Catch up 2

Hello, friends,
I think I got us up to Sunday night.  It is now Wednesday morning and so I'll try to get caught up all the way before we get our day in Bath started.

Monday morning we got up early - the kids didn't even complain - got our stuff packed, rechecked the sweet little house for leftover stuff, and left.  There was a moment of panic when I couldn't find the car key but it was superficially packed - I didn't have to open every bag to find it - and another once we walked around the block to the little parking lot when Giselle discovered that her mp3 player was not where she usually puts it.  Easily enough fixed - we swung the car around and drove by the place for a last check.  It wasn't in the house so she knew she packed it - somewhere.  We got in the car and drove to the rental place, which is kind of an overstatement - it's a former gas station turned car wash with no parking, no real drop off, and signs everywhere that say "no parking."  I managed to find a spot not blocking any gates or driveways, we said goodbye to the car and walked 1/2 block to the train station, where we caught the 7:25 to Cardiff Central.  We actually got off one station before that.  It was so cool to hear the station names being announced both in Welsh and English.

We were on the train for about 2 hours before we reached our stop, then trudged to the information kiosk and found where the train to Bristol was, then connected to Bath from there.  We got to Bath around 12:30 and walked around a bit.  In order to get out of the train station, one has to run one's ticket through an electronic turnstile; we have rail passes and they wouldn't fit, so we asked the nice employee by the exit what to do.  He very solicitously let us out, and told us where to find a grocery store.  We were right near the bus station, and wandered a bit, before we realized that we didn't ALL have to drag our luggage to the grocery store, so I left Genevieve and Thad with the bags on a bench in the square, and Giselle and I scouted.  The store was another block away - no problem.  We decided to get lunch, as we had eaten so early, and settled on a burger place.  I got a kids' meal which came with a grilled corn on the cob option and a shake, so I was happy.

While we waited for our food, I trotted over to the grocery store and picked up some supplies for the boat, which we had arranged with my mother-in-law and her husband to do, because where the boat company is has no good grocery store.  Then we took a taxi after lunch to the marina.  I was SO glad not to have to drive anymore; riding with the taxi driver, who presumably knows what he's doing, was bad enough.  (He drove safely; it's just the narrow streets with maybe 1.5 lanes between hedges and stone walls that get to me.)   The kids here are not out of school yet; I think they have another week.  Apparently the school day is about 6 hours - Genevieve was envious that they get to "sleep in," but I reminded her that they go to school through July, and she decided she likes her school hours/vacations better.

We met Martha and Larry at the Bath Dundas Marina just before 2, but the boat wasn't ready yet, so we walked around by the canal, used the bathroom, etc.  Then we had a tutorial by a man named Gareth, who had been commandeered to do it for us (I think they were VERY busy).  He said he hadn't done it in a year but it seemed to go fine.  We had watched a youtube video at home about how to run the boats that I think was released by the narrow boat company, so a lot of it was familiar already.  Larry, Martha's husband, is captain (obviously), and he made me "assistant skipper," probably because I was standing there when Gareth asked who was second in command, and Larry pointed to me. 

We got a much later start than we had thought - more like 5 than 3.  Gareth took out the boat from the marina, which was fine with me, as there were boats on either side for about 1/2 mi or more (I couldn't really tell) and it was tricky.  Then Gareth left and walked back (there is a tow path on one side of the canal all the way along) and Larry took over.  He and Martha had piloted a narrow boat in Wales with some of their other kids and grandkids last week, so they knew what they were doing as well, which was nice.  After having had to be in control for 4 days of driving, it was nice to let someone else take over. 

We went a few miles and then found a place to moor, and some people got out and wandered around, and some of us organized photos, repacked, chilled, wrote, whatever.  The boat is tied up to permanent rings on the shore of the canal.  Larry has a map showing where the turnaround points are, and the bridges and locks.  We haven't done a lock yet, but there were two bridges, one swing (pivots laterally to open) and lift bridges, which have to be levered up to let the boat through.  There are set procedures for opening them, and each boat has a key that unlocks the bridge (if needed), and foot traffic has the right of way over boat traffic.  When we get to one, I'll take photos and post them on social media.  :)

So that was Monday.
Tuesday morning we got up; Genevieve and I took a walk together and found some blackberries (just a handful of ripe ones) which we brought back, since both of us like to pick the but neither of us likes to eat them.  Then we went with Giselle and Thad to a little waterfall which was down the path and across the train tracks (crossing those made Genevieve nervous).  Back to the boat and underway; it was my turn to pilot.  The boat is 62 feet long and when you steer, it pivots from the center, so it takes some getting used to.  I let Larry take over for some very narrow bits when a couple of other boats were passing on the other side, but otherwise it was not too hard to get the basics.

We found out Monday that our 240V plugs didn't work, nor did our Wi-Fi on the boat, so we planned to head for the Bath marina to get that checked out.  We can't go any farther than that because our boat is too long for the next turnaround and the company doesn't want us going on the river, where there's a current.  When we got to the marina it was very crowded, so we had to turn around to find a spot to moor.  That's where I stopped writing yesterday.   Larry got out to go to the marina; the rest of us took a little longer to get ready, so we decided to go toward the city and find a grocery store (small dorm-fridge-sized fridge in this boat).  We did that, and wandered around the outskirts of the city a bit.  By the time we found Larry again, the company had been on the boat and said that it hadn't idled high enough the day before to charge the battery, but now it was reset and fine.  The engine has to either be running (forward)or in high idle for at least 6 hours a day to charge the battery.

We returned to the boat with our groceries and stowed them, then got ready for an excursion into Bath (walking). We are somewhere between 20 and 30 minutes' walk fro the city center.  It was raining, interspersed with raining harder, the whole time we were there.  Our family had been asked if we brought the good weather with us (it was cloudy one other day, the say we went up the mountain), so I'm guessing it has been unseasonably sunny.  I didn't mind the rain too much but it makes it more difficult to walk around. We did a bit of sightseeing (externally, didn't go into anything), found an art supply place and a wool shop, and then ate at a place called "Sally Lunn's," "The oldest house in Bath."  You can buy the "famous Sally Lunn buns" in the restaurant's museum....  which makes me a bit alarmed.  The museum was closed by the time we were finished with a traditionally British meal (chicken and sauce on trenchers was mine) so we were unable to determine whether the bread in the museum is antique or not.  ;)  We'll find out today.

Finally, bedraggled and damp, we walked back to the boat and hung all our wet things to dry.  Larry started up the engine (we were a couple hours short on charging anyway) and turned on the heat, which goes through little radiators on the walls all along one side of the boat.  We discovered that the vents in the ceiling tend to leak; there were small drip puddles on the rug and also (unfortunately) on Martha and Larry's duvet.

We settled in and watched a movie (The Court Jester, with Danny Kaye, Angela Lansbury, and Glynis Johns, c 1954) on my Kindle, and then went to bed about 10. 

And I'm done with yesterday - ta-da!  This morning we're having breakfast and will head out into the city.  The clouds are clearing off so I think it's going to be a nice day.

ta-ra
wendy