June 12th. Night before flight

     Sherri and I have had a very nice trip. The boat was great but I have to admit... Tonight we have a bath tub, working TV, internet, a very comfortable bed, room service if we want, air conditioning and no throb throb of Diesel engine. It makes me appreciate modern conveniences again.

     Tomorrow we fly home. We should arrive 5ish in Springfield. Looking forward to seeing family and getting caught up on work and chores. 

    I hope you have enjoyed this blog. 

June 11th. Side Trip

     Sherri and I decided to leave the boat for the day and travel to Milton Keynes. Taking the bus into Northampton then a short train ride to Milton. They have a nice mall and good food. I didn't take many pictures because not a lot of things to take pictures of. Mostly modern buildings with offices. 

     Back on the boat around 5 pm we decided to push on closer to Gayton. We stopped and had dinner at a pub called the Wharf then a couple more miles down the canal. 

    Returning to the marina to turn in the boat. I am sad it almost done but ready to come home. 

June 10th. Back in Weedon Bec

     Today we left the Oxford Canal for the Grand Union. I motored till 9:00 pm last night so we could be close to Braunston and work the locks early in the day. 6 locks to the tunnel and 7 on the other side coming down to Weedon Bec.

     Sherri and I stopped for a few minutes at the Marina in Braunston. I replaced the mallet that was tossed in the canal at Banbury. 

      We stopped for a short lunch after passing through the tunnel. Nice quiet place. 

     Tonight we are staying in Weedon. Tomorrow we plan on taking a side trip via train to Milton Keynes, then up Thursday morning for the 2.5 hour trip to Gayton Marina. 

June 9th. Sunny day.

     Today was spent motoring through scenic country side. We are on our way back to Braunston. We will stop short tonight. Tomorrow will be a long day of locks tunnel and then more locks. We hope to be in Weedon Bec tomorrow night. From there we are going to take a bus to Northampton then the train to Milton Keynes for the day. Still on schedule to be back to the Marina on Thursday. 

     I don't recall if I commented or posted the picture above in a previous post. This is a pill box from WWII. Fortunately unused. After the war, the British found detailed maps of the canals. They assume that the Germans would have used the canals in their invasion plan. 

     Didn't expect to see water buffalo in England. 

June 8th. Nice day cruising across the country side.

     Last night we stayed just outside of Cropyredy. Sherri and I took a short stroll through the town. 

     This morning after breakfast, Sherri was still a bit tired so she took a short nap. I prepared our lunch for the oven. We picked up some lamb shanks in Banbury at a butchers shop, potatoes, onions, and carrots at the farmers market. The butcher suggested a tomato and wine based casserole sauce. I popped it in the oven at 8:30 then went for a walk so Sherri could rest. 

     Cropredy is you typical charming English village. Two pubs, two churches and one small grocery. 

     

     When I returned to the boat, Sherri was up and ready to go. We stopped just around the corner to take on fresh water. 

     

     Leaving Cropredy around 10:00 am, we had 9 locks to go through. We are finally getting a good system down that makes the locks less work. The whole time motoring and working the locks, I could smell our luch cooking. 

     Since these locks are space over 4 miles, we stopped somewhere in the middle to eat lunch. I hoped it tasted as good as it smelled. 

     I have to say it was one of the best meals we had.

     We are now in Fenny Compton for the night. Plenty of time to get back to the marina is allowing us a leisurely pace.

  

June 7th. Rainy day.

   

     We are moored in the town center of Banbury I front of a pub. Mistake. Last night someone banged into the boat for fun, climbed on top and ran the length of the boat and stole our mop off the roof. It's probably in the canal. Bored kids with bad parents. We didn't feel threatend, just annoyed. After someone hit the boat, I couldn't go back to sleep. I got up and sat on the back of boat. Out of no-where, standing next to me was a man saying "easy on the boat". I said pardon?  He repeated "easy on the boat"? It took me a second to realize he was asking if I was taking it easy on the boat. My new friend Dwight and I had a 20 minute conversation about whatever his mind could focus on. A few minutes later, Dwight reached in the inside pocket of his jacket and produced an extra beer all for me. We shared a drink then Dwight staggered on down the tow path. He turned and said, "I will back by in the morning to check on you". True to his word, Dwight was knocking on the hatch at 7:30 am. Still holding a beer in is hand, he inquired about our night. He soon staggered off saying he needed to go see his mum today. 

