Santa Rosa County

We were treated for another lie in today with a 9am coach depart time. We finished off the grapes and cereal bars on the way to our first stop. The house of the creators of Coca-Cola. The house was kept as a museum with all the features and furnishings from the time, the gardens were gorgeous. With rose gardens and a beautiful pond overlooking the huge lake where a speedboat was powering past. We explored the grounds a bit, finding another smaller lake that was home to an alligator. We definitely saw something in the water but we couldn't tell well it was 100% a gator. What we did see was plenty of spiders, huge ones, all different colourings and menacing looking, in fact the webs covered the entrance to the oriental gardens so I decided to give that a miss and head to lunch.

Lunch was in the cafe at the house, I had a toasted turkey sandwich and dad went for bbq pork bun. I was hoping it was the best sandwich of my life after dad tipped $5 and to be fair it was pretty good. It was packed full of meat and I ended up giving a quarter of it to Dad.

Next it was back on the coach until we arrived in our final state - Flordia. We stopped at the visitor centre and had a sample of Floridas orange juice, it was sweet and smooth, a much needed refreshment from travelling.

The coach pulled up at the marriott by courtyard at 3pm and we were given the opportunity to go to Pensacola beach, an offer we could not refuse. So after a quick change and sharing a blueberry kitkat (weirdly nice) we were back on the coach. The beach was lovely with soft white sand and warm waters. Dad dived in but I opted for a paddle. We did a quick loop around the beach before it was time to go.

Back at the hotel I had a peruse of the various eating establishments and seeing as it was fathers day I settled on Dennys Diner, a step up from fast food. The interior was purposefully 70s, which gave it an outdated feel, but the quality of the food was very good. Our waitress was very nice and recommended that I had the country gravy with my steak, mash and brocoli. I can't quite describe the taste but it was nice if a little creamy. The steak was cooked to perfection, nice and juicy and not chewy at all. It came with toasted baguette which was a welcome if unexpected addition. Dad went for a bourbon chicken sizzler complete with potatoes and veg, the sauce was sweet and sticky and he got his with toast. While it's not something you'd ever think of ordering together he also agreed it was a welcome addition.

After the walk back to the hotel we stopped at a dollar general and got stocked up with items for tomorrow. Then we cracked out the Uno, along with a couple of brews and some chocolate. I can't say that it was an even competition, apart from one game, dad dominated all rounds and ended on 500 points exactly. It was a great evening full of laughsRead more