Home at Last

Currently at home in Huntsville, AL

This is the closing blog, our trip is at an end and we are safely at home, tired but we had a great time. This final blog covers the time period from Thursday evening, 29 May until are arrival at home 31 May about 1000.
Dinner at "The Crypt" in Chester, we leave for the airport at 0530 next morning. Folks told us the food in England was not good and you will be in McDonalds before you know it. We resisted, never did go to McDonalds and while the food was kinda bland it was pretty good and the portions were large. Chips (fries ) and green peas with every evening meal nothing else green.
The crypt had bodies at one time but now there are no dead ones.
We had a time finding the rental car turn in but alls well that ends well. Tommy was the lucky one, seems he has a dishonest face ( or something) every checkpoint we went through at the airport Tommy was pulled aside and searched, pretty soon when he saw someone in uniform he just started taking his clothes off. Flight from Manchester departed on time and we arrived in Chicago about 1:30 PM, customs did not take long, because we didn't have anything to declare ( no room to bring home gifts), picked up our bags and went to the gate to catch our flight to Huntsville. The flight was delayed fron 4:30 to 5:00 then to 5:45 them 6:00 then 6:15 then surprise / surprise the flight was cancelled (bad weather). A short time later we found our way
to the bus pickup point, without any luggage, and having been awake 22 hours.
So we made our way to the Crown Plaza for a short night's rest, new departure 07:10 Sat morning. Our room came with ear plugs (really) because we were so near the active runways and Chicago is busy all night, but we were tired and got some sleep anyway. Sat morning at 04:30 the buzzer went off and we were up and ready, bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready for the final leg of our journey. Got to the airport and through security without any trouble, then some unsuspecting lady ask about our trip and Tommy grabbed her, sat her down, I got the laptop out, and for the next hour we held her hostage and showed our pictures, all talking at once, telling about different parts of the trip we had enjoyed , the poor lady keep saying something about having a weak heart and did not need such excitement but we plowed on, she was only saved by the flight being called. So let this be a warning to everyone, we are armed with lots of lies and several thousand slightly out of focus pictures, so mention the trip at your own peril.
Home again waiting for our ride to the house.

Thanks to Ella for providing transportation to and from the airport. What are friends for, if you can't take advantage of them ever so often.
Thanks to Brooks and Leigh for showing me how to blog and ensuring me that any idiot could do it (they were right).
Thanks to Tommy and Susie for keeping their cool and being such great travel companions, we are still speaking,(I think)

Last full day in England

Chester Bridge over the DEE River. There has been a bridge on this site since70 AD, several wooden, then stone. Across this bridge was the invasion route into Wales and the Roman Legion stationed at Chester raided into Wales often. Chester was a major port of the extended Roman Empire and the harbor was a busy place. The harbor has silted over and has served as a horse racing track since the 1300's.
Chester is famous for its Tudor Style buildings dating back to the 12 Century, locals call them "Black & Whites". There are more Black & Whites in Chester than in any other city in England.

The Roman wall reconstructed of stone in 70 AD, still stands, this is one of the entrances with a clock that commerates a special 1800's occasion.
We found our favorite shopping area, its just like the $Dollar store in the states, but every item is one pound. We bought some of you gifts.
Here Susie and Judith point out the car we should have rented instead of the small one we have that has limited luggage space.
We are repacking now and pre-loading everything possible, then out to eat one last time. Tonight we are eating at "The Crypt" yes a real crypt in use until the 1700's , no one seems to know why it was vacated, nor what happened to the bodies, but the menu looks good . The weather has been great today, lots of sunshine and about 72, when we get home it will be 90.
Will try and post from the airport.
Larry

Next to last day-Sad to leave

We have hundreds of pictures standing outside old resturants/pubs, this one in Chester. We may complain about the $40 lunch but we have not missed a meal yet, diets start next week.

