Cruising the Thames: Day 4 - Things are Looking Up!

The hotel suite last night wasn't nearly as quiet as I'd have hoped, mostly due to very loud next door neighbors who were up very late. I got a little revenge by getting up early and not being quiet myself. We had a delicious breakfast right at the Miller of Mansfield. Barbara and I had eggs and salmon (tasted like lox) and David had black pudding (made of pig blood and fat!!), sausage and eggs, and we all shared toast and had coffee.

David's breakfast

Right after we finished, we got a call from Slawek the LeBoat mechanic, to say that they were towing our boat to the town where we were. We packed up, checked out, and went down to the river. We got on the boat and packed up all of our stuff, and then loaded it up in his van.

In front of the Miller of Mansfield with Slawek

Slawek and Carlos towing our broken boat to Goring (above and below)

Slawek carrying some of our bags to his van

He hired a cab to take us to Chertsey (our original end point) and he drove our stuff. During the drive it was pouring, and I admit, I was feeling very sad and angry. However, when we got to the Chertsey marina, the weather cleared up and Slawek took us to our new boat, the Classique. This was the boat we were originally supposed to have before the upgrade to the Magnifique. It was slightly smaller, but had four cabins and three bathrooms.

We quickly unpacked while he filled the boat tank with water and went over some of the mechanical details with David. Soon we were off and into our first lock!

First lock with the new boat+

The first town we came to was Staines. Apparently this town is known for being the “home” of Ali G (Sasha Baron Cohen's character). The next area was Runnymede, which is where the Magna Carta was signed. There's a memorial for that and another for John F. Kennedy. Runnymede is considered by some to be the birthplace of Democracy. Somewhere in this area, we passed a youth regatta.

Regatta (above and next three)

We then came to Egham. This town has an interesting story. During World War II, American author Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss,was briefly stationed in Egham as part of his work on the propaganda film, “Your Job in Germany”. He did not settle well in the town, despite the efforts of his RAF host Flight Sergeant Sam Beckinsale to draw the local amenities to his attention. When it was pointed out how green the area was, due in part to its proximity to Windsor Great Park he retorted "I do not like green Egham". Geisel later cited this as the inspiration for his 1960 best-selling book “Green Eggs and Ham”and the often-repeated line in the book "I do not like them Sam I Am. I do not like green eggs and ham".

The day went very smoothly, and we stopped for lunch at about 1:30, at a restaurant right along the river.

Tying up so we can get lunch

Lunch! (and below)

Next stop was Windsor. We were able to moor alongside a field just a minute from the middle of town. We have a beautiful view of Windsor Castle right across from us.

After we got settled in, we took a walk around the town, and got a recommendation for a restaurant for dinner. We went to the information booth in town, which was closed, but found a bunch of information posted. Unfortunately, Windsor Castle is closed one day a week - tomorrow! Our plan is to spend overnight here tonight and tomorrow. Tomorrow we will see everything but the Castle, and then get up early on Tuesday and visit the Castle before shoving off.