A Big thanks to all who gave suggestions to make our holiday a success on the canal without damaging the boat or us.
We hope we followed your directions well and didn't cause anyone any distress. We sure did have a good time. Suggesting taking the boats into the Hatton Flight in tandem was brilliant. After two or three locks we gave it a try and the boats were much easier to manage. It was as if the two of them wanted to do that all along. Meeting up with a good group in Stratford Upon Avon was a special treat. We hope they enjoyed the evening as much as we did. The library in Stratford has computers that you can get time on to check email. The staff was very nice about it. Mooring in the basin was a breeze. Spaces enough for both of our boats and Terry, from this group, to help us do the right things. He left early the next morning and we followed a few hours later. We shouted greetings to Ann and Jez as we passed them on the Stratford Canal. The skies were grey most of the week. We got wetter in the Shrewley Tunnel than from the rain. It was a good week. Kate Boats gave us a good send off. They told us what we needed to know to be successful and good citizens on the canals. Remembering all that they told us was another thing. We are pretty sure they kept an eye on us througout the trip. Fortunately we didn't need to contact them directly. My thought as they left the boat after helping us work through two locks was that it was like leaving the hospital with a new baby. Terrifying! I hope no one was watching at the first lock. Things got progressively better very quickly. We arrived home to find out that Mike Stevens had passed on. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. I have enjoyed his advice and trip reports. He will be missed by many. Jane nb BackinPAUSA ===================== From: Rhonda <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: 2007/10/03 Wed PM 11:11:46 CDT To: [email protected] Subject: [canals-list] Canals, here we come! We fly to Gatwick tomorrow (Thursday) but apparently our flight is so far delayed by 4 hours. This will of course impact our picking up the rental boat on time but not much can be done about that. May see some of you along our journeys. If not, I'll keep in mind all the wisdom I've received thus far from the group. We will not have internet access unless we happen upon an internet cafe with time on our hands but not counting on it. So, I'll report back when we return later this month. Cheers! Rhonda