This vine covered cottage was along the road as we moved from North Wales. The country was beautiful, but you could not see much from the road. The roads were narrow and the rock fences or living hedges were car top height so you felt like you were ridding in a ditch. Then with the yelling, screaming, grabbing the dash and seats that everyone else was doing a man could hardly enjoy the drive. Lots of roundabouts here, and most of the cars drive on the left side of the road, sure is hard to remember that when you make a right hand turn, o well she was a really old lady anyway and had already had a good, full life.


We had to gas up on the way to Chester and here is the damage, remember that's about 12 gal and it takes $2 to equal a pound, so $151 to fill up a small car with diesel. Good news is we have been avg about 39 MPG, bad news is the girls are getting tired of pushing so mileage may decrease.
We went out to Erddig today and here is a picture of a plow hourse ( the one in the middle). Old estate built in 1667, beautiful gardens huge old house, The estate was self contained, with its own saw mill, blacksmith, dairy, shops etc. It was a great day!
The house was nice too, build 300 years before the Biltmore, it still was modern for its time, with hot and cold running chamber maids. No electricity or running water but it did have a type of central heat.
The house looks out over the estate (was 3500 acres), sheep grazing in the pasture, cutting the front yard grass with a horse pulled lawn mower, moss growing on the slate roof and lots of ivey on the walls, so English.

27 May- Moving Day

We have moved to Chester, England, a border town, and will stay here until our departure Friday morning. Chester is an old Roman walled town, and the wall and some of the Roman fortifications have survived. We will see some of the local area repack, refresh, regroup and return.
The B&B we are staying at has internet of a sort (Slowwww) so will try and post tomorrow. We are all well and still speaking to each other, sometimes in a LOUD voice.

North Wales

Outside one of the many restaurants/Pubs we have managed to discover.

I CAN’T REMEMBER WHAT DAY THIS IS. Sorry there have been no postings for the past several days and I know my sons cannot believe it but there are NO internet connections here and they have never heard of STARBUCKS.

But it’s our last day here at the Pont-Y-Pair Hotel in BETWS-Y-COED (North Wales). By chance we found this place because we were looking for something centrally located. It was a Bank Holiday (23-26 May) one of the Mayor GB Holidays and we were lucky to find two rooms. The owner is French and he and his wife have only been here 6 months. We have had a great time, the area is beautiful, in the Snowdonia National Park, lots of walking trails, white water, and tourist. It is sitting in the mountains in a beautiful narrow valley, with a small white water river that we can see and hear from the bedroom window (it kept Judith awake the first night) every building is build of slate stones with slate roofs, slate fences along both sides of the narrow roads (really narrow roads). The road is so narrow that at most places in town there is no sidewalk, the buildings open into the street, not that unusual in this area, people stop in the street and traffic moves around them, the hi-ways are also narrow and in places narrows to one lane without warning, Tommy is a basket case and the girls are not much better, everyone wants to help but no one wants to drive. (lots of air being sucked between the teeth, and grabbing the seat and dash, all very distracting)

There has been a church here since the 6th Century, this one was built in 1286, it overlooks the North Sea.

Lots of wind on the high places, and the girls are hiding.

We have visited Conwy, Caernarfon and Dolwyddelan Castles (lots of letters and very few vowels), slate mines, 11^th Century Churches, beautiful gardens, woolen mills, seen a million sheep and cows, 750 thousand miles of rock fences ( does not seem to be any wood fences in North Wales), marveled at the tiny cars and been blessed daily with the beauty of Gods Creation.

We depart tomorrow and head East, perhaps to Chester or Wrexham, only tomorrow will tell. Diesel fuel is 1 Pound 50 p per quart ($3 @ QT, $12 a Gallon) but you are only really deeply in debt once so we might as well go for it.

Saw a sign today that fits a lot of us, “Men have three hair styles, Parted, Unparted and Departed” which style fits you??

Lots of narrow roads

More later.

Old ruins, no not Judith, the old castle. North Wales in background, everything is green and lush.

