Should of gone to London



Visitors dock at Lowestoft Cruising Club

May 12 - Nice sail up to Lowestoft but wicked cold!   We departed with a reefed main due to forecasted high gusts.  The canvas enclosures are a blessing.  The tide finally changed about halfway and we went from crawling at 4 knots to 8-9 knots....occasionally 10...with our reefed main!  Arrived just time for the 6:00 p.m bridge opening. The Commodore, along with the Dock Master of the Lowestoft Cruising Club, were waiting at the dock to take our lines.  Remarkable on its own but more so when you consider it was raining. We are enjoying our visits with small yacht clubs.  They remind us of ours, Appalachee Bay Yacht Club, at home.  With that on my mind, I want to say hello to Lorna Tweedie, one of ABYC past commodores.  King and I both send wishes for a speedy recovery. 



The lift is sitting at the end of the rainbow! A message?

As luck would have it, the place we had considered lifting out is located directly across the river from our berth.  The weather is the pits with no let up in sight until next week so King's brain went into overdrive.....What to do with our time?  My thoughts were running along hopping a train back to London, maybe dinner and a show.  King, however, had other ideas, like painting the bottom.  Did I mention it was raining and cold?  We located a decent hotel within walking distance of the Cruising Club and the dock master had agreed to let us use their dinghy dock to tie up at night.  All set for the haul out today but the winds are blowing a houlie at 45-50k!  Should of gone to London.....


May 16 - Lift off was scheduled for 4:00 today.  To put it mildly, I was a bit nervous about this haul out.  We realized way too late the forward bar on the lift does not move so King had to position our head sail to within inches of it for the straps to get even a minimum grip forward on the pontoons.  King did a remarkable job guiding her in.  The crew had studied drawings of Ostinato's underneath layout prior to our arrival so they were well prepared.  With all that said, I don't think I breathed from the time the straps went under the keel until she was settled down on the hard.

Holding on by a wing and a prayer!



The jobs list was short.  Pressure wash, sand and paint the bottom, raise the water line, change the zincs on the prