Of all the words in the English language I have an issue with, “goodbye” is probably at the top of the list. I’ve been an overly emotional person for as long as I can remember and struggle with attachments to people, places & things (perhaps why I took being left by my then girlfriend 20 years ago (see – I’m still talking about it!) so horribly) and find it very hard to let things go. I can hold a grudge for decades! The Greek philosopher Heraclitus postulated that “the only constant in life is change”, and whilst I ultimately agree with his assertion, as a creature of habit who becomes accustomed to certain patterns of company, locations, equipment and conveyances (I’m looking at you, Mirabeau), I find change a hard pill to swallow. Hell, I even felt sad when I sold my old iPhone 13 Mini last year having upgraded to a 15, thinking of all the journeys it had accompanied me on! I also tend to give things names (you again, Mirabeau!) which adds to my difficulty in moving on when the time (as it inevitably does) comes.

In 2015, whilst Sarah was 25 weeks pregnant with Joseph, we undertook our “final fling”; a then third trip to Orlando and a last holiday before we became parents. Sarah and I love Orlando; as silly as it sounds, returning there each time almost feels like coming home. At the end of that 2015 vacation, whilst feeling sad that it was time to leave, I noticed at the exit to Universal’s Islands of Adventure Theme Park a carving on an arch above the pathway which reads “…the adventure continues”. I decided then that this would not be goodbye – we’d visit Orlando again, someday, somehow, and as such, I stopped saying goodbye to people & places and instead, my parting farewell would be “until the next adventure”. It’s also a line from one of my favourite films of the 1980’s, “The Last Starfighter”, starring Lance Guest and Catherine Mary Stewart (both of whom I’ve had the pleasure of meeting, briefly at London Film and Comic Con. I have a signed print and a photograph with them both).

Ok, so, where the hell am I going with this? Well, that 2015 trip was indeed not the last time we would return to our adopted home-away-from-home; we have now in fact visited 9 times in total, with Joseph along for 4 of those (the first of which I have already written about in 2020 pre-pandemic). Our most recent adventure took place for 7 nights from 18th April 2024.

Having spent 10 nights on Disney property in the Summer of 2023 (I haven’t written about it or the two other vacations to Orlando which preceded it in August 2022 & March 2023 as I’ve been lazy and now the memories are not as sharp as they were!), we decided to spend our 7 night stay at Universal Studios Resort only, staying at Universal’s Endless Summer Resort: Surfside (we stayed at it’s sister hotel, Dockside in 2022). We’ve found that whilst it is more expensive than an off-property hotel, the facilities are much better and the constant stream of shuttle buses to and from each of Universal’s three Theme Parks are well worth the additional cost. This realisation was reached after a week in the Rosen Inn at Pointe in March 2023, which despite still being very comfortable and affordable, proved less convenient in terms of getting to and from where we wanted to be.

We flew out with Virgin Atlantic from Manchester on Thursday 18th April with an early afternoon flight just after 1pm (flying with TUI as we have on two previous adventures means arrival at Melbourne Airport (MLB) rather than Orlando International (MCO), which results in a 90 minute or so bus transfer to your resort rather than 20 minutes in an Uber) following a night at the Premier Inn at Manchester Airport, with my buddy Frank doing our Airport run as he always does. Despite Sarah being 5″1′ tall, she insisted on paying for extra leg room, which while costing more per person, does give the extra benefit of a quicker check-in, and priority bag-check & boarding. The staff at Manchester were stunned that we were checking just one suitcase, as I’d insisted we travel light this time given that we’d been able to use on-site laundry facilities at hotels for the preceding three holidays to clean clothes, meaning we’d only need a few changes for the week (all my gear except for anything in liquid form was stowed in my current trusty and daily-used backpack, my Lowe Alpine Edge 18).

Although Joseph usually manages the flight to Orlando without any trouble, he’s often sick on the way home. We’d attributed this to him being tired and not getting enough sleep on the flight, but this time he was ill several times on the flight out – I always feel bad having the crew take a bag of what is considered hazardous biological waste at the end of a flight! By the time we’d arrived at our hotel and checked in, the time back home was a little before midnight and so after dropping our gear in our lovely room with a pool view, we grabbed a quick bite to eat at the hotel’s Beach Break Café (pizzas all round) and crashed.

The following morning, we awoke early at around 4am local time (par for the course on our first day) and after a quick trip to the Walgreens handily right across the street for milk (this is our usual spot for room snacks, bottled drinks and other goodies, which I mentioned several times in my 2020 trip blog), we had a cereal breakfast before heading out to the parks. Our first full day was spent at Universal Studios (Studios), which would be closing at 6pm that day owing to there being a Cheer World Championship being held on site and the kids were being given the run of the parks after close. We arrived at the park a little after 07:30, waiting in line at the entry gates for 08:00 to roll around before being allowed inside. The first order of business was to obtain a new Assistance Pass, which we can use given that with Joseph’s ADHD, he has great difficulty waiting in line for rides. Essentially, this allows him to skip the regular wait line by being given a return time, after which he’s able to enter the Fast Pass line, meaning he very quickly (often within just a few minutes’ wait) makes it on to the ride. If only we’d known about the similar pass Disney offers in 2020 (DAS), we’d have been able to experience far more on that trip at their Parks (as would my parents, as all the people in your party get to use the benefit of the Pass).

It took just a few minutes to arrange having already been in Universal’s system, and we were then able to ride an attraction which was just being built when we last visited in March 2023, the Villain Con Minion Blast. You stand on a moving walkway with a wireless blaster and shoot at various targets on large screens which adjoin the walkway, including the villains from the various Despicable Me & Minion films. It’s a decent attraction, but Joseph is far more entertained by thrill rides and as such, as soon as we’re through and the ride is running, he’s immediately on the Hollywood Rip-Ride-Rocket rollercoaster with Mummy. I’ve ridden it a few times, but in my advancing years find it too uncomfortable to ride frequently. I promised Joseph that I would ride it at least once with him before we return home, however.

Our second day, Saturday 20th April, was spent in Islands of Adventure (IOA); we managed to wake a little later with the plan to spend the whole day in that individual Park given that we’d done the same in Studios the preceding day. On our previous vacations, there were just two attractions in IOA which Joseph was too short to ride – Dr Doom’s Fear Fall and The Hulk rollercoaster in Marvel’s Superhero Island. He was all too aware of this and so headed for both immediately to see if he was now tall enough to ride. Long story short – he’s ridden Dr Doom at least 8 times as I write, but unfortunately was just a centimetre too short to ride The Hulk. You can be sure if we make it to IOA again, he’ll ride it as many times as he can!

A trip to Volcano Bay, Universal’s Water Theme Park which stands on the opposite side of I-4 but is visible from Surfside, was on the cards for Sunday 21st April. We never did visit Wet ‘n’ Wild when it was open on the very plot of land where Surfside now stands, but have been to Volcano Bay several times and have enjoyed every visit (except for one time in 2020 when we brought the wrong shorts for Joseph and he refused to go in the water and sulked all morning). We arrived early as the Park was opening (following a trip to Walgreens for a new scuba mask), at the back of what seemed to be a large line. We were happy to see however, that once inside, it wasn’t too busy and that there were plenty of places to sit on the “beach” and lots of room to enjoy the pools. As luck would have it, the weather was overcast and a little cooler than the previous days, but the water was warm enough (unlike in March 2023 when it had been freezing!) and we enjoyed a few hours just relaxing and watching Joseph play. Sadly, he’s a little too big now for Runamukka and Tot-Tiki reefs, where he’d had a whale of a time playing on previous trips with any other kids who were happy to be his single-serving friend for the day. We cruised on the lazy river but didn’t try any of the slides – Joseph’s happy enough simply to swim with his scuba mask and do somersaults.

After a few hours, we head back to Surfside to change and return to Universal, where Joseph sinks another Nathan’s hotdog and fries from the Hotdog Hall of Fame. Sarah and I then head for our obligatory trip to Margaritaville, where I have my usual Cali-Club Sandwich and Sarah enjoys a Cheeseburger in Paradise washed down with a Margarita. We raise our glasses to the late-great Jimmy Buffet (this is the first time we’ve been able to visit since his passing) and note that although it’s only lunchtime, it’s 5 o’clock somewhere. I discovered a day or so later, that whilst we were at Volcano Bay, my YouTube hero Adam the Woo was filming his daily vlog on International Drive outside our hotel. Cue very sad face.

We’d decided that Monday 22nd April would be the day we’d deal with the “shopping” side of our vacation. We always venture out to at least one of the Premium Outlets (in actuality, we usually do both!) but Joseph is not a fan of shopping and insists that we be there for as short a time as possible. As such, we visit approximately 4 stores including the Disney Character Warehouse once we’d arrived by Uber and return back to Surfside within an hour with a few souvenirs we’d spotted in our prior research watching our usual Disney merch vloggers on YouTube (our favourite is Sabol Family Vlogs, and we were very lucky to meet Rob whist at Disney Springs in August of 2023 – he’s a lovely (and very tall!) guy) to drop off and then head out on foot to the small Disney Store on International Drive, just across the street from the Wyndham Orlando Resort, where we stayed during our first visit to Orlando in June 2013 (I’m somewhat sad to learn that the resort is soon to close and will likely be razed to make way for something new). Sarah spots the same Loungefly backpack which she’s had her eye on in the store (she keeps up with new releases on Disney’s UK online store), but we’d already seen the same item in the Disney Store at MCO shortly after our arrival and as such, she decides it’s better to pick one up there than to try and pack it into the one suitcase we’ve brought for all three of us.

A little further down the street is a restaurant I’ve wanted to try for some time, but haven’t managed to visit – Red Robin. Alas, as Joseph won’t eat a burger and Sarah’s worried about cross-contamination with any available gluten-free options, again, I miss out and it’s tabled for a visit on the next holiday, whenever that might be. We set off back toward Surfside, but with a couple of pitstops to make. Firstly, we call in at the Walgreens where I buy a small gift for my Father – a bottle of squeezy Smucker’s Concord Grape Jelly (I did bring him back a jar from our August 2023 Disney stay, but it has long since been devoured) and then, on to another restaurant location, where I will cross an item off my “must do” list.

It’s been more than 15 years since I first tried Taco Bell, during an ill-fated attempt to visit the Grand Canyon during my trip to Las Vegas in August/September 2008 with Miles for the closing ceremony of the Star Trek Experience at the Hilton (we’d rented a daft convertible which couldn’t scale the dirt hills needed to access the site during a heavy rain storm). The Tex-Mex chain is referenced in the 1993 Sylvester Stallone film Demolition Man, and at the time, we’d never even heard of the company. When Miles and I spotted the signage on our way back to the Vegas strip, we knew we’d have to give it a try and were hooked from the first bite. We’ve since had Taco Bell locations open in the UK (our nearest is York), but one of the things you can’t get on our UK menu, is the storied, sugar-filled and colouring so unnatural it’s likely illegal in Britain, Mountain Dew Baja Blast. Those who know me well would tell you I’m obsessed with soft drinks (or soda, as our American friends would say) – after all, my favourite thing about visiting Universal is the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines, which they also have at Surfside ($22 for an all-you-can-drink cup for 7 days!) and when I heard about this particular beverage on another YouTube channel and fellow Orlando enthusiast, Carb Slayer, I knew I had to try some whilst I was in town. As with most fast food joints these days, it’s a self-service screen system, which gives you the option to pay in cash at the counter on collection rather than using a card if you’d prefer. Looking to avoid non-Sterling transaction fees on my credit card, I place my order and am shortly called to collect, where I offer to pay with a $10 bill, having nothing smaller in my wallet. On seeing the cash and that I’d only ordered a small soda, the young fellow behind the counter simply gives me a cup and indicates that I don’t have to pay. Whilst this is very generous, I insist that I’m happy to pay for my order (perhaps feeling guilty since there’s only one other person in the restaurant!) but he’s resolute in that I can just help myself with no charge. I duly fill my cup to the brim with the radioactive-looking green liquid and head back outside into the 30C Orlando heat. It’s hard to describe – initially, you taste the familiar Mountain Dew flavour, but are then quickly hit by the (natural AND unnatural!) tropical juices, with a tingling sensation at the back of your tongue and in your throat as you swallow. I can only liken it to drinking liquid popping candy. I was instantly hooked (I’ve managed to buy some cans since returning home from an American foods importer – it’s not quite as good as buying it from “the Bell” mixed from syrup, but super-chilled, it’s still pretty amazing. I gave a can to Frank, who like me is a soda fiend and was equally impressed!).

We’d settled on re-visiting Chili’s for our evening meal, having enjoyed eating there on previous outings and with the prices being very reasonable. Whilst the food wasn’t bad at all, Sarah didn’t really enjoy her fajitas as much this time and the service wasn’t as attentive as it had been in our previous jaunts. I still doubt you can get a better deal for a starter, main and drink than the “Three For Me” offer for $10.99 (it was $9.99 in 2020!), especially given the large size of the burger I ordered and the very generous bowl of tortilla chips & salsa, which are cantina style and very crunchy. I’d have absolutely no issue visiting again, but given that we’d decided against returning to our previous long-time favourite haunt, UNO’s Pizzeria owing to poor service in March 2023 (I still don’t feel right about this – it’s a tradition when we’re staying on International Drive!), I suspect Sarah won’t be in a massive hurry to return to this Chili’s location in future. After dinner, we return to Surfside where Joseph is quickly in his shorts, and then, the pool.

I’ve mentioned in this blog that Sarah and I often watch quite a bit of YouTube (probably me far more than Sarah). A channel we have been watching recently is Mammoth Club, run by Molly, Alan and Max, who are all former Disney Parks employees. They show the various Disney, Universal and other Theme Parks in the US and overseas, go on cruise trips etc. and basically act as visual travel guides to show the places you’ll be going and give hints & tips for whilst you’re there. Sarah also follows them on Instagram (I don’t use much social media) and excitedly tells me that not only have they posted that they’re at Universal today, they’re actually staying for a couple of nights in the same hotel as us! So, on Tuesday 23rd April, our entire mission for the day was to find Molly and Alan (Max lives in LA) and say hi – hopefully not in a creepy, stalker-ish kind of way (even though that’s EXACTLY what we’re actually doing). We head to the parks, keeping an eye on Instagram for posts which might give away their location. We try Studios first, being sure to sweep for them (Alan is very tall and Molly is well above average height and has bright blonde hair) as we go. Then, Instagram gives the game away – they’re in the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley, inside the Wizarding World of Harry Potter section of the park having a spot of lunch. We head there immediately, Sarah peers inside… and sees them! I placate Joseph into putting up with what we’re doing with the use of a tactically deployed ice cream from Florean Fortescue’s parlour, and whilst we’re inside buying them (I also have my favourite strawberry & peanut butter hard-pack in a cone, whilst Joseph leans towards a soft-serve whippy style strawberry & vanilla cone), Sarah waits outside to intercept. By the time we exit, Sarah already has eyes on the target, and we wait for our unsuspecting prey to exit the store they were inside and stop filming before we pounce.

Molly And Alan are lovely; they’re only too happy to speak to us for a few minutes, and talk to Joseph too – Alan compliments him on his choice of Pokémon t-shirt (Alan has been a fan since childhood and even went as far as to have Pokémon tattoos). We tell them we really enjoy their channel and that it’s been a highlight of our trip to actually get to meet them in person; I also mention we’re staying in the same hotel, but promise not to bother them again if we see them (a look of relief momentarily crosses Molly’s face!). They happily take a selfie or two with us and, mission accomplished, we say thanks for their time and part ways, beaming like idiots, our holiday made.

We spent the rest of the day in the park before returning to Surfside for a takeaway from the Waves Café and a dip in the pool before bed. Sarah mentions that she’d like to offer Alan & Molly a drink should we seem them at the bar / pool later that night (despite my promise to leave them alone), but their video when posted after we return back to the UK reveals that they too ordered a takeaway and headed back to their room that evening, likely to avoid more interactions with the stalker UK family they’d met earlier that day.

24th April 2024 marked our last full day in Orlando and we decided we’d spend all day in the Parks. We spot Alan & Molly filming more scenes for their vlog in IOA, but as promised, we leave them to their work. We mention how lucky we’ve been to bump into some of our favourite YouTubers during our vacations here; apart from Adam the Woo, there’s only one more vlogger, PC Dev, that we’d really like to meet. We decide that perhaps we’ll meet him one day on another trip – and then Sarah promptly spots him on the bridge between Hogsmeade and Jurassic Park! Again, Devin is lovely, happy to speak to us and Joseph, very gracious of our watching his videos and only too happy to pose for a selfie. Cherry placed on top of our vacation!

We move across to Studios, where Joseph insists on riding the Transformers attraction several times (first with me and then a few times in succession on his own). As we wait for him, the Blues Brothers roll past in the Bluesmobile, ready for their last of the afternoon shows. The guy playing “Jake” looks very familiar; he looks just like Adam the Woo’s friend Micah who I also watch on YouTube (World of Micah – many of the channels I watch I’ve discovered owing to their creator’s appearances in Adam’s vlogs). As I’m not positive, I don’t want to say anything and as I’ve left my phone at the hotel in the safe, I ask to borrow Sarah’s for a quick Google search. I manage to confirm that it is indeed Micah and return to the Blues Brothers stage where the show is just starting – I watch & enjoy it to the end; just a few musical numbers together with a bit of a conga line with the audience! Whilst they’re getting ready to leave, I say to “Jake”, “Hi Micah, can I get a fist bump?” He seems pleased to have been recognized and obliges; I tell him I enjoy his channel and it’s such a shame that Adam is still banned from Universal as they could make awesome videos together there otherwise. “I know, right?” is his response. Annoyed that I didn’t borrow Sarah’s phone to take a selfie, and as this is the last show of the day, I lament my mistake for the rest of the day.

Sarah had spotted a Minions Loungefly crossbody bag in the Villain Con store at the start of the trip, and decides she’d like to buy it given it’s only $25 on sale. The store is quite quiet, and I take the opportunity to ask the friendly girl behind the counter a question that’s been on my mind for years – “do they ever turn the lights off in the Parks overnight?” I’m fascinated by abandoned places, especially shopping malls and theme parks, places usually so full of life and activity which then seem eerie when silent and devoid of human presence. I think Studios and IOA would be very different places without the light; perhaps even scary? Sadly, I’m told that the lights never go out, but she did confirm that often when she arrives for work early in the morning as the sun is rising, the dawn colours over and inside the Parks are quite beautiful. As we exit the park and sit down on a nearby wall for a break given it’s very hot and Joseph has been walking long distances all week. We immediately find a lost Apple Watch, and whilst I take Joseph for one last hotdog at the Hall of Fame, Sarah hands it in at guest services in the hope that its owner will be found.

We return to Surfside, and decide again to get dinner from the Waves Café, which we eat whilst we pack as much of our clothes as we can. Joseph of course wants to be in the pool again, and so we give him some time before heading back to the room for our last sleep in Orlando in 2024 and a couple of hours of Food Network (once Joseph has finally fallen asleep).

It’s Thursday, 25th April – time to head back home. We’ve a later flight than usual, and as we’ve planned to get back to the airport with an Uber again, we’ve a few hours before we need to get underway. Having completed our packing, we drop our suitcases and backpacks with the lovely chap at the concierge desk, who again marvels that we have so little luggage for a week and compliments me on my Edge 18 backpack, which he asserts is “perfect for any adventure”. If he wasn’t getting a tip before, he certainly is now!

We take the shuttle bus back to Universal one last time this trip and revisit a few more rides before it’s time to leave, mostly those in the Seuss Landing area of IOA, which Joseph is largely getting too big for at this point, but which we ride out of nostalgia for previous trips, as these were some of the only attractions he could ride when we first brought him a little more than 4 years previously with his Grandparents. After a couple of hours, we return to the stores to make sure we’ve bought any souvenirs we’ve promised to Joseph before heading to the City Walk for a meal before our journey to the airport. We’d originally planned on eating at Moe’s Southwest Grill at MCO, however my research online had suggested it had been closed. As there was a Moe’s at City Walk, we’d decided to eat there instead as Sarah had enjoyed a meal at their MCO quick service location in Summer 2023 and given that it’s very well priced and looked delicious, I was happy to try some myself! Every order at Moe’s comes with a free large bag of fresh tortilla chips and salsa, which together with my huge burrito and Sarah’s salad box, proved far too much for us. In fairness, each would have been enough to share! We take Joseph to the Hot Dog Hall of Fame for one last Nathan’s Dog with lashings of tomato sauce before crossing the gantry back to the exit and jumping on the bus back to Surfside. Sarah and I make a few souvenir purchases from the in-hotel store (mainly Endless Summer Resort themed items – a huge beach towel for Sarah, a decoration for our Christmas Tree and a drinks coaster for me). Managing to squeeze them into our luggage (on our Disney trip last Summer, Sarah bought so many Loungefly bags that I had to pack everything around them and inside them in the suitcases!) we order an Uber and are taken by the very nice driver, who is originally from Puerto Rico, past the site of the latest Universal Theme Park, Epic Universe, which is slated to open in Spring of 2025. It’s a huge development, and the hotels “Terra Luna” and “Stellar Nova” look amazing, their facades clad in shimmering multi-coloured panels. We hope to visit this wondrous looking park at some point in future!

On arriving at MCO, we wave farewell to our Uber driver and check our lonely suitcase in with Virgin Atlantic (after some confusion; the first staff member either doesn’t listen or understand us when we tell her we have priority and should be in the other line for a faster check-in – after we’re moved there anyway (there’s literally just a few parties in line) they point out that we should have gone there from the start. Sarah is not amused!). Once our bag is checked and we have our boarding passes, we head to the departure lounge to find the Moe’s is still there and open. Typical! Nevertheless, we take one last look around the Disney & Universal shops, where Sarah buys the Loungefly she’s had her eye on and we head through security. Sarah also picks up her customary Food Network magazine before we head to our gate and await our flight home.