Last Days on the Canal

Long day, we left Wrenbury this morning to return to the base marina at Ellesmere. There are a total of nine lockls & three lift bridges between Whitchurch and Wrenbury. I cannot beleve they allow us to stop traffic to get the boat through the small bridge areas. I felt like the King, stopping traffic and raising the bridge, ( we had 12 cars stopped at the crossing). The bridges are hydraulic assist but still require hand cranking to raise and lower. We stop traffic and they seem to not mind waiting. Weather for the past 2 days has been pretty good, (no rain) but temps are still cool.

We yelled for the girls to come and see the swains in the water, and there must have been a communication disconnect, Susie came up looking for a pig (swine) and Judith came looking for a cow??? Tommy and I just kept on running the boat trying to figure out where we went wrong.

Stopped for lunch and a pint of ale, the barmaid thought we might be Canadian

because we were so friendly, Tommy said no, we were Southern Americans and always friendly and that they should never judge us by our YANKEE counterparts.

Yesterday we walked around Whitchurch, visited the Butcher shops, bakeries and the WOOLWORTH’s , had lunch at the Red Bull and bought a few groceries. At the grocery you had to deposit a 1 pound coin in the cart handle in order to get a grocery cart, when you returned the cart your coin was returned, neat idea to keep the carts from walking away and being left all over the parking lot.

We continue to see lots of countryside but here there are more horses, hunters(jumpers) I think, from the looks of the jumps that are set up in the fields.

We met Claire on one of our stops along the canal, she had to show us her pride and joy a 1956 Mini Cooper.

Man Overboard

We checked out Llangollen this morning, a small but beautiful town on the Dee River and the head of the Llangollen Canal. Lots of Welch craft shops, local shops and tourististy things. We walked around , went to the Public Library and had lunch at a fish and chips place, which might have been the brother to Cpt D’s, we had fish and chips for only $13 each, coffee was a mere $3 and no refills, this place is also expensive. Tonight the girls are cooking good Alabama food, SPAM \, Mac&cheese.

We departed from Llangollen about 1430 and had a good trip down the canal traveling with the current, we traveled lots faster. The Aqueducts and tunnels went much faster now that we were a bit more familiar with the boat and the area. It has been a typical English day, drizzle rain, cool & overcast so the pictures are a bit different.

The aquaduct ,from the back of the boat, 125 meters down on the left.

We came thru Chirt and started looking for a spot to moor the boat and start supper. After spotting a prime place I moved over to the bulkhead then Tommie stepped off the boat with the rope to hold the boat while we put the bow and stern ties in place. But then I was distracted and next thing I know Tommy is trying to water ski on the canal---MAN OVERBOARD well----- MAN in the canal. We were all worried about Tommie drowning or something, he was threshing around yelling and scaring the ducks,----then he stood up and the water was less than 3 ft deep. Tommie was not very nice when I ask him to catch the life ring so it would make a better picture, he climbed out of the canal and got the cabin all wet as he came in to dry his wallet and camera… I didn’t get a good picture. So no one was hurt, we are all still alive and well and still speaking, I think.

Susie checking the area where Tommy went swimming, can you see all thr eyes in the background?? (cows watching us)

Another day, another dollar.

We are traveling South toward Nantwitch.

Larry

P.S.

This is my version of the man over board incident, Larry being a novice helmsman and having been given specific instructions on how to dock the boat allowed me to step off the boat in order to start secure the lines. In an instant he and my wife decided it was an excellent time to take me on a quick water ski run, unbeknowns to him 4 knots will not do the trick. As a result I got to check the quality of my water proof boots from the inside out. Tomorrow we will have another docking lesson, only without me holding the lines.

Damp but not distraught.

A dry Tommy but not a happy Tommy.

