Cruising the Thames: June 2016

Day 10 - Home Again

This morning we woke up early and ate breakfast. We had packed most of our stuff the night before, but we had to gather up everything and get it off the boat and clean up. Before long, our bags were sitting alongside the boat. I grabbed a latte at the cafe there and then the cab arrived. The driver, Allen, was the same guy who brought Barbara last week. He took us to Heathrow and dropped us off at our terminal, and took Barbara to hers.

This was surely a fun trip. It had its ups and downs, but mostly ups! We saw some beautiful scenery, toured some fascinating places, and met terrific people! Slawek, Carlos and Lisa of LeBoat Benson were so kind and helpful during a scary and upsetting time.

The LeBoat marina in Benson

Our bags waiting by our boat

We talked to all sorts of folks during this trip, and invariably, we were asked about the upcoming presidential election. Each and every one of them wanted to know how it was possible that Donald Trump was one of the candidates. There was great concern by all of them about the possibility of his being elected.

We also asked them about their upcoming election to determine whether the UK would stay in the EU. Most wanted to leave, citing a desire for their country to decide for itself who might be allowed to live there, with whom they might do business, and other similar reasons.

Below are a few of the pictures that I hadn't included earlier.

Day 9 - Pangbourne to Benson - Back Where we Started

We woke up extra early today and headed right into the first lock, just minutes from our mooring spot. Since it was before 9 am, there was no lockmaster, so I did the honors!

Then we were on our way! We headed to Goring, where we'd spent a night in a hotel earlier in the week. As we docked our boat, we ran into the family we'd met and had drinks with in Henley. We said our hellos and headed into the town. This time we were all more relaxed and spent some time exploring the different stores. We also stopped for coffees. Then David and Barbara bought tote bags at the Goring Grocer.

Interesting scenery along the way (above and below)

Another lock (above and below)

A map of the general area

Soon after, we were back on the boat heading to Wallingford, where we'd shopped for provisions in the supermarket just last Saturday. We decided to eat lunch on the boat since we still had lots of food left.

In Wallingford, we started down a footpath which took us to the middle of town. David headed off to the train museum and Barbara and I went to see the Castle Gardens and the Castle Ruins. The gardens were the old gardens that had been outside the old Castle in Wallingford. It was a very pretty and hilly place and there were several young mothers playing there with their toddlers. The Castle ruins was just a small part of a wall.

These are part of the Castle Gardens. There were little kids rolling down that hill!

The little bit of wall is all that's left of the Castle. Where I took the picture was looking down to where the moat once was.

Then we headed out to the Wallingford Museum. There we learned about the British civil war and what the Castle once looked like. Wallingford was also the home of Agatha Christie, so there was an exhibition about her. There was also a cartoon exhibit. After the museum, we went in and out of shops buying souvenirs. We ran into David in our travels and stopped for sodas. Finally we headed back to the boat and to Benson.

David visited the train museum.

We were fascinated by fascinators!

Is that the Queen up there?

We passed by the spot where the old boat "died".

As we pulled into the Benson lock, there was Carlos, who'd given us our instructions on the first day of our trip on the other boat. He greeted us like an old friend! He hitched a ride with us from the lock to the marina, where he challenged David to dock in a tight space (which he did). Then we spoke to the manager about what had happened with the other boat. Carlos showed us our old boat and told us that the entire engine had broken and they had to do massive repairs.

Waiting to enter the Benson lock - our last of this journey!

The weir alongside the lock

David and Carlos

The dead engine of our old boat

We hung out on the boat for a while and then went out to dinner at The Three Horseshoes, a five minute walk away. We had a very nice dinner there, and after dinner, Barbara and I struck up a conversation with two couples at the next table. Then, we spent the rest of the evening packing up to go home!

Our last dinner!

David had a "proper pie", which was a beef and kidney pot pie.

Barbara with the two couples we chatted with

Day 8 - Henley to Pangbourne and Whitchurch

We got up and shoved off early. Our destination was Reading, and we arrived there by noon. We had eaten an early lunch on the boat while we traveled. Reading was a disappointment in that it was a city with nothing much to see.

A hot air balloon in the cloudy sky

A political statement - these were everywhere

Our boat in Reading (above and below)

We walked around for a few minutes and then decided to continue on. We went for another hour and a half, passing an alpaca farm and going through several locks, and ended up in Pangbourne.

More political commentary

Alpaca Farm

We are moored up at the side of the river in a public mooring area with several other boats. Right across the river is Whitchurch, so we headed over there. We found a nice pub/restaurant called The Ferryboat. We had our second lunch and some drinks. We wanted to watch the England vs. Wales futbol (soccer) game which started at 2 pm. I also wanted to update this blog so I brought my computer with me.

After lunch, Barbara and David left for another pub where they could see the game better. I stayed in the Ferryboat for another hour working. When I was done, I met up with them at the George Hotel bar in Pangbourne where the game was tied with 3 minutes left. England won 2-1 in stoppage time. Then we walked around the tiny town and finally headed back to the boat. On the way back, there was a rowing class for little kids. We also chatted with a guy who was playing fetch with his dog, Marley. We hung out at the boat talking and listening to music while it poured outside. Then later we got ready for dinner and went back to the Ferryboat where we had a terrific meal and chatted with the owner, Graham. By the time we headed back to the boat it had stopped raining.