A Busy Friday

Mr J and I can't complain we didn't get our exercise today. We left our hotel after breakfast on a mission to get to the closest mall by foot. It didn't look too far on the map but after a good hour of walking we had done a lot of talking and laughing but had no sight of a mall. We estimated that we had walked a good 3 miles (almost 5km) and decided to stop. We went into a walmart to see what they had instead. This wasn't the common walmart, instead it was a 'neighbourhood store' which is closer to a supermarket. All I can say is... cheap!! Mr J bought one litre of Gatorade for US$1. You can buy a large bag of M&M's for just over US$1 also {my brother would love this at home!}. We bought some necessities and found a bus stop nearby. We caught the bus back to our hotel after realising we had not put sunscreen on and were quite pink {there may be an ozone layer here compared to none at home but the sun still burns, it just takes a little longer}.  The bus trip was US$2, again very cheap! Mr J and I got off a stop early and picked up homemade ice-cream from a store nearby. It was a struggle to eat it faster than it was melting but after a messy face and a few giggles we got there. Back at the hotel, it was pool time. We then got ready for the wedding rehearsal and dinner.

At the rehearsal dinner we experienced our first American barbeque. YUM! I can't tell you what I was eating but it was tasty. Mr J went back for seconds, a big seconds! We ate cream pies, cake pops and we had Australian chocolates and lollies {candies} for the Americans to try. By this time there are a few Australian friends and family of the groom in Florida.

I have an American gentleman trying to teach me how to come across as a local. He is ATTEMPTING to teach me their accent and slang, I need a lot more practice. I was introduced to a lot of people tonight and none of them had heard of my name before. They like it {at least that's what they are telling me}. It's amazing to see how intrigued the Americans are about us, our culture and our accent. We often are getting people come up to us to hear us speak - quite frankly, I don't mind as I like hearing them talk too. Mr J has met the other men in the bridal party and gets along with them very well, one in particular has made time to get to know us and is picking Mr J up for the wedding tomorrow. All Americans are lovely, their service is incredible as they have to work for it {tips} and they have manners.

Mr J's cousin, who we havent seen for a couple of years lives with his wife and son, 4 hours away from here. They came across for the wedding and are staying in the same hotel as us. Its great! We grabbed a ride home with them from the dinner and as Mr J will be doing his groomsman duties tomorrow, I will be driving with them to the wedding also. Mr J and I also have organised to catch up with them over breakfast in the morning.

Jamie loved the bucks show yesterday!! They played dodgeball and other games at the venue. He ate pizza, talked guy stuff and went for a swim.

Wedding day tomorrow. Bliss!