Country music and the birthplace of bluegrass.

The Auditorium was originally called the Union Gospel Tabernacle and was commisdioned to be built by Thomas Ryman, a steamboat captain.

There were other statues around the Auditorium as well.

From here we headed down Printer’s Alley. In its earlier days there were a series of posts where men bound for the courthouse hitched their horses. By the turn of the twentieth century it had become the center of Nashville’s printing industry; in its heyday, circa 1915, thirteen publishers and ten printers were located in the area serviced by the alley. Nashville’s two largest newspapers, The Tennessean and the Nashville Banner, had their offices here at one time. Now it is mainly smaller bars and restaurants, many of which have kept a lot of the original features.

We peeked in a few of the bars and decided to stop for a beer in one of them. Like everywhere in Nashville there was live music.

And then it was time to head home to catch the last of the sun on the rooftop of our house.

Bob and Cindy made a delicious dinner of steak, baked potatoes and salad. It tasted so good.

And then we had a little party with some great DJ’ing by Jim.

Before heading to bed I took a quick photo of the moon.