Day 13

We woke up to no rain, so that is nice. It is a bit overcast but not bad. We did not need the heater at all. After breakfast we set off for our first "turn around" as the canal is collapsed after the point of Odiham Castle. Thankfully, that was smooth and easy. We made our way back to the lift bridge with no delays. There was a mom and little boy there, maybe 8-9, and I asked him if he would like to make the bridge lift. Mom gave her blessing and he was thrilled. Mom was dressed for work with rubber boots to her knees, a wheelbarrow, and heading to a field beyond us with a small pony in it. We saw swans and experienced the tranquil canal along the way under the bridges. We finally saw fish in the water! We've been watching for them as we see fishermen along the way. We made our way back to the general area of the Galleon Marine boatyard. Berries are ripening all around us. Since we don't know if they have been sprayed or not, we wouldn't take the chance of eating them.
Breakfast

John loves his Captain Hat!
We moored at the water supply and refilled our tank. Then we walked to the Waterwitch for lunch. What a great Pub!!! For one thing, we didn't have to walk a great distance to get to it, really a quick walk. Then there was the atmosphere and food. As you walk up you seen the shingled building and flowers abound. There is "cloud" Wi-Fi here and my phone even works!!! I am so happy and excited that I can call home! It is Steven's 30th Birthday and I will be calling Debra when it is closer to 6a at home. I don't want to wake her up. John had the biggest burger I've seen for some time and I opted for the lasagna. It was different lasagna since it said it was beef and red wine lasagna. It was more like a beef stew between the noodles. It was different but delicious. We had a Gin & Tonic. They have this summer menu that has an abundance of different choices for the Gin and the Tonic. John had some sort of cucumber one and I chose a pink gin with lime. We ordered Sticky Toffee Pudding for dessert as this is what Cheryl raves about when she visits the UK. It was good, almost like Mom's persimmon pudding but without the lemon sauce and a sweet toffee sauce on top with some raisins added instead. It was a quick walk back to the boat and time to set sail. We want to make it to the next mooring today at Barley Mow Bridge. There is, what appears to be, a public boat ramp at this site as well.
The Waterwitch



Sticky Toffee Pudding w/Ice Cream
Traveling on the Canal


Each place to moor is a bit different. This one has well-seen private homes on the opposite side of the tow path. A man is mowing his lawn and carrying on with life. There is another family of swans here. They are beautiful but one of the parents came and stuck their head over the side of the boat and hissed at me when we got here! They do expect a handout but I think bread is bad for them. I know it is bad for the Canada Geese we have at home. I offered some lettuce to the multiple ducks and they reluctantly ate some of that but also left some behind.

While we were the first to moor here, two additional boats joined us tonight. One is 40ft like us and the other is 60ft. The 60ft boat bumped us when they moored. It was okay, just a surprise. The 40ft boat had to put out their own mooring stake as there were no more posts available. We were told by Arthur to stick to the mooring post area, again due to the low water. I'm a little disappointed that the pub I wanted to visit (Where Katherine of Aragon met Arthur, Henry VIII brother) is not near a mooring post. It is probably 3-4 mile walk, maybe more. So we probably won't go there after all. 

We are tired tonight because even though we go quite slow along the canal one must stay up and watching since the water is so low. We were cautioned to stay in the middle and John is doing a great job with that but it keeps us on our feet with a watchful eye. We passed several kayaks today with friendly people who talked and waved. We also saw a little foot traffic on the tow path and finally a bicycle. After our big lunch, it was cheese, crisps, and an apple for dinner.  Favorite sightings of the day were the swans and a thatched roof home. I hope to get a better photograph of it on the way back. 

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