The time at the airport seems to pass in a flash, and after a quick boarding, it’s a swift 7 hour flight home (during which Joseph is customarily ill several times) and then a meet-up with Frank who drives us back to the Coast as we tell him about our adventures (he likes to hear about the food the most!). We hate to leave Orlando, but always hope that our return won’t be too far away!

NOTE: whilst writing my post about Adam, I found this in my “drafts” folder and have no idea why I hadn’t published it!

I’ve written in the past about my hero, Adam the Woo, who I discovered in the early days of the Pandemic whilst watching YouTube in the wake of our January 2020 Florida visit. Adam passed away on 22nd December 2025 at the age of 51 in his home in Celebration, Orlando. In the wake of his death, there was an outpouring of love from all of his family, friends and followers; he made the national news and there was a Celebration of Life at the Garden Amp rock venue in LA, attended by his family & friends, including actor Tom Wilson, who starred as Biff Tannen in Back to the Future (Adam’s favourite film) and it’s sequels; there were many YouTube videos posted about his life by those who knew & loved him; an electronic billboard on Highway 192 in Orlando which featured and image of him; songs written and memories shared from people across the world who had watched his content, or, if they were lucky, knew him personally. I’m certain even Adam never knew just how much he was loved & respected and by so many, but I thought I’d share just a few words that I’d always wanted to say to him, if by chance we had ever met.

During the Pandemic, things were very uncertain for me and my business (as of course they were for most people); I’d leave for work each morning early, often arriving before 7am in order to complete whatever work needed to be done so that I could return home early in order that Sarah could then work her allotted hours during the afternoon and into the late evening. Often she’d work until 10pm. With everyone at home and avoiding contact with others, you might imagine that our usually busy office was suddenly quiet, with the telephones & e-mails not ringing or pinging with their usual frequency and the number of in-person appointments virtually reduced to nil. I would during that time exchange messages with my father, who would often send links to YouTube videos showing how desolate Orlando looked compared to when we’d been there just weeks prior. On searching for similar content, I happened across the first of Adam’s vlogs I ever watched, and on checking, I can confirm that it was this one, titled “Empty International Drive Orlando Tour: – What Attractions Are Still Open / Theme Parks Aerial View” posted on 19th March, 2020:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIJXSoZptog

I’d invite you to watch to get a feel for things; or as Adam would say, “Join me… Shall you?”

I watched more of Adam’s vlogs as the days and weeks passed – as the title of the channel “The Daily Woo” suggests, Adam would post almost if not every day, and it came to pass that having that short video to watch each day gave me something to look forward to, something that I could depend on being there when the rest of the world was so uncertain.

As time went on, I grew to love Adam and his vlogs; he was a little older than me, born on 10th August 1974 so around five and a half years my senior, but he liked much of the same things that we late Gen-Xers seem to enjoy – 80’s & 90’s movies and music, video games, toys, theme parks, filming and abandoned locations. He would record roadside attractions, abandoned towns, forgotten points of interest – the type of “wonderful thiiings” that you might not ordinarily pay attention to and certainly wouldn’t seek out. Places I’d never been, would likely never see “with my own eyes”, as Adam would put it, given they are Stateside and off the beaten path. His daily adventures were just the kind of thing that I’d love to do myself, and Adam was just the kind of friend that I would have wanted to have along for the ride. He would also return to places he’d lived or worked, the kind of nostalgia-fuelled adventures I would take down my own Memory Lane and If I ever met Adam, I wanted to buy him a “piping hot caffeinated beverage”, and tell him how much I enjoyed his videos, how much they helped me during a very difficult time and that I would very much have liked to have been brave enough to live like he did – to leave the unfulfilling job and risk living a simple life filled with adventure in his van (in the early first years of his YouTube journey), making enough money to get by simply by having us watch along or buy a t-shirt.

I joined Adam almost daily from that day I first saw one of his vlogs, and given he filmed so many during his more than 15 years on YouTube across his two channels, the aforementioned “The Daily Woo” and his ‘main’ channel, “Adam the Woo”, I’m still doing so. When Adam passed in December of last year, I decided that I had to watch both of his channels from the beginning (I’d seen only a handful of ATW vlogs at that point and very few pre-2020 TDW videos) – it took me a little short of three months to watch the 396 videos on his ATW channel, and at the time of writing, I’m into the 740s of nearly 4,300 TDW videos. It’s likely to take some time before I can say I’ve watched them all, it might even take years, but I’ll keep going until I can.

A friend of Adam’s, Kevin Heimbach, who lives close by in Celebration, on Adam’s passing petitioned the powers that be to have a memorial added to a bench in the area close to Lake Rianhard, where Adam would often film “walk & talk” videos during his tenure there. That memorial plaque was added in February of 2026, and I knew that at some point, I’d have to visit to pay my respects. I could never now tell him how much I admired him in person, but I could visit that bench, take a moment, and remember him fondly. Adam often filmed vlogs at his home, and having found the address, I knew I’d like also to visit there too, if just for a few minutes, in a similar fashion to how Adam would often visit properties made famous either by their previous occupants or owing to an appearance in a popular film. A little under two weeks ago, I did just that. Here’s a picture of me on that very bench, together with a closer view of the plaque:

Whilst visiting Orlando for 14 nights from 19th August, I took an Uber to Celebration alone (Joseph did not want to come and of course, Sarah could not leave him on his own at the hotel!), being dropped off just around the corner from Adam’s home. I took a quick photograph “for posterity” as he would have said, and spent a few moments there, remembering him. Even though there are many pictures of the house online, I won’t share my picture here, as the house now belongs to Adam’s sister, Faith and her husband Ryan who do live there. I then walked the mile or so to the centre of Celebration to look at a few familiar spots often featured in the vlogs, before taking a few minutes on the bench. A fellow Englishman and fan of Adam who was likewise visiting the bench (and who was from York, not far from my hometown of Scarborough) kindly took the picture for me and I of course reciprocated. Afterward, I cheekily hopped on to the Wifi of the local Starbucks where Adam would often buy his morning coffee to summon an Uber to convey me back to our hotel.

I don’t know when we’ll visit Orlando again; we’ve been so many times and there’s so much more of the world that we haven’t seen. We’ve already visited Disneyland Paris this year, which wasn’t on the cards until Adam visited twice last year, including just days before he died. He had such a wonderful time and described the parks as “a perfect dream”, such that I managed to persuade Sarah to give it another try after bad experiences many years ago. Suffice it to say, we enjoyed it very much and will return. But I know should we return to Orlando, I’d like to visit Adam’s bench, and perhaps one day his final resting place at Mount Peace cemetery together with a few other locations of importance in St Cloud, where Adam had lived for many years and where his parents, Jim & June Williams still live.

Sarah thinks it’s weird that I’d be so upset over the passing of a man who I never knew in “real life”, but I’d spent so much of my time with him these last few years that it almost felt like I did. His friend Justin Scarred (whose “Randomland” hat I’m wearing in the photo as Adam owned one) said during a vlog filmed after Adam’s death that if you felt like you knew him having watched his videos for years, you did. Adam was the best friend I never met. I will miss him always and think of him when I’m on my future travels. Rest easy, Adam. You’ve done your duty, now you can go home and schleep well.

The route from the centre of Scarborough, Seamer Road, which leads to the A64 and the way to York, Leeds and the West Riding, is our main drive home of an evening after school and work for Joseph and I. Prior to my buying the original Mirabeau, and when Joseph was still at nursery, I would each morning walk from our house down that street with Joseph in his pushchair (read stroller, my American friends) and do my best to entertain him along the way (this often enjoyed a stop-off for an ice lolly or a sausage roll depending on the weather!). The Coastliner bus, which I have written about previously, would often pass us by as we strolled and I would say to Joseph “that bus goes all the way to Grandma’s house!” as it would pass. This soon changed to “there’s the Big Blue Bus to Grandma’s!”, and so it came to be known to him. We’d look out for it each morning (and we still do when we’re in the car!).

I’ve taken a couple of trips to Leeds on the Coastliner in the last year or two, both alone, and once later at night so that I could ride the whole distance for the princely sum of £1 when the bus had the offer “from anywhere to anywhere for £1 after 7pm” running a year or so ago as one of my “silly experiments” I like to do to amuse myself (I wrote about this in an earlier post in 2021). Joseph had always wanted to take the journey with me, but alas it would have been too late for him to come, catching the bus after 7pm and taking on average 3 hours to reach Leeds would make it too late a night for him to tag along.

The UK Government have however recently launched a temporary scheme by which a cap on single trip bus fares has been introduced, limiting fares to a £2 maximum at any time of the day (to help with the cost of living crisis we currently find ourselves in in the UK), meaning that Joseph and I could catch the Coastliner here in Scarborough and travel all the way to Leeds for £2 each. Having told him of the scheme previously, when Joseph lost two milk teeth a couple of months ago and was given £1 per tooth by the Tooth Fairy (read his Mum), he excitedly exclaimed that he had the money to pay for the trip and that he wanted to take the journey with me. We decided that Sarah would collect Joseph from School on Friday 10th February, drop him at my office and we would ride the bus the Leeds. Sarah would follow the next day in her car (having a rare night to relax by herself) and Joseph would then have a few days with his Grandparents in Leeds over the half-term holidays whilst Sarah & I worked.

Joseph excitedly arrived at my office at around 15:30 that day, but had to wait whilst I finished work at 5pm (we had planned to leave earlier but unfortunately I had a conveyancing matter which was not yet completed when he arrived). He sat patiently, playing his pink Nintendo Switch (he’s obsessed with Minecraft at the moment) until my work for the day was done and we could head to the bus stop, just a couple of hundred metres from my office at the Scarborough Train Station.

On boarding, Joseph handed the driver his £2 and I said to him – “you’ll need to tell the driver where you’d like to go”, to which he replied “upstairs!” I informed the driver that we’d both like to go to Leeds and our fares were paid. On reaching the upper deck, I found Joseph at the front of the bus where I knew he’d be, already settling in for the ride. I plugged in his Nintendo to charge as he played (all the seats have USB access) and risked listening to some music on the bus WiFi whilst we rode.

I gave Joseph the opportunity to back out of the trip at every bus stop before reaching what would be ours on Seamer Road; he refused and was determined to make the journey. I’d made sure that he visited the facilities at my office before departing, but had also brought a small plastic bottle along in my backpack just in case of an emergency!

There were plenty of passengers enjoying the trip with us and they would regularly change from stop to stop; Joseph sat and played patiently, only a few times asking “is this our stop, Daddy?” along the way. Before we knew it, we were in the centre of York and watching the revellers venturing out for their Friday night on the tiles. Two ladies who had been sitting across from us in Joseph’s preferred seats departed at York, leaving Joseph scrambling to move across to claim them as soon as they had been vacated. Tadcaster soon followed after a blast down the A64 and before we knew it, the tall structures of Leeds City Centre began to loom on the horizon. Once he realised he could stand and hold on to the rail at the front of the bus as we rode, he refused to sit down, pretending he was flying.

