Update on where we are!!

It has only been 2 and a half years since we started our journey with Dreamer.  I have written loads of journals but not managed to get a blog up and running.  The boat clock has registered over 1,000 hours. I hope you enjoy our journey as much as we have and hope to continue to do so.

Birmingham - Gas Street Basin

Last weekend we were in Birmingham - Gas Street Basin.  On Friday we saw Michael McIntyre in the NIA - fantastic.  Such a laugh.  Then I dragged poor Pete around Sea Life. A great experience in the Turtle 4D show - to be honest we could have done without the little kids screaming in terror.....

We are now in a place called Stoke Pound on the Birmingham and Worcester canal which is at the bottom of 30 (yes I repeat 30) single locks.  It took Pete and I 4 hours to complete this exercise.  These locks are known as Tardebigge 30.  The longest locks in the country -  I think!!!!.  Pretty countryside though.  We decided that we would swap after every 5 locks in either driving the boat or doing the locks.  After 20 locks - Pete seemed to get a second wind and decided that I should drive and he would do the locks.  I was not going to argue with him.  Our teamwork was amazing.... I thought so anyway ;-))  We left the couple in the boat who were behind us, way behind and finished almost 30 minutes before they did.  Obviously, they could not overtake us but they were in the lock behind us for most of the way.  Pete can be SO competitive.  Just to mention also that all but 2 of the locks were against us......  I thought Hatton 21 was hard enough!!  BUT we managed and actually both enjoyed the experience.  After dinner and a well deserved pint or two in The Queen's Inn, Pete lit the stove last night for the first time since winter so we were warm and snuggly.  I ended up sweltering in bed and could hardly breath.  It was lovely though to wake up to a warm boat as it is getting a bit chilly now.  That was yesterday (18/9/2010).

TODAY we have not moved at all but completed lots of boat bits and resting before we head off tomorrow.  Pete polished along one side of Dreamer as I cleaned the well-deck. We are planning on going to the Droitwich canal (another 10 locks) - which opened recently and then along the River Severn to Worcester.  After that we head into Tewkesbury on the River Avon and up to Stratford-on-Avon. Really excited but a bit concerned about the water levels and hope the rain holds off.

I will be adding photos when I get a good link to the internet - so cannot promise you lots of photos - just lots of chatty bits.