So we were supposed to go scuba diving again at West Palm beach but its been cancelled due to bad weather so we decided to head straight to Tampa to go to Busch Gardens. After much faffing n blagging I managed to get the non refundable hotel booking changed from West Palm Beach to one in Tampa - RESULT !!
 

VROOM VROOOM LETS HIT THE ROAD
So we were due to pick up the hire car at 1pm - we get to the office to see an almighty queue and megga delays due to Miami being soooo busy this weekend - THREE hours later we finally get our car - great that instead of the cheapest smallest car we booked we ended up with a decent Chrysler - they charge £8 a day for sat nav so I chanced my arm and after complaining that we had waited so long I managed to get this for free for the whole car hire saving us £30 hehe .

I hate driving automatics I have to wedge my left foot far from the pedal for the first half hour or else I just end up jumping on the brake thinking its a clutch....so setting off into 4 lane megga traffic jams was just what I needed to get used to the car lol - Marc is also THE worst back seat driver.....I am determined he is gonna sit his test when he gets home so he can get a taste of his own medicine hehehehe!


 
 
OUR ROOM OF LUXURY
Some 5 hours later we finally arrive at our motel around 1030pm at night - totally shattered. We were staying at a Days Inn cheapo motel but for us this is total luxury, we have a giant king bed, english speaking TV, about 5 different towels in the bathroom (total luxury), coffee maker, fridge, microwave, hand soap (again this is a total bonus compared to some rooms in S.America) oh and most importantly 3 rolls of toilet paper - this is totally unheard of in S .America haha, not to mention the room is unnecessarily huge !! DELIGHTED to say the least we hop in bed totally loving being in America haha.


I-HOPPING TO BUSCH GARDENS 
So its up early to get to Busch Gardens, check out of hotel cause we are driving to Orlando after the park...I swear I am gonna drop with exhaustion but its cheaper to stay in Orlando so we are powering on. We start the day with I-Hop the pancake place, Debbie our super friendly waitress keeps the table coming with a huge refillable jug of coffee and some funky fruity drinks for me - then comes the ridiculous amount of food - YUM YUM our first pig out in ages and it was delicious.

So with bellies full its a 2 min drive to the park, car parked and we are in. We spend the rest of the day throwing ourself around all the coasters - no queues on any of them we picked the weekdays to go to the parks and its paying off straight on the rides in a theme park is a total bonus .  

We decided to do the safari tour too - I had done this before and couldnt wait for Marc to experience the disgusting-ness of 14" giant giraffe tongues YUK - its totally cool though but I hate animal drool so once again my pics are terrible lol. You ride standing up in the back of the truck alongside rhinos, zebras, wilder beast and gazelles - great wee adventure.

We had a totally amazing day at the park and thanks to the lack of queues got out around 5.30pm and did the just over an hour drive to Orlando and checked into our next Days Inn hotel there on International Drive.   



 

COSTS
Car hire per day - £19
Sat nav per day - £8 (but we blagged for free)
King room at Days Inn Tampa Busch Gardens, free wifi, no breakfast incl - £32 per night
King room at Days Inn International Drive Orlando, free wifi no break incl -  £29 per night 
Entry ticket to Busch Gardens & Seaworld - £77 per person
Safari Tour in Busch Gardens - £22 per person
Breakfast at I-Hop - £13.70