We hopped off the bus at the main Station, making sure to say thank you to the driver, and despite it being quite cold outside, Joseph waited quite patiently for Grandma & Grandad to arrive to collect us and head to theirs. I’d made sure that Joseph had a couple of snacks prior to leaving the office, but he hadn’t eaten a “proper” meal by the time we arrived at around 8pm. As such, my folks swung by the McDonald’s Drive Through near to their home and Joseph had his customary Fish Finger Happy Meal with an extra fries and a Fruit Shoot. I’ll admit to having a couple of Double Cheeseburgers & fries!

Not long later, it was time for bed for the squirt after a successful journey, and one that seemed to pass quite quickly; Joseph was very well behaved and sat patiently the whole time. The emergency plastic bottle was unused & recycled! I expected the trip to be far more difficult but I’d have no worries riding with him again. Especially for just £2!

The Adele-esque titles continue in this, a recounting of the celebrations of my 43rd Birthday this month. I usually like to spend time in Huddersfield around my Birthday, but given that it’s just 10 weeks since I was last there with Rick, H & Gav, after discussion with Sarah, I decided we’d do something different to last year, but very similar to something we did a few years ago, pre-Pandemic.

If you’ve read my post from January 2019, you might recall Sarah and I re-living the day we met (for the second time after years of not seeing each other post University in Leeds at Christmas 2008) for my 39th Birthday. The Hotel we stayed in, the Radisson Blu on the Headrow in Leeds, was so lovely that we’ve often talked about staying there again; I suggested that we do so for my Birthday, spending the day in the City Centre, browsing the shops and seeing what was new. My parents had again agreed to have Joseph stay for the night as they always do, and we left Sarah’s car at their house whilst my Dad kindly dropped us off in the City. Here’s what we got up to.

It’s Saturday, 21st January (not my actual Birthday, but as close to it as we could do given Sarah is a Management Accountant and is very busy for most of the month of January with her Company’s end of year accounts) and we’re up and about at 7am (which is a little late for Joseph – he’s usually awake no later than 06:30) and ready to set off soon after 08:15. It’s an uneventful drive to Leeds, save that the weather is cold & icy so Sarah drives carefully, much to the disdain of other road users who insist on driving at the speed limit not taking into account road conditions and overtake us at speed. We make it safely to my folks by around 10:00, where after a quick brew and toilet break, Dad drops us off on the outskirts of the City at the Crown Point retail park.

Around 4 years ago, I purchased some brown leather Chelsea boots from my favourite brand Superdry when they were on sale for 50% off (I recall paying £35 for them) and I’ve finally unpacked them for use this weekend, as we have plans to visit a restaurant this evening to which I’ve never been before and which has a dress code! Wanting to pack light as always, I haven’t brought any sneakers with me however, and given that it’s some time since I wore heavier footwear, by the time we’ve made it the few hundred metres to the shopping district, it’s clear that my feet will know the difference by the end of what will prove to be a long day! Our first stop is the Corn Exchange, which on my last visit, had become a sea of bland coloured, stuffy up-market stores aimed at those with much higher than average incomes. I’m pleased to report this time however, there seems to be change afoot, as it’s now awash with mixed, vibrant colours and filled with shops selling a multitude of different wares and giving a more bohemian feel to the place, much as it did at the turn of this Century when I’d visit often. There’s restaurants and one of my favourite shops, On The Wall, which sells art & posters including film prints, which had moved out of the Corn Exchange years ago, but has since triumphantly returned. Sarah spots a few food items that she likes the look of in an adjoining shop, but as they’re in glass jars, we make a note to return towards the end of the day to save carrying them around with us.

Adjacent to the Corn Exchange is the City’s Market Hall, somewhere I’d frequent when living with Rick in 2002/2003 to fill up on fruit, vegetables and meat at bargain prices (we’d often visit at the end of the day when the food was being sold off more cheaply). There’s been a substantial amount of investment in the Market, and I find a place selling New York style pizza by the slice for £3.50 each. I quickly buy & snaffle a slice covered in Donner Kebab meat, before buying two apple pastries (like mini apple strudels) for £2.00 at a lovely Polish bakery which I’ve never seen before. I save one for later on for dessert after dinner! Sarah finds some cheap work-out gear and after a very pleasant experience, we head for Briggate, the “main” shopping street in the City.

Earlier in the week, my YouTube hero, Adam the Woo, had visited a new restaurant in the Orlando area, Jollibee. It’s a chain restaurant from the Philippines selling fried chicken (akin I suppose to KFC) which has multiple locations in many countries around the World. I’m far more excited than I should be to discover that Jollibee also has locations in the UK, with Leeds being one of those available… on Briggate! Whilst Adam has tried Jollibee in SoCal where he used to live, I’ve never tried it before and I’m keen to emulate my unknowing hero, despite already having had both pizza and a pastry today. It’s my Birthday, so bollocks to it! It’s around midday by this point, and after scoping-out the restaurant and a quick trip to the nearby Tesco Express so that Sarah can grab a gluten-free sandwich, I order a Spicy Chicken Sandwich with Fries and a full-sugar Coke (which I will always do where there’s no price difference between that and Diet). Whilst the sandwich was pleasant and indeed spicy, the fries were a little anaemic and not a patch on those from McDonalds or, my favourite, Taco Bell. There’s a Taco Bell in the St. John’s Centre in Leeds, but I’d opted to try Jollibee for the first time instead of my usual poison of choice.

I’m a huge geek (not news, I know) and have been for the majority of my life (before it was cool, you bloody Millennials!) and would often scratch my nerd itch at Forbidden Planet in Leeds, which stocks a whole host of pop-culture toys and paraphernalia. Although Sarah is not much of a nerd, she does love Harry Potter and also has an addiction to collecting Loungefly brand bags. She quickly spots two Disney inspired mini backpacks that she likes in Forbidden Planet (and buys them) together with a two foot tall version of a Care Bear teddy that Joseph has (Cheer Bear – pink with a rainbow on it’s chest) as a gift for him (I thought it was my Birthday?!). Sarah also saved 15% on the cost of the Loungeflys by signing up to Forbidden Planet’s collector club, for which there is a fee of £10 but still represents a saving overall. I’m sure it’ll get more use in future! I leave without making a purchase; the only Star Trek item in the store was a model of the Original Series Enterprise with lights and sounds.

We can’t check in at our hotel until 15:00, and we’ve still a little time before then. We walk the short distance to the St. John’s Centre on the Headrow (less than 100 metres from the hotel) and whilst Sarah looks at clothes in a store there, I head for HMV (the store where I used to work, but which has since moved) and immediately run into my ex-girlfriend who I wrote about in my very first post. She looks far more uncomfortable than me at the chance meeting – we make small talk for a minute or two before we are luckily interrupted by a customer who needs her help. I browse the A-Zs before Sarah arrives to meet me. It’s so rare that I’d buy a physical product these days that I think the last time I bought a Blu-Ray was during the January 2019 visit.

After a trip to another nearby shopping centre and the purchase of a few refreshments for the evening ahead, it’s finally 15:00 and we head to the hotel, which is in The Light entertainment complex, to check-in. We’re given room 339, which we find to be comfortable and spacious enough, before I unpack the few items I’ve brought with me. Our table for dinner isn’t until 19:00 and as such, we decide to venture out again. We return to the Corn Exchange (which is less than a kilometre from the hotel) and buy the food items Sarah had spotted earlier, before a look around the Trinity Shopping Centre. We head to the Superdry store and Sarah finds a nice navy blue hoody and a sports top for the gym. I see a nice Superdry x Iron Maiden t-shirt (my favourite band, who I’ll be seeing in Leeds this Summer!) but don’t buy it as I already have more clothes than I really need in any event.

It’s soon 18:00 and we head back to the hotel to freshen up, change and walk back out for dinner – we’re eating at a place Sarah “never thought I’d take her to”, in the shape of Bibi’s Italian restaurant. This is the place with the dress code and for which I now have blisters on my feet from walking in new boots all day. It’s quickly apparent that I’d have been fine in my usual t-shirt & trainers (I’m smart casual to comply with their code in my Levi’s navy blue chinos and a white Superdry polo with Sarah wearing jeans, boots and a nice top) but at least I’ve (almost) made an effort, given this is my Birthday celebration. Sarah orders scallops for starter (her favourite), but I’m saving myself for an Americana Pizza (pepperoni, jalapenos, chili) and a side-order of skin-on fries. Sarah orders beef & mashed potatoes for her main and on arrival, it’s clear she too should have ordered a side dish. Nevertheless we enjoy our meal (I even have a Corona with my dinner as I did at Gringos in Huddersfield last January) before we head back to our room after a stop-off at the nearby Co-op Mini Market so Sarah can acquire nibbles. Back at the room, we change for bed & watch an hour or two of rubbish TV before sleep.

Waking with a sore neck the next day (I sleep on a memory foam pillow at home and can’t rest on normal ones anymore), we shower & dress before heading out for breakfast. We’d originally thought to head to Brown’s, which is also in The Light and where we ate last time we stayed at this hotel, but their cooked breakfast doesn’t have any gluten-free sausages for Sarah. We instead try a new (to us) place, Bill’s, which is only a few minutes away on foot. Sarah orders a big breakfast which comes with smashed avocadoes (bloody hipsters!) and I go for my favourite, Eggs Benedict, which was delicious albeit not as warm as I would have liked. I wash my breakfast down with a Coke (yes, I’ll drink it at any time of day!) whilst Sarah sticks to a more civilised Americano coffee.

We check out of our room at 11:00 (we had until midday) and my Dad kindly offers to collect us from the same spot he deposited us the day before. My feet are still a little sore, but we make it safely enough and find Dad already waiting for us on arrival. Joseph squeals with delight at his gift (it’s barely (no pun intended) left his side since he received it) but Sarah has arranged to visit her friends who live near Bradford for a quick catch-up and takes Joseph (and the bear) with her. Mum & Dad offer to take me out for lunch, and since I didn’t have the opportunity and it’ll be cheap, I ask to go to the Taco Bell at the nearby Junction 32 retail park at Birstall. They agree and it’s not long before I’m tucking into my favourite Crunchwrap with spicy fries and a Mountain Dew. My folks stick to the Quesadillas (I’m sure Mexican style quick-service is not really their thing but they’re making a fuss for me) and after lunch, we return back to theirs and await Sarah & Joseph.

It’s not long before it’s time for goodbyes and a drive home to the Coast; we settle in for the night and after finally getting Joseph to sleep at around 21:30, we have an hour or so to watch a YouTube video or two before bed.

We’ve both booked Monday 24th away from work to make a long-weekend of it; Joseph still has to go to School however so we’re up at our usual time to take him. Sarah heads to the gym whilst I do the family ironing and then we head to Sarah’s favourite Scarborough restaurant, Lezzet. I enjoy a Kofte burger dripping with cheese sauce and Sarah has a chicken wrap, both with salad & chips. We collect Joseph from School at the usual time and head home for the last few hours of our time off together.