On the Canal

Left the B & B after an authentic English Breakfast consisting of free range eggs, country ham with mushrooms, sausage & French Bread, tea & coffee. Although our B & B did not meet Hilton standards, it was a comfortable & historic home. We enjoyed talking with the husband & their 7 yr old son.

Our next stop was the super market to buy food for the canal trip. Although Susie had made a list of needed items, this was a challenging effort. Simple task like all 4 having to agree on 1 box of cereal. It was a real adventure for Tom and I watching Judith and Susie price comparison shop in UK pounds and trying to convert to American dollars, we spent most of our time in the wine and beer section.

WE DIDN’T HAVE ROOM FOR BOTH PASGENERS AND THE BEER, GUESS WHO HAD TO WALK? Susie and Judith had lots of room, both could still breath. We were ready for a week on the water, case of beer., case of wine, loaf of bread, 2 cans of SPAM and a bag of M&Ms.

Took Tom and I hours to load the boat, then to our surprise we had classes on how to operate the boat then a practical test, both Tom and I knew we did great on the test when the instructor told us we should come back tomorrow and skin up the other side of the boat. Neil (Trainer) took us outside the marina and turned us loose, boy driving this thing is easy, its only 57 ft long and the canal is about 30 ft wide, just bang from one side to the other, it can’t get out of the water. Ran several miles an did not kill anyone or any thing so must have been a success, and Neil our instructor couldn’t wait to get off the boat. Found a great place to spend the night, beautiful views, with sheep on one side and cows on the other, everyone had sinus conditions when we moored (parked the boat foe you non sailor types) but overnight we had our condition cleared up and the sheep, cows and birds woke at 0400.

Putting the boat in the lock was a piece of cake, anyone who can thread a needle can put a 57 ft. boat in a in a 7 ft. slot, with an incoming current that’s faster than the boats max speed. Tom had the easy part all he had to do was steer the boat, I had to manually open the lock gates, regulate the water level, close the gates, all without power, I was in total control.

We crossed both the Chirt and Pontcysyllte aqueducts today, a great adventure, these are 7.5 ft wide cast iron trough built in 1805, that have had little updating, they are 125 ft above the ground, 307 meters long and without safety rails, talk about feeling a little exposed. We have talked about Peggy Tienken and how much she would have enjoyed the experience.. This should have prepaired us for the remainder of the day, several sections of the canal was one-way traffic ( no room for meeting anyone) Tonight we are mooring at the marina in Llangollen where the canal starts. The canal was build to haul slate from the slate mines in Llangollen to London. We have hiked to the mere (lake) that was made (water diverted from the Dee River), in order to provide water for the canal. The path was rocky so everyone’s feet are tender, tomorrow we woill go into town and try and post this to the blog.

Rainy day Tommy hangs on to the boat

Post with pictures #4

Tea Room on the canal in Llangollen, the narrow boat here is a sightseeing boat and only has seats and lots of windows
Hourseshoe Falls, this dam forms the lake that provides a stable water supplu to the canal. This lake takes water from the river DEE wich continues on thru Llangollan.
Talked Tommy and Susie into a walk to the headwaters of the canal. Tommie thought it was a "Death March" about 3 miles.
Arrived at Llangollen and spent the night in the city marina. Llangollen is where the canal begans

Post with pictures #3

Great time of the year, everything along the canal is in bloom, and lots of small bridges, we hit most of them at least once.
This is the aquaduct that is 125 ft off the ground, a sheer drop , no rail. Susie would not come out of the boat , see did better comming back.
There were long tunnels also, one 500 meters and one 350 meters, the light at the end of the tunnel may be a train, TUNNELS were one way.
Homes are along side the canal, you look into thier windows when you pass.
The Churt Aquaductb built with lime and oxblood, still in use after 200 years.

Post with pictures #2

Susie and Judith pretend to operate the locks, a wonder they did not dry the canal.

There are walking paths along side the canal, Larry walked a lot , others not so much.

Meal time, ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY. Judith can touch both sides at once.

