1982: Had to get away

So Did you miss me?

I've been doing a two-centre holiday in Las Vegas (enormous though expensive fun, but hey, that's what you're there for) and Orlando. The latter destination was due to Mrs P's work so while Vegas was a 99% indoor holiday where time had no meaning. I tagged along and sat by the pool between tropical thundersorms for a 99% outdoor stint while she slaved.

Orlando really is ghastly isn't it? I've been before and I really don't remember it being as chavvy. It's got to be the holiday destination for the white trash of the world, that and families with kids who are dying to go to the Magic Kingdom.

Though I am one of those kids, there's no way I was going alone, but I did manage to persuade Mrs P to come to Universal's Islands Of Adventure so we could visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. With it's reproduction of Hogwarts and lifesize snow-capped Diagon Alley shopping mall it was quite a sight to behold. Small, very, very crowded and worse for it being 100 degrees in the shade, but we did the rides and they were impressive, on a broomstick through the Quidditch match and every other part of Harry Potter's universe. This being a US theme park no retail opportunity is left unturned, and I fell for the Bertie Bott's Every Flavour jellybeans and I bought a Griffindor jumper which will get lots of use when the weather turns.

Mrs P takes some persuading when it comes to theme parks, but by the end she was the one hotfooting it to the Jurassic Park section and racing to get to the Lost City before it shut. So much so we had to go back the next day and do the other half of the park.

When I first visited the US in 1982 we went theme park mad. In fact a vist to LA was done with the complete intention of taking in as many as we could. So we did Disneyland (over two days), Knot's Berry Farm, the fledgling Universal Studios with its Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and Psycho II sets, Star Wars bridge and amazing at the time Jaws ride. It was also the home of the Munsters Mockingbird Lane (seen recently as Desperate Housewives' Wisteria Lane). We came away with Fast Times At Ridgemount High T-shirts (it was being filmed at the time) and guest of hte day was Kim Fields who played Tootie in The Facts Of Life. I loved every minute of every bit of it, and I bought this record which was all over MTV, which I also couldn't get enough of. Oh, those salad days.

I didn't hear any current music this time, but it's all Eighties all the time. Things were better then, weren't they?