It might not be the glamourous celebration many might want or expect for their Birthday, but we had a lovely time visiting Leeds, ate lots of delicious food and enjoyed a bit of “grown-up” time to ourselves. I’m always happy to try new things, and I’m somewhat of a “cheap date”, being easily pleased with fast food to eat and sugary Coca-Cola to drink! My Big Red Hiking Hood finally wore out last year after several years of exemplary service so Sarah has bought me a new hoodie for my Birthday, albeit black in colour and made by Alpha Industries (chosen by me). I won’t be changing the name of the blog, however!

I’ve written in the past of our “Five Year Mission” to clear all of our household debt, which we commenced at the start of 2019. When the pandemic hit in early 2020, we were somewhat worried that our Mission might have to be placed on the back-burner in the event that we lost our jobs, had no money & had to struggle to get by given the sheer uncertainty about what would happen. Although this has indeed been the reality for a great deal of people, Sarah & I have been very fortunate. Not only have we kept our respective jobs, but the business where she works and my law firm have remained profitable enough throughout these last 3 years to keep on all our staff and pay our usual running costs, meaning that we could slowly-but-surely keep trudging along with our plan.

My car loan for Mirabeau and both of our Student Loans were repaid during the first 2 years, meaning that we’ve since been able to funnel any additional monies into lump-sum repayments each January to bring down our mortgage balance. In January 2022, we met with our Mortgage Adviser to change our mortgage product to one with a much lower rate of interest (fixed for 2 years), freeing-up more of our monthly monies which we simply channelled into saving up for the next payment in January 2023 (which I made a couple of weeks ago). As such, there’s just one year left of our Mission and in January 2024, we should have sufficient funds to make a payment that will reduce our balance down to below 25% of the value of the house.

We’ve been able to build a little bit of savings separately to the monies for repaying our debt; enough to have at least 6 months of expenses just in case anything goes wrong and sufficient monies to pay for our usual major expense, which is our inevitable trip to Orlando most years. We did visit again in August of 2022 – I’ll finish up the post about that holiday (read vacation, my American friends) as soon as I can, but I’ll need Sarah’s help with that as she keeps “The Book” – a set of notes about what we did when during those two weeks (and which contains our planning for the trip together with planning for our Summer return this year!). We’re unsure as to how much longer it will take us to clear the total balance of our mortgage; it may be that come January 2024, we look to change product again (if we can!) and fix repayments for another couple of years, meaning that we can steadily reduce the balance again each year without exhausting all or a large part of our savings – it’s important to keep that “rainy day fund” in case anything does go wrong, even though we’d likely be able to manage on just one of our wages for a few months if we had to. Or, alternatively, we might simply stay with our lender’s standard variable rate, meaning that we can over-pay as we choose without fear of any penalty.

The majority of the time we have been “on Mission” so far has been quite stressful; the last three years have been consecutively the busiest in the near 140 year history of my firm and Sarah’s work commitments have become such that she’s recently given up her Slimming World consultancy, something she loved to do but which took up so much of her time and for very little income. Joseph has also been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which often makes his behaviour difficult to manage (worsened by the fact that he sleeps very little compared to other children and is “always on”, unable to stop his mind from racing and relax). This also takes a lot out of us as his parents, meaning we’re often too tired or have no time to do much for ourselves (it’s routinely after 9pm by the time we get Joseph to sleep). Once these 5 years have elapsed, we will give careful consideration as to how we want our working lives to evolve given that we will have the majority of our debt repaid, and might look to take more time for our family rather than exchanging it for money.

For so many years, at least 5 I’d say, my buddies Rick, H & Gav and I have been talking about the possibility of a meet-up and night out in our old stomping grounds of Huddersfield where we met during our time at the University. As I’ve mentioned before, I met Rick during my second year of the LL.B course and H & Gav were introduced to me by him. In my third year, we moved in together into the House on Calton Street, which I’ve mentioned probably more times than I care to count in this blog, leading to 9 very memorable months which will forever remain very special to me.

The only image I have from the weekend of the four of us (from the left me, Rick, H & Gav)

Our plans to meet as a foursome were so often thwarted by our individual work or family obligations getting in the way during that time, before COVID came along and put paid to pretty much any chance of the 4 of us, neither of which live in Huddersfield and some of whom live closer to London, meeting up. Then, whilst Sarah, Joseph & I were away in Orlando last Summer, during a Messenger chat the subject came up again, but this time, we were determined to make it a reality.

Shortly after our return from the States, we agreed a firm date of Saturday 19th November for the meet-up; Rick suggested he & I have two nights there, starting on the 18th November, giving us the opportunity to do more and make a long weekend of it. Rooms at a local Premier Inn were booked (the North Hotel rather than the Town centre as there was a significant price difference!), train tickets were purchased in advance on my part and “the Jamie had been made” (this stems from a UK Saturday morning show fronted by presenter Jamie Theakston, during which he would “make the necessary arrangements” to complete some task or event, hence the etymology of our unique idiom).

It seemed to take an age for the day itself to come around; I was quite literally counting them down until the 18th November each day. My business partner Paul had agreed to cover my desk for the day to help me in not coming back to too much work on my desk the following Monday (I do return the favour) and I packed light as always to avoid carrying too much with me on the journey (including my Darn Tough socks bought for Orlando). I kissed Sarah & Joseph goodbye for the weekend and headed into Town to wait for my train, which was at 10:38.

Now, as someone who unquestionably suffers from undiagnosed Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (this runs in my family and my sister Sally has in fact been diagnosed), I couldn’t help but go in to the office and deal with any post or e-mails which had arrived before my train time (my office is less than a 5 minute walk from the station), plus, there’s so few shops I might want to browse in Scarborough Town centre that I thought it best to use my more-than-an-hour wait constructively rather than just sitting at the cold station. My train was waiting for me on arrival, my booked-seats ready, and I settled in for the less than 2 hour ride to the ‘Field (on a side note, this is one of the few times when my advance ticket was the same price as booking more-or-less on the day itself at a little over £45). A change of train would be required at York and on arrival, I note that my connection is delayed. By the time it arrives, the train is so full, I have to stand all the remaining part of the journey (York is roundabout the midway point), in the corridor between carriages against the doors. As spirits were running high given the weekend ahead however, I didn’t mind too much, even when a group of younger men who occupied the corridor with me were rowdy, drinking cans of beer but otherwise well behaved. They left the train at Leeds, meaning the final 20 minutes was a more quiet affair leaving me to glance out of the train door windows at the familiar sights of the run in to the ‘Field.

My EE mobile phone contract, which I’ve had for the last few years, provides me with unlimited free calls & text messages, but “just” 4GB of data for on-the-go web browsing for the princely sum of £9 per month. Ordinarily, this isn’t an issue as we have Wi-Fi at home and at my office, meaning that I only use my allowance when out and about. I had chosen to listen to my Amazon Music favourites playlist on the way however, meaning that shortly after my arrival in Huddersfield I received a text from my provider noting that I had used more than 80% of my data for the month and had better be careful as it wouldn’t renew for another week (that’ll be me listening the my usual stuff on my iPhone on the way home, then!).

I arrived in Huddersfield a little before 1pm and rang Rick, who I was meeting first, to see how close by he was. It became clear he’d only just set of from Knaresborough where he lives, and it would take him a little while to meet me. I hung around the Town centre for a little while whilst waiting, before meeting Rick at the University Campus in his new-to-him white M Series BMW (he’s working as a solicitor again now so felt he needed a posher car!). We find somewhere close by to park (the road where Sarah and I usually park when we visit on a weekend was full owing to it being cheap & adjacent to the ever-expanding University Campus). We headed for one of the local Wetherspoon pubs (a cheap and cheerful bar & restaurant where we you can obtain a decent enough meal, often with the price of a drink included) named The Cherry Tree for a burger and a catch-up ahead of meeting H & Gav later on.

After a brief look around the Town centre offerings (it was only 5 moths since we were together in the Town following our walk from Leeds in April but I do manage to find a stock of my favourite alcoholic drink which has since been discontinued, Strawberry & Pomegranate flavoured Old Mout Cider in the Home Bargains which Sarah & I often frequent on our visits and so buy a few for us to enjoy that night), we decided to head to the hotel on the outskirts of the Town and skip a trip we had considered to the suburb of Milnsbridge, where Rick & Gav had lived during my second year, and as such that was put on the back-burner for our next meet-up. Check-in was effortless and soon after our arrival and un-pack, Gav called to see whether we had made it. After confirming our room number (we were sharing a room with twin beds), there followed a knock at the door to reveal Gav had arrived before us (despite having to travel hundreds of miles), which was a pleasant surprise as we were unsure whether he’d be able to make it before Saturday. H was yet to land, but had informed us he wouldn’t be free that night in any event as he’s currently writing a novel and wanted the quiet time away from his wife & daughter to make progress. On his arrival however, we did of course see him briefly to say hello before leaving him to his work and heading to the adjoining pub, The Old Mill, for a pint and a discussion about where to head for dinner.

As H had already said he couldn’t come with and had made other arrangements in the shape of a takeaway pizza, it was decided that we’d order a “Joe” (Joe Baxi, Cockney rhyming slang for taxi; it’s amazing how quickly we all slip back into our old ways!) and travelled to the nearby Town of Brighouse and a local Indian restaurant, Royal Delhi. The food was delicious and we ordered more than the three of us could actually manage (eyes bigger than our bellies despite all of us being in our 40’s and not being slim by any measure!). We each ordered a mixed kebab starter followed by a curry, rice & chips (read fries, my American friends) and a “family naan bread” for us to share, that latter of which was absolutely huge! My IBS began to kick-in almost immediately following dinner, so I made sure to visit the facilities before we left and stopped off at an adjoining Wetherspoon pub (again, it’s a cheap pint) for a night-cap. It wasn’t particularly late by this point, a little after 9pm, so Rick suggested that we walk back to the hotel as it wasn’t much further than 2 miles and would be an opportunity to help burn off the calories from our over-indulgent meal. Having taken care of my worries by ensuring I’d used the loo before we left the restaurant and with the weather being dry and quite mild, I agreed; Gav was somewhat more reluctant and accused Rick of being a “tight Northerner” (which probably isn’t far from the truth as the taxi would have cost us less than £2 each!) but eventually relents and we get underway. It seems however that I’m not the only one who has trouble digesting spicy food, and after 10 minutes or so, Gav is uncomfortable and cursing Rick for his suggestion. Nevertheless, after a gentle 45 minute walk filled with laughter and only a gentle drizzle for a few minutes, we’re back at the Hotel where we check in on H and head back to our room for more catching-up before bed.

