Day 18

Up and ready to go after a quick breakfast for John and coffee for both of us. As we approached the entrance there was Arthur, with is smiling face, to guide us in. That was a good thing as backing up is not something we have mastered. Actually, Arthur says there is very little control when going in reverse. What one does is put the nose into the bank then use the rudder in forward to move the back. We did perfect with his instructions! We say good-bye to the twisted trees that reach for the sky and their twisted roots that hang on for dear life as the water slowly works away at them. The canal teems with life from the smallest bug skimming across the water, the abundance of berries, the birds that serenade us every day, and the unseen rustling along the bank as we pass. Arthur called us a taxi and bid us farewell, we were on our way to Hook Train Station for the next adventure and he continues on in his seemingly idyllic existence there along the canal.  

I want Jeff to make one of these for his backyard!

 When we got to the very small train station we had options. Our ticket was for today, but all day so we can take an earlier train if we wanted, so we did. We transferred trains in Clapham Junction and then soon arrived to Kew Bridge Station. Now this is a "non-station" with no lift. Testing our endurance it is time to drag our 3 suitcases up two flights of stairs, but we did it! Slow but sure wins the race. Sadly, not a taxi in sight. However, there was a small cafe right nearby and we stopped there. John had carrot cake and I had a chicken and mushroom crepe. The girl in the cafe told us to walk just a few minutes down the road and cross over and we would find a taxi to take us to our hotel. We did that and saw a taxi in the distance! When we got to it, no driver inside. After waiting a bit, we trudged on. Still not a taxi in sight. Finally we arrived at a service station that also had a Subway sandwich shop in it. John went in there to ask someone to call us a taxi while I watched the cross in the roads to flag down a taxi if needed. One young man (30-40) came out with his cell phone and tried calling us a cab. He connected with 1-2 but they said they could not come(?) He said he would try again but went inside for his second phone where he would have a map to look up where we were going. I think we could have walked to the hotel by now! Now another young man (25-30) asked if we had a problem. I told him that the other guy was helping us get a taxi to our hotel. He went on. Meanwhile, the other guy came out and I showed him the address of the hotel and he said, "Oh, that's .8 mile up the road and you are there." He also said the taxi would take at least 30 minutes so we opted to walk. We went around the corner and there was a place to sit so we thought we would sit there for a few minutes before starting our walk. About that time a lorry came around the corner and pulled up right by us. It was the second guy we encountered with his work mate. He asked if we got it all sorted out. I explained and he said we should catch the bus right where we were and tell the driver we wanted off at Premier Inn and they would stop there for us. I asked if he was sure it was okay to take the suitcases on the bus and he said sure, someone on the bus would help us lift them on. I tell you, the Brits are a friendly bunch and there at every turn to help us. He even explained how to use our tap payment option and it would cost £1.50. It sounded good and that was our new option. We waited for a bit because we had just missed the last bus, but low-and-behold, a taxi was upon us! As it turned out, our helpful gentlemen were right about a Premier Inn at the top of the hill, BUT it was not our Premier Inn. The taxi had to back track where we walked from and took us to "our" hotel. 

Kew Bridge

We are glad to be here and want to settle into our hotel. We will be here for 9 nights so we can unpack for the last time. We are really sick of that large suitcase! It was necessary on this trip but we rarely us anything but a carry on and tote or backpack. John went across the street to a store and got us some fruit, snacks, and wine. Once again the hotel has a restaurant so that is convenient if we don't want to go out. We ordered some chicken wings, salad, and garlic flat bread. It is early but we are tired and the bed looks very inviting!