Its Kyle’s (Ki as we call him) or as I sometimes refer to him as Nan, Lamb, Noosh, Zam, Kiyzee’s birthday. He’s 18 and taking it in his stride as we head towards Valparaiso in Florida to a gun range called Emerald Coast Indoor Shooting & Sport. Its a 200 mile journey from Ginnie Springs but it goes quick. The excitement radiating from my man is tangible, shooting guns was his idea, and something not possible to do in the UK. Before we knew it we were there and Ki was outside the car waiting patiently for me to regain the use of my legs before we went in.

I have to be honest, I love guns, their design, their use as a hunting tool and show off skill and dominance in the arena of competion. I don’t like them as a tool for killing and destruction, I hate them for that. So does Ki. I’m not from the services, I understand the argument for them to be used in defence but overall I’m glad the UK has strict gun control. I do however respect the American right to bear arms. Its not for me to judge, its their country and their decision so with all this running in my mind we entered the range. The sight of so many guns overwhelmed me and Ki. He adapted quickly it took me a little longer. Introducing ourselves to the welcoming staff we signed our waivers and got to the good stuff, choosing the guns to fire and the ammo to allow us to. Now, you think you know how it will be after watching hundreds of movies where guns are fired in a rapid rate but the sound, the vibration of compressed air the smell of burnt powder was incredible. It through me into a momentary panick. Ki on the other hand was beaming ear to ear. For next three hours it was a steady flow of hand guns, semi automatics and machine gun fire that rattled through ammo like money from my bank account.

The staff at this range were incredible, their knowledge unrivaled. I had chosen well, well done me!! Though this moment was Ki’s. Me, a mere back seat driver watching my son achieve an ambition. Me and his mum are lucky to be his parents, I will say proud actually. We stumbled out the range clutching blown apart targets and caps. I felt the burden of money was greatly reduced for some reason (the experience was around £400 total) and we were them on our way to Grayton Beach State Park in the pickup in a made retelling of the guns the pictures and generally how cool it was. Before we knew it the camp site was there and us parked with a few beers in the boot and a fire pit beckoning.

This was a great campsite. The area is very ecclectic, posh almost. Didn’t meet anyone as we arrived late and left early but boy was this a lovely place to stay, best so far in terms of overall amenities. So for the next day i will be put up soon but until then here’s a sample of things to come.