The following morning, we’re all up-and-about early enough and after H finally joining the fray and a few FaceTime calls home to the kids, we head into Town in his shouty Mercedes sedan, wheel-spinning all the way. Gav reminds him how much the tyres on his car will cost to replace and as such, and given he’s had speeding tickets in the past on nearby roads, H tries to drive more sensibly! Being a Saturday, Sarah & I’s usual parking spot is much less populated and we easily find a space for a few hours at the cost of just £3. Gav studied hospitality at University and worked his way up from bar staff to management in several pubs & the infamous Camel Nightclub in the Town during his time there. He’d suggested that he’d like to visit some of his old workplaces, and being a sucker for nostalgia, I and the others agree. First, we head to the local Slug & Lettuce pub where we order food and I promptly manage to throw mayonnaise down my brand new navy blue Levi’s chinos (which I’d been saving for this trip) and the food itself was average at best (I ordered a chicken, cheese & barbecue sub sandwich with chips; as close as I could get to my favourite pub-grub in Huddersfield, a Varsity Melt from the now long closed pub chain Varsity, which was run & staffed by students) but at least, after 20 long years, the boys were back in Town.

We head to Revolution, the same vodka bar where Rick and I had eaten in April after our walk for just one drink, before quickly finding that so many of Gav’s old workplaces exist only in our memories now. Whilst appearing clean & tidy, there are still many vacant shop units and I discover to my sadness that the indoor market hall is now entirely closed and scheduled for demolition. I have so many memories of shopping there for cut-price films on VHS, sweets, mobile phone accessories (back in the days of Nokias with Xpress-on changeable facias) and looking though the window of Huddersfield Lighting at their Mathmos Lava Lamp collection. Given that retail on the high street seems in terminal decline, I’m not sure what will replace it and the also vacant and adjoining former BHS building, where we’d often head for a cooked breakfast after morning lectures.

A pilgrimage is made to the location of the Camel Nightclub in Byram Court, which is closed until later that evening but looks otherwise exactly as it did during our tenure. H & Gav then start to remember “Barry”, (Alex Prosser) who I wrote about in my blog post in 2019 when I visited Huddersfield with H for the day, and reveal that he had been the infamous “Phantom Shitter” in the Club, called such as he would in fact defecate there in areas not designed or designated for such. He was discovered one night by a very shocked female patron and was promptly banned for life, although unfortunately, this would prove to be only a few years. After more laughs, vivid memories and liquid refreshments (special mention goes to the Parish Pump), we end the afternoon in The Warehouse on Zetland Street across from the Campus – a largely student pub which shows live sports on huge screens and given that there’s an England Rugby match on, we enjoy the show and a fair few drinks (much more than I’m used to these days, but not enough to feel worse for wear). After the match, we head to, of course, my favourite restaurant in Huddersfield, Gringos Mexican restaurant for the third time in 2022! H is slightly upset as he’s not a fan of spicy food, but I reassure him that there’s a burger on the menu and he’s satisfied. I order my usual burrito filled with mixed meats after we share a large plate of nachos to start, but I have to say, H’s burger looked amazing. He confirmed as much, enjoying every bite, despite being a little miffed that it arrived with salad on despite for him asking for it to be omitted. Full to the brim, we settle the bill and head to the adjoining Tesco supermarket (the site of Rick and Gav’s infamous argument about the purchase of the household washing powder!) to pick up refreshments for the night before returning to the Hotel in H’s Mercedes, via the house on Calton Street to, of course, check H’s Syphon Filter sticker is still in the window of what was his bedroom. I’m elected to jump out of the car, take a picture with my iPhone and we’re all happy to see that it’s still there all these years later. We share more laughs and a few drinks before bed having all thoroughly enjoyed the day together.

The following morning, it’s time for goodbyes. Gav and H have arranged to meet other friends whilst in the area so Rick offers to take me to the train station (albeit in Leeds) to help me on may way. I agree, but feel a little upset that I didn’t have the opportunity to sit & wait at the station in Huddersfield, as I had so many times before during the LL.B, on platform 6 headed East towards home. The train I would have taken “back in the day”, would have brought me all the way to Scarborough, where my parents were still living at that time directly, but currently, I’d have had to make a change in York as before on the Friday so there was a break in the nostalgia of the journey in any event. We’d not dispatched any of the Old Mout I’d bought, and so the journey is made a little more difficult owing to the fact that I have to cart the 4 clinking bottles with me in a carrier bag. Given that it’s quite a rare find now however, it’s nothing to be too upset about!

My beautiful wife and my smiling handsome boy meet me at the station in Seamer, just one stop away from the main station in Scarborough and convey me home whilst Joseph tells me what they’ve been up to during my 2 night absence. Whilst it’s always lovely to come home to my little family, I have to say that I cannot remember a weekend more filled with laughter, shared memories, good food and great company as we had during those couple of days. We made a promise to each other that we’d meet more often (not always in Huddersfield) in future and would do our best to make sure it wasn’t such a long time until the next one. 20 long years since we departed that dilapidated student house on Calton Street, almost half of my lifetime ago, yet the memories of our time together in the Town, with which we all have a love-hate relationship, are still so vivid and I hope will be with us all for the rest of our lives.

Having had a conversation with my friend Rick a little while ago about the WRHW and the third anniversary of the date of my first urban hike having passed earlier this month, he had suggested that should I ever look to make the journey again, he’d very much like to come along. My sister Sally had promised to take me out for lunch to a venue of my choice in Leeds on my next visit to celebrate my Birthday back in January, but our schedules hadn’t yet tied in together. So, when the opportunity to kill both birds with one stone came over the long 4-day Easter 2022 weekend, I jumped at the chance.

Sarah agreed that I could ride the 843 Bus to Leeds again (not for £1 this time, as there was no £1 ticket available on Good Friday with the last bus being before 7pm, so the fare was £13.50, but still more than £20 cheaper than the train) and she would entertain Joseph for a couple of days before meeting me in Leeds on Easter Sunday when she’d be dropping Joseph at my folks for a few days’ stay during the school holiday. Had Sarah taken me to Leeds in her car, it’s likely that Joseph wouldn’t have wanted to return home with her that night and as I’ve mentioned in the past, I don’t take Mirabeau on long journeys! I suggested to Rick that we undertake the walk in reverse this time, i.e. Leeds White Rose Centre to Huddersfield, as it’s far more pleasant that way with the going mainly downhill or flat for the majority of the way.

Having arrived at my folks late afternoon on Good Friday (the Bus journey took a little under 3.5 hours but luckily I had a couple of days left on my free Apple Music subscription before cancelling it) and after an early evening trip to the White Rose Centre and the dreaded Sports Direct for some new walking trousers (my most recent pair had given up on me just a couple of days prior) & a quick dinner at McDonald’s, it was home and bed a few hours later to try and get a good night’s rest before the 14 or so mile walk.

Rick arrived at my folks’ house a little before 08:15 and was treated to a cuppa and bacon butty before Dad dropped the two of us at the White Rose. There’s little point recounting the walking route to you as it was indeed the mirror image of the WRHW route with no variations, but on arrival in Huddersfield (the walk took around 4.5 hours), we did stop for a refreshing pint at a local Marston’s pub built after our tenure in the town before dropping in on our old student gaff just around the corner on Calton Street to, as usual, check H’s Syphon Filter sticker is still in the window of what was his room (it was!). The windows of the house were blocked with black refuse bags and the door clearly hasn’t seen a lick of paint now in decades; it’s clearly one of the most run-down houses on the street made worse by the pavement outside being strewn with broken furniture and visible weeds growing out of and overhanging the roof guttering letting down the street as a whole, which otherwise looked in good shape.

Walking our old daily morning route to the Uni campus, we pass by Gringos where Sarah and I had enjoyed my Birthday meal just a couple of months earlier and to the Market, where after a brief browse and noting that the area had been cleaned up a little since my January visit, we made for a bar where Gav had once worked during his time at Uni, Revolution (part of a UK based chain of Vodka bars catering towards student and hipster types). Whilst the food was tasty (I had a club sandwich with chunky chips & Rick a burger and chips) the price was a little more than you’d expect to pay at a student bar and the portion sizes weren’t that generous but we enjoyed it nonetheless.

On arrival at the Uni Campus, much like myself on the WRHW three years prior, Rick notes how much more up-market and advanced the University looks since our time there (it’s 20 years this July since we both graduated at Law and it had only recently converted to a University from a Polytechnic College at the time) and after a brief look around at the numerous changed buildings (we also manage to lock ourselves outside on a roof terrace after visiting the site of the former University Bookshop & convenience store where we’d often buy a cheap lunch in between lectures; the automatic doors don’t want to let us back inside but luckily there is an open fire escape & just a small flight of steel steps to climb down to make our exit), we depart for the train station where we catch a shuttle service back to Leeds that stops at every station in between the two points. Given it’s now late on Saturday afternoon, local revellers are on their way to the City for a night out, meaning there are few seats available and we make the 40 minute or so trip standing up. Dad collects us from the City and returns us to the house where after another cuppa, Rick says his farewells and departs for home in Knaresborough.

Whilst Rick & I were completing the walk, Sarah had taken Joseph to the Filey Food Festival and treated him to ice-cream, rides and a turn on the bouncy castle. There are a few photos of the day for me to see and I look forward to seeing them both the following day. She’s also bought me a bag of “Bibble” from the popcorn stand which is perennially there; a bag of multi-coloured, multi-flavoured popcorn which the seller always insists is “just for the kids” every time I buy a bag (in the immortal words of the Ramones, “I don’t want to grow up”). Sarah manages to get Joseph to sleep by 20:30 and has a rare evening to herself to read or catch up on her TV programmes of choice.

I wake the following morning unsure of the time given there is no clock in the guest room and have managed to sleep past 08:00; my legs & feet are a little sore but less so than the WRHW given that in reverse, it is indeed easier going and instead of walking up the bloody big hill out of Dewsbury having already walked nearly 9 miles, you walk down it after just a couple. Sally arrives to collect me shortly before 12:00 for my belated Birthday lunch and we drive to the nearby retail park at Junction 27 off the M62 where I have been desperate to try a meal from Canadian chain Tim Horton’s, which is steadily growing in the UK market, but from where I have never eaten before. We each order a Bacon Double Cheeseburger meal with waffle fries; I have a Coke (which is in a 500ml bottle rather than coming from a soda fountain) and a box of 10 assorted Timbits (mini doughnuts with various flavours / fillings / toppings) to share with Sally for dessert. I am quickly disappointed when biting into the burger – the flavour and texture of which I just don’t enjoy at all. The waffle fries are nice enough as is the barbeque dipping sauce which I chose to accompany them (very much like Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce) but the largest disappointment is the Timbits. This is likely my fault – as usual, I’ve built up the anticipation to the point where the idea of them is better than the reality and I’m sorry to discover that they are, in fact, just simple donut bites which are so small that any flavour, topping or filling is largely lost to the plain old batter. Apologising profusely to Sally, who likewise is underwhelmed but has paid for the meal, we return back to our folks’ where an hour or two later, Sarah & Joseph arrive to meet me, having called in on Sarah’s Dad & Mum at their respective houses in Leeds & Bradford for a visit.