     Sherri and I set off to find breakfast. We ended up at Faulty Towers and was served by Manuel. (Those fans of British sitcoms will get the reference). His name is Valie for short. He was very pleasent and very busy. Breakfast was very tasty.  

 

    Because of the rain, we are going to spend the day at the mall and any other indoor activities we can find. 

     The sun has emerged and the day is tuning beautiful. Having a late lunch then walk a bit more around town. Because of last nights harassment we are moving down the canal a bit. 

June 6th. Working locks alone

     Sherri and I both slept well. I suggested she shop on her own while I make a 3 hour trip to a Marina a friend suggested I visit. 

     I have been visiting with the couple, Brian and Shirly, moored behind us. It wasn't long before Sheeri and Shirly were conspiring to spend the day together shopping. 

     I left Sherri and my credit card behind and headed to Tryford Wharf  Marina. I worked the two locks solo. Everything went well. 

     I turned the boat around at Trywford, moored and crossed the bridge to visit with Colin. He has two very nice boats that he hires out. Sherri and I plan on hiring from Colin when we return. 

     Back in Banbury and our boat is facing the correct direction for return departure on Sunday. 

     When I returned I noticed a very, very upset young lady at the bus stop. A couple ladies were trying to comfort her. Soon the police showed up. One police office was kneeled showing great concern for needs. I was impressed with kindness he was displaying. Need more of this. Shortly an ambulance showed to assist and she calmed down. I don't know if you can see the officer in the bus station stand in this picture. 

     We are not sure what we are doing tomorrow. Maybe a rest day and exploring close to the boat. A nap may be needed to tackle the trip back. 

Posting some random pictures below. 

June 5th. Sunny Day.

     Sherri and I left Weedon Bec around 8:30 in the morning. The weather was chilli but the sun was out. We motored for an hour or so until we came to our first lock of the day. The picture above is interesting. Not just for its beauty but also for it history. At one time it was actually a tunnel. The rock was crumbly and long backups would acure at the tunnel. So the solution? Remove the top. The sides are now covered with heavy foliage and now disguises what it once was. We knew this existed but didn't know we passed through it until someone told us. 

     The day was bright and sunny. Sherri is now master entering and exiting the locks. We even have somewhat of a system and it seams to work. 

     We have arrived at our furthest point Banbury. We will spend a couple days here then turn back on Sunday for Gaton. We will return the boat next Thursday. 

     We walked into town for dinner. Something interesting about Banbury driving laws. You can drive your mini car into the pub, right up to the bar and order a drink. Don't believe me? See the picture below. 

     Maybe a trip to Oxford by rail if time allows. 

June 4th. Rainy Day.

    We stopped short of Napton and spent the night, moored in the country side.
     This morning, up early and after a full breakfast, we headed to Napton and the 9 locks for today. A soft rain was falling so we dressed in our rain gear. Stopping below the first lock we refilled our water tank. The set of nine locks were the first of the single boat locks Sherri and I have navigated. We found them much easier to operate and took less time to go through. At this point, I am going to say that I might, or might not have made a rookie mistake when operating lock number 12. No damage done to the lock itself but shattering to my pride. It had to do with water and the lack of between locks. My boating friend David will understand. I can already feel his disapproving look.
     Moving on. After we negotiated the 9 locks, we stopped for a short lunch just above the top lock. Sherri was very tired and I suggested she take a nap while I piloted the boat to Fenny Compton. I didn't have to mention it twice. I took hold of the tiller and notice the drizzle was changing to rain. Over the next 3.5 hours it went from steady rain to downpours. 

     We stopped in Fenny Compton for the night. Eating fish and chips at the Wharf Pub just 40 steps from the boat.

June 3rd. First full day on the boat.

     Sherri and I spent the night in Weedon BEC. We made seven miles on Monday. Pretty good for half a day.

     This was the first day that I was able to fix breakfast on the boat. I had eggs over easy, english bacon that was fried to golden brown, toast with butter and jelly. Sherri had oatmeal. After breakfast we walked into town to the local grocery store to pick up a few items. 

     

     We snuck away from Weedon at 8 am and headed toward Braunston. Shortly we reached our first locks for the day. We were fortunate enough to team up with another couple to share the work load of working the 13 locks that lay ahead. 9 miles, 13 locks and one tunnel later, we are now at Braunston for dinner and a visit to the butchers. 

     To stay on schedule we will travel a couple hours after dinner. Our goal for the night is Napton on the Hill.