Tommy bringing the boat into the locks. They are simple and work great.

Post with pictures #1

Susie and Judith with bags and groceries before boarding the boat
Neil, The instructor pounding in the boat rules. Yes that is how wide the boat, you can see both walls.
Tommy got to play Captain first. Not the hat with scrambled egga, "A REAL CAPTAIN" (What a Royal Pain)
First set of locks, not much spare room.

Monday 19 May

Another post without pictures, sorry about that, but I am having lots of trouble finding places that have wireless internet.
We departed Llangollen Sat about 1430 and spent the night along the canal, while trying to moor thr boat Tommie fell into the Canal. Tommie clain
ms I pulled him into the canal but the truth is he was looking at the cows or something and fell in. He was not very nice when I ask him to put the life ring over his gead for a picture. Turns out the water was only 3 ft deep and he was not hurt so all was well. Sunday we awoke to the sound of church bells and enjoyed the music for about 30 mins. Continued down the canal stoping last night at Whitchurch, we ate a fine meal at The White Bear and were off to bed. We have walked the town this morning, are having lunch and will return to the canal to continue our journey.
Went to the local T-Mobile shop this morning and they checked the phone, said nothing was wrong, it was operating properly just had no friends that were calling us. So phone may be working, call if you have an emerengency or any other time you wish.
We have lots of pictures, just wish we could share them withj you.
Take care, more tomorrow. We are all well and still talking to each other.
Larry

Lost without knowing it-17 May

We have been on the water 2 days now, almost know how to operate the boat----but not sure. No pictures today..but they are comming, we were told there was no wireless internet service, so left the laptop at the boat as we are exploring Llongallen. I am in the public library and will give you a few words. The phone is not working and we don't know why, so if anyone has tried to call--sorry about that, will try and get it fixed when we return to base.
We have had several days of beautiful weather but raining today.
The narrow boat has been quiet an adventure, but I will wait until I post the pictures to tell you much about it. As you can tell from last post the pictures are not necessarly in the proper place to go with the write up, so you will have to work it out. We are all well and doing fine, having a great time and enjoying the Welch countryside. The canal runs through, mostly farm area, and a few cities, at least on this canal. Farms are mostly sheep and dairy, lots of cows and sheep and lots of sinus clearing earthy smells, but beautiful. Experienced our first lock yesterday and trying to fir a 7ft wide boat into a 71/2 ft lock is a real adventure.
We will post pictures first chance.
Larrt

Another Great day, but we are dead, started falling asleep at the dinner table. Arrived without incident and got our rental car, larger than I had reserved and it would not hold all our bags , so one large suitcase had to go between Judith and Susie not sure how we are going to manage when we start driving around but will worry about that next week. Tommie has been in a mild panic since we picked up the car. I have been driving on the curb a lot and all that action has been on Tommie’s side of the car, needless to say he is not a happy camper, I am in training and will do better tomorrow.

Here is a shot of our arrival in Manchester , England. Can’t find Tommie

We had dinner at a great little place last night that clams Harrison Ford eats there when he is in town. “The Narrow Boat” public house sits along side the canal and as we were enjoying our meal the boats were passing along side. Yesterday was a beautiful day with the temps higher than we expected.

Tommie was drafted as the luggage minder while everyone else went to find the WC.

Drove all over central part of England to find B&B where I had made reservations. This was a private home & the RR Station for a private RR that was operational from 1830 until 1966. The lady of the house fixed tea when we arrived and allowed us to move in early, not the HILTON but I had a great night’s sleep. The bath (Water Closet) is a hoot, like trying to bath a horse in a washbasin. Well no one said the trip would be perfect.

We went for a walk along the mure (that’s lake for non English folks) . We move into the Boat Friday morning and get our training and sea legs, the girls saw a narrow boat for the first time and they both said” but its so narrow” DU------that’s why they are called “NARROW BOATS” here’s your sign. Must look fore somewhere to post this…more tomorrow