After an hour or so, Sarah & I give Joseph a big squeeze & kiss (we won’t see him for 5 nights and I’ve barely seen him for two days) before returning home to a takeaway from our local favourite Indian restaurant, Cinnamon, for tea and then a good night’s sleep. I said in my original post re the WRHW that it was such a slog I’d likely never do it again, and that is very much still true of walking the route from Huddersfield to Leeds. In reverse however, it’s a far more enjoyable experience (or was that simply owing to the company this time?) and perhaps I’ll make the trip again in a couple of years, taking more time to explore Dewsbury and the towns along the route as I go.

During the Pandemic, it’s often been the case that we’ve stayed local and travelled little to avoid potentially spreading the virus and any other illnesses we might have to others. For the last several months in the UK however, COVID-19 infection levels have remained stubbornly high but fairly stable, with deaths and hospitalisations following a similar pattern.

We have taken to visiting family a little more following the easing of restrictions, and a few weeks ago whilst en route to Leeds to visit my folks, we were in traffic behind the Coastliner Bus, the 843, which travels between Scarborough and Leeds & vice versa (or “the Big Blue Bus to Grandmas” as Joseph and I call it) and noticed the digital screen on the rear advertised an offer – “from anywhere to anywhere £1 after 7pm”. I wondered out loud to Sarah “does that mean I can travel from Scarborough to Leeds after 7pm for £1?” and after reading the appropriate page of the Coastliner website, discovered that I could indeed. It sounded like a great silly experiment to do (I’m easily amused and a cheap date; you’ll know this if you’ve read any of my previous posts, dear reader) and so following the obligatory eye rolls from Sarah, and despite the nearly 3 hour anticipated journey time, I decided it was on.

My Dad is in the process of clearing out the loft at their Leeds home, resulting in several boxes of my old childhood toys seeing the light of day, in some cases, for the first time in 20-30 years. Joseph has been exploring the loft’s contents during his stays with my folks over the various school holidays in the last year and has already liberated (and promptly destroyed) a number of toys including my Real Ghostbusters Ecto-1; I decided that to continue my minimalist bent, rather than hoarding them, I would sort through the boxes and my Dad kindly agreed sell on eBay those items which were worth listing, with the remaining being donated or simply thrown away if in poor condition. It seemed like a good excuse to tie-in the loft raid with my bus trip!

Having kissed Joseph & Sarah goodnight, I left the house a little after 19:10 on Friday 19th November 2021 to make my way to the bus stop from where I could catch the 843; it’s only a few minutes from our house meaning that it’s convenient to get on & off the bus when making the trip. I’m shortly joined by two other gentlemen waiting for the bus, one of whom is extremely inebriated, holding his can of Carlsberg Special Brew in one hand and his phone in the other, barely able to stand and using the bus stop post as a prop to prevent hugging the pavement. It’s only a few minutes wait until the 843 arrives at 19:29; the bus driver rebukes the gentleman for trying to bring his beer aboard (he promptly abandons the can on the ground – litterbug) and I stand well clear of him to avoid softening his fall should he lose what little stability he has left. Luckily, our worse-for-wear friend is only going to Seamer just a few stops away, for which the driver charges him £2.20, making me fear that the rumoured £1 fare to leeds might be too good to be true.

I hop aboard and ask the driver if the rumours are indeed true – he professes to having forgotten about the offer, but after a few key presses on his computer, asks where I’d like to go for my £1. When my response is “Leeds, please”, the driver is somewhat dumbfounded. “Leeds?! Is that just because you can?”. I reassure him that my parents live in Leeds and will be collecting me from the bus station and he’s then satisfied that I’m not a (complete) nutjob. I pay my fare and take my seat on the lower deck in the middle of the bus.

I’ve recently bought some wireless Beats Studio Buds earphones from Amazon when they were on offer, as unfortunately my cheap Aukey wireless earphones (also bought from Amazon for £15) either keep dropping signal or not charging properly in their case (Joseph has since pinched these). As the Beats were cheaper than Apple’s other branded earphones EarPods at the time I bought them and came with a free 6 month Apple Music subscription worth £60, even though they were still expensive at £120, I was satisfied they were a good choice. I connect my iPhone to the free onboard WiFi and listen to the soundtrack from the film “The Crow”, lovely & warm inside my Big Red Hiking Hood & sharing the bus with only one other passenger between Scarborough’s outskirts and Malton. It takes a good 45 minutes to reach Malton, just 20 miles or so away from Scarborough.

The Coastliner depot is at Malton, where we have a brief stop-off for a driver change. The first driver, now departing, gives me the thumbs-up as he disembarks and comments on how it’s a great value trip to take. He hands me over to the new driver and we’re away again, now with just me aboard. Sections of the main route down the A64 are closed, but the driver is seemingly ploughing on nonetheless. We reach the road barrier for the closure, where we pull over and the bus engine is turned off. The driver lets me know we’re just waiting for a Highways Agency escort to meet us and take us safely down the closed section, as there are people working on the road overnight. I’m informed this might be as long as a 20 minute delay, but the escort arrives within 5 and we’re underway again. The plod down the closed section takes only a short while, even at 20mph or less, before we’re through the barrier at the end of the closure and turn a hard left through the outlying villages of York.

As we draw closer to the city, and what will be more than half of the journey distance, more passengers join me aboard. By this time, it’s a little after 9pm and there are young folk travelling into the city centre for their Friday night out; it makes me feel old to see my greying reflection in the windows I stare through, serving as a stark reminder that it’s now more than 20 years since I joined Rick, H & Gav at our student gaff on Calton Street in Huddersfield to sit the final year of the LL.B. The time seems to have passed by in a flash and I honestly struggle to recall where it has all seemingly gone to.

It’s a short while before we’re back in familiar territory after a stop at Tadcaster, steaming towards the junction where the A64 meets the M1 and where Sarah, Joseph and I would normally exit. The 843 stays on the A64 however, travelling the old main route into Leeds via Seacroft & Killingbeck, glimpses of the ever taller Leeds skyline peeking out over the horizon. It’s a little after 10pm at this point, and I have to be careful not to look at my phone screen too much, as the bumpy roads are making me feel a little queasy; I’m fine as long as my glance is to the city outside the window. There are quite a few more stops at this point for local traffic, and we finally pull into the Leeds City Bus Station shortly before 22:30 to the tune of “Just like Tiger Woods” by Steel Panther. I thank the driver for one of the best £1 I’ve ever spent and hop off to find my folks waiting for me nearby. Dad’s recently had both his flu and COVID booster jab and is feeling a little under the weather – he’s driving wearing his clothes, bathrobe and his coat! It’s a short trip to my folks place, where after an hour or so of stuffing myself with the treats that Mum’s bought for me or baked, we hit the sack.

It did indeed take a little under 3 hours to reach Leeds, but to be honest, there’s simply no other way of making the journey so cheaply. Even if I walked it on the White Rose Way, I’d need gear, food, drink, lodgings etc. which you simply couldn’t obtain for such a small fee and the journey would take several days to a week. Unfortunately, my plan to take the same trip in reverse the following day was scuppered owing to the fact that the return journeys all terminate at Malton and whilst there might be just one train available to Scarborough after my arrival, my folks insisted in taking me back home to avoid my missing the connection and I paid them for the fuel.

I’d happily take the bus again in future, as the time seemed to pass quite quickly and it was comfortable & warm enough. In all fairness, you can’t really go wrong for £1!

As the World continues to try and edge back toward “normal” during the pandemic as more & more people are vaccinated, inevitably thoughts turn to holidays, vacations, trips away for rest & respite and a feeling that life will return to being about anything other than COVID-19. Sarah & my favourite holiday destination is of course Orlando (no news there), but for most of 2020 & the majority of 2021, Britons who have been in the UK within the last 14 days are not permitted entry into the US. As such, a trip to Orlando was simply not possible. Whilst Paris does not have a Universal Park, it does of course have Disneyland and although I have suggested a return to that Park for Sarah who has been previously (although not for a number of years), it’s not something she’d ultimately look to do as she’s had bad experiences there on those previous trips. So… What to do?

Whilst scrolling through Facebook earlier in the year, having expressed interest in Disney Parks content before, the algorithm suggested something I might be interested in – a Disney UK Staycation Cruise. Now, this I understand is the first time any such Cruise has been available as the Disney Cruise Line normally operates out of far more glamorous destinations such as the Caribbean, but given that the Cruise industry had been largely dormant during the pandemic, it struck me as a rather clever idea to kick-start the industry back to business and I was of course very keen to do it – Sarah, however… not so much. At first.

Sarah will admit that she’s not fond of boats & the sea and worries that she’ll feel unwell the whole time she’s onboard one. I’ve suggested a Cruise before, but she’s dismissed out of hand and we’ve just gone back to Orlando. As that was not an option, she was this time more intrigued and after watching a few YouTube videos of past Disney Cruises and after a bit of discussion, we decided we’d try to make a booking when they became available.

As we knew such a Cruise would likely be very popular, we asked for help from our local Hays Travel branch (who have taken over the now closed Co-Op Travel we would ordinarily use) and after a little to-ing and fro-ing, we managed to book a verandah room on Deck 6 of the Disney Magic (Disney’s first and thus oldest & smallest ship, having been completed in 1998) for 3 nights from and including 3 September, sailing from the Port of Tyne at Newcastle. We booked the day the Cruises “went live” in April 2021, meaning that we had a wait of almost 6 months until sailing day.

Our summer then became about preparation for the Cruise; having had little to look forward to all year save for the odd trip away for a night or two, we piled our energy into researching what to see & do aboard, dining menus to ensure Sarah’s Coeliac disease wouldn’t be an issue, and buying Disney related clothing to look the part. I bought Sarah a Loungefly brand mini backpack, themed around one of her favourite Disney Pixar films, “Coco” for our 9th Wedding Anniversary in June knowing that she’d take it with her. I got into the spirit buying Mickey Mouse, Star Wars and Los Angeles Angels t-shirts (Disney owned the Angels for a few years at the turn of the century, plus it’s one of the Baseball teams that my YouTube hero Adam the Woo supports). I’ll write the remainder of this post similarly to that from last January when we went to Orlando, as a daily diary in the hope that it helps me remember the details!

Friday, 3rd September 2021: Night One

I leave work early the day before the Cruise to pack the cases in readiness; Joseph arrives home that evening as he’d been staying with my folks (who came with us to Orlando) for a few nights to avoid mixing with other kids at his usual holiday club as we all had to prove Covid-negative to be allowed aboard. Thankfully, all the tests we’d taken, which included a Lateral Flow Test each on the morning itself, proved clear. We decided not to drive there & back to Newcastle, given that after the trip we’d likely be a bit tired and not want to drive the two and a half hours ourselves. As such, we’d asked an old school friend of mine, Frank, who is a local entrepreneur and taxi driver, to help us out in this regard. Frank picks us up at 09:30 and after loading the bags (we’ve packed far too much in my opinion for 3 nights!) we’re off to Newcastle. After talking constantly about food all of the way, which leaves Frank looking for somewhere to satiate his appetite as we part company at the Port a little after midday, we have to wait an hour before we’re allowed to start the check-in process and as such, stop at the local Brewers Fayre pub next to the Port gates for a brew. They have a soft play area, filled with other kids waiting to board and as such Joseph is entertained for the brief wait.

