TRIP PREP

 

Dadlington   

 

We had a full tank of water last night so took advantage of it and did 3 loads of wash. We have to keep the engine going so the batteries don’t run down. Running the washer uses a lot of “juice”. We have found that if we do the shortest cycle possible, the clothes still get clean enough, and it only takes about 15 minutes. We had clothes hanging to dry all over the boat in every nook and cranny. David even took a long "unscheduled" shower last night knowing we could fill up the water tank again in the morning.

We waited for the expected rain to settle down until around 9 am this morning, but it never did. We refilled our water tank and then cruised into the nearby marina to get fuel. As we aimed our boat toward the marina entrance, the winds grew fierce. The marina docks are wide open, so the winds were ripping through it. David had to work hard to maneuver the boat to the fuel dock. He had just got it lined up for a smooth landing when a gust of wind blew my hat into the water. The timing could not have been worse.

I grabbed the pike pole while David was trying to wrangle the boat. I was so afraid I was going to cause the hat to sink as I attempted to hook it and get it into reach. By the time I had the hat safely aboard, David had lost all advantage as the wind picked up. He finally got the stern to the edge of the dock, and I was able to step off with the mid-line.

The winds were pulling the boat away from the dock and my wet cold hands were having trouble hanging on to the line. I was unable to get enough slack to get the line through the iron ring on the dock for leverage. It was a struggle to say the least. Eventually, David and I were able to get it tied up to the dock with very little finesse. I felt aching in my shoulder blades and chest and knew I had pulled far too hard. We are running out of Tylenol.

David had a full tank of fuel, a full tank of water and plenty of coal. It was like having all your firewood split and stacked and ready for winter. He was a happy man as we cruised cautiously out of the marina.

We were tempted to just tie up in the same place we were in last night in hopes the wind and rain would soon subside but carried on to Danlington which was just an hour and a half away.  I had read about the Dog and Hedgehog Gastropub there and suggested we try it out. The promise of great food is always a motivator.

We found a mooring spot near the bridge we needed to cross to the pub. David went to the cupboard to get the “C” clamps and only found one out of three. I double checked and could not find them. Our fear is that we may have left them on shore somewhere after releasing the lines. Looks like we will be making a hardware store visit soon to replace them. DRAT!

                                                        The Dog and Hedgehog Gastropub

                                    Warming up by the fire after a wet, cold and windy walk

The meal was delicious! The dining room was bustling. David had muscles, and I had chicken breast in mushroom sauce. Both were exceptional. But the topper was the desserts. Once again, I tried the sticky toffee pudding (often when asked if we have room for dessert, they say “Room for pudding?”) and David had apple crumble with custard. Oh, my!  I could really taste the toffee flavor on this one.

                                           

                                              Delightful Desserts

We had a dreadful narrow muddy path to walk from the boat to the bridge. A few times I nearly lost my shoe in the stickiness and often slipped on the gooey mud. We walked through a rather posh neighborhood with swanky cars. We only saw houses and a pub in this tiny community. What more do you need?

                               Squishy muddy walk...You can see our boat in background

There are plenty of mooring spots along the canal, some more groomed than others. Many spaces are well marked as 1-day, 2-day and even 2-week stays.  We wondered how they were monitored having never seen any Canal Trust officials on the canal. We did see one red tag on a porthole of a boat but not sure if it was a ticket of some kind.

While getting water this morning, David spoke to a Canal Trust official who happened to be walking on the path. He said that they have little trouble with boaters complying.  He also said that on the 2,000 miles of canals in the UK, there are 40,000 boats!

 The leaves are finally falling and becoming matted on sidewalks, paths and forming floating carpets on the canal. David often will flush them off the rudder by putting the boat in reverse. The canal was a “duck haven” today. David became a distracted driver while trying to count a group of them.  Luckily, he realized in time avoiding putting the bow into the bank. We move so slowly…you can forget that we are moving!

                                                          One, two, three, four......

                                  Yep, those leaves are finally falling

 

                    We have seen this flag on several boats...Pirates on the canal?