When 1pm arrives, we make our way to the Covid Testing area, where after handing over our luggage and an hour or so queue & wait for a negative test result, we’re allowed to board a bus for the few minutes ride to the ship, which we can see just a few hundred meters away, the Mickey Mouse head shapes visible on the bright red funnels. After Joseph is given his Disney Cruise Line Magic Band (which he’ll need for Kids Club and if we get separated), we’re allowed to board on the starboard side on deck 2, which unfortunately means we don’t get to board straight into the Atrium, where Mickey & Minnie await to welcome us, but it’s just a short walk and up a deck and we enjoy being announced aboard and watching the short song & dance the characters give us. The staff are all smiles and do seem genuinely pleased to see us; not a surprise given that many of them have I suspect been working other jobs whilst the cruise industry has been dormant.

We head for Deck 9, the pool deck, where Joseph immediately gets changed into his 2 piece Batman swimming costume (sorry Marvel!) which we’d packed in our hand luggage and is in the pool. I locate the food offerings and immediately stuff my face with pizza and a hotdog & fries despite the fact that it’s only a couple of hours before our first dinner aboard at Lumiere’s that night. After a couple of hours on deck, we find our “stateroom”, a very well appointed and comfortable cabin with a sofa which converts to a bed for Joseph to sleep on. The bed is huge and we easily all three of us fit in it. After unpacking whilst Joseph watches Disney content on the little TV (well, it’s at least 26 inch but I suppose that’s considered small these days!) and when dinner time rolls round just before 6pm, we head to Lumiere’s and I enjoy what must be my first ever steak dinner with a jacket potato & greens. Sarah also enjoys the steak whilst Joseph tucks into pizza, fries and a little garden veg. The Ship’s Captain announces that we have set sail and to Sarah’s pleasure, we barely feel like we’re moving; afterall, we’ll only be sailing at about 7 or 8 knots maximum!

After dinner, and as we’ve heard the shops onboard sell out of items quickly, we head to Deck 4 where we’re met with a queue to enter Mickey’s Mainsail & Sea Treasures and on finally getting in, find the shelves largely bare. The shops opened at 6pm whilst we were at dinner and have virtually sold out of everything but clothing in that time. With no re-stock during the trip, we promise Joseph that we’ll buy him a gift when we get home and Sarah is disappointed that she can’t treat herself to a Cruise Line Loungefly whilst aboard. We take a brief look around the other areas of the ship and see various Disney characters posing for socially distanced photos with guests, spend a little more time on Deck 9 watching the Frozen-themed “Freezing the Night Away” with Elsa, Anna, Olaf and other characters before retiring to our cabin for a very comfortable night’s sleep.

Saturday, 4th September 2021: Night Two

Joseph sleeps like a log until 08:30; Sarah is up earlier and takes the opportunity to sit on the verandah and read a little before we shower, get dressed and head to breakfast at Lumiere’s. I am delighted to see Eggs Benedict on the menu (if you’ve read my Orlando post, you might might remember I has a delicious Eggs Benedict at Manchester Airport whilst we waited to board the flight) and tuck-in whilst Sarah orders some fruit; we ask for Mickey Waffles for Joseph, although I end up eating most of it and he has a little fruit. After breakfast, we head to Deck 9 again and Joseph is quickly in the pool with the other boys & girls. I head back to our room to change into my swim shorts to join Joseph in the water whilst Sarah reads closeby. The pool itself is only a foot or so deep, but there is a “Splash Zone” at the rear which Joseph enjoys too and we occasionally take the short walk down the Deck to midship, where there is another pool, this time 4 feet deep, where Joseph and I take a dip after a brief wait (social distancing is still in place and as such, a maximum of 20 people are allowed in the pool at a time). Although there are two water slides, once of which has a drop entry from the top of one of the funnels, Joseph can’t pluck up the courage to try them and we stick to the pools. The Ship is sailing down the Yorkshire Coast, ironically to Flamborough Head, just down the way from Scarborough, where the ship then turns and heads back to Newcastle. At 7 or so knots, this round-trip takes a whole day and we make it twice during the Cruise.

The day is spent swimming, lounging and trying the various food offerings on Deck. There are salad bowls, sandwiches, shawarma kebabs and many other fast-food choices (including the aforementioned pizza, hotdogs and also burgers) but the buffet restaurant, Cabanas, is also open and they have many dishes including various curries which Sarah tries & enjoys. We take a chance trip back to the shops to see that they have indeed not re-stocked, but as there are fewer people looking for purchases after the first night’s carnage and the room is a little less populated, I do manage to find a fridge magnet as a souvenir and Joseph picks out an Aurora pen two pin badges (Cinderella & Ariel) to decorate his Mickey backpack we bought him especially for the trip.

Joseph is booked into Kids Club for a little before 4pm; he gets to do some crafting, meet characters and give us a little respite to ourselves for a couple of hours before dinner.

There are three child-friendly restaurants aboard (there is an adults only restaurant, Palos, but as we have Joseph we don’t want to leave him at Kids Club whilst we eat) and you try each one on successive nights. Lumiere’s last night was certainly the most up-scale of the family-friendly restaurants; night two is spent at Animator’s Palate, which is heavily themed around Disney animation as you would expect from the name. When you arrive at your table, you’re asked to draw a character which will then be animated on screen during the main course. We all do our best (Joseph draws a werewolf, I draw myself in a Starfleet Uniform and Sarah herself) and hand in the drawings to our servers. You have the same servers each night and they follow you to each restaurant, taking a note of your likes & dislikes and special dietary requirements etc. I again have a slightly different steak dinner as last evening’s was so delicious whilst Joseph has chicken strips and fries.

After dinner, we head for the Walt Disney Theatre where we are to watch the night’s West-End style show “Tangled: The Musical”, but it’s very busy and extremely warm and neither Sarah nor I feel we’ll be able to sit masked for what will be more than 2 hours. As such, we decide instead to spend the evening up on Deck 9 watching that evening’s film, Sarah’s aforementioned favourite, “Coco” on the Funnelvision (a huge screen mounted to the Ship’s funnel, on which they pretty much constantly screen Disney films all day). It’s quite cold on Deck however, and after a little while, we retreat to the cabin and hit the hay.

Sunday, 5th September 2021: Night Three

We awake to toilet trouble in our room; it won’t flush! After a quick call to our stateroom host Elmer, maintenance are there to fix it in a flash. We dress and head for breakfast. Not wishing to buck the trend, Joseph is again dressed for a pool day and given that he’s had such a wonderful time thus far, we simply leave him to play, watching from deckchairs in front of the pool, happily tucking into whatever goodies we can lay our hands on (more pizza, anyone?).

Later that day, whilst Joseph heads to Kids Club, Sarah decides to try out the gym at the bow of the ship, giving a panoramic view of the North Sea ahead. Whist she does, I head for Deck 4, where there is a “running track” on Deck on which you can take a full circuit of the Ship; having bought a cheap Akaso Brave 7 LE action camera to record our time aboard (which was ok, but I really should just have used my iPhone), I record a walking lap (you’re not surprised I’m not running, are you?!) of the ship from the Starboard side all the way around. It takes me in the region of 8 minutes to walk at a steady pace so that my footage isn’t too shaky (even with image stabilisation on, my Akaso is not even close to GoPro quality); three laps we’re told is equivalent to a mile. I head back to our room where Sarah joins me shortly thereafter and we change ready for our evening meal. Collecting Joseph from Kids Club, we head to Rapunzel’s Royal Table on Deck 4 and for the third night in a row, I again have a steak dinner! Joseph is back to pizza & fries and Sarah has a chicken dinner. The evening’s meal comes with a show; given that we’re at Rapunzels’, you won’t be surprised to learn that the characters from “Tangled” appear to perform songs & dances at intervals during dining, capped off with the servers carrying lanterns throughout the restaurant as you enjoy your dessert. It’s a lovely show and although I do try to get pictures & videos with my Akaso, alas it simply can’t handle the low light levels. Luckily, Sarah has brought her iPhone and we do get a few snaps & short clips. “Disney Dreams: An Enchanted Classic” is the night’s entertainment post dinner, but we’re so tired after our third pool day in a row and given the conditions in the Walt Disney Theatre the night before, we decide to spend our final evening on Deck watching “Big Hero 6” on Funnelvision. It’s a much warmer night but there are few people sharing the screen with us; we make it a good portion of the way through the film before it’s clear that Joseph is too tired to last the whole runtime and we decide to retire to our room and watch it on the TV there. Joseph however becomes bored quickly and asks that we switch to one of his favourite Disney cartoons instead. Whilst he watches, we (read I) pack our luggage, which then has to be left outside our room for collection ready for an early start tomorrow, and enjoy our final night’s rest aboard.

Monday, 6th September 2021: “Disembarkation Day”

We’re up, showered and dressed at 7am and have our final breakfast onboard at Rapunzel’s (again, you’re allocated where you dine). I’m so full from the night before that I have just an orange juice whilst Sarah and Joseph have some fruit. We’ve all our carry-on luggage with us, so after saying our final farewells to the Cast Members & Crew, settling our account at Guest Services and returning Joseph’s Magic Band, we head to the Ship’s photo gallery and buy a print of an image taken at Rapunzel’s the night before by the in-room photographer as a souvenir. It’s a 45 minute wait for it to be developed, but on collection and after a final trip to the Atrium, we disembark down the gangway and bid our farewell to the Magic; as always, it’s never goodbye, but “until the next adventure”. An extremely short bus ride (just a couple of hundred meters again) takes us back to the Port of Tyne terminal, where we very quickly find our luggage and head back on foot to the Brewer’s Fayre, where Frank had dropped us off three days prior and from where he will shortly collect us. As we walk, the Ship’s red funnels steadily recede behind the Port terminal, until it is gone from sight. We have a drink whilst we wait for Frank to arrive (Joseph has a slushie at 9 in the morning!) and enviously watch the guests arriving for the next sailing, which will be that very evening, knowing what an amazing adventure they will have in the coming days and wishing that we could return to the Ship with them.

Frank lands and we spend the journey back to Scarborough regaling him with tales of the food we’ve enjoyed during our stay. We’re home seemingly in a flash, where after goodbyes, as usual after a stay away, the washing machine awaits.

I can’t tell you how sad I actually felt that morning; saying farewell to the people who had taken good care of us during the trip and walking down the stairs where Mickey & Minnie had greeted us on arrival and though the grand Atrium for the last time. It’s fair to say that we would have no qualms taking another Disney Cruise and even that Sarah has officially caught the “Cruise Bug”, looking at future sailings in more exotic locations such as the Bahamas to Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay. Given that President Biden has in the last few days relaxed the restrictions allowing us Britons entry to the US again provided you’ve been double vaccinated, it’s certainly an option we’re considering for future (in addition to revisiting Orlando!). That said, if Disney ever ran another Staycation Cruise in the UK, you could count us in. We truly did have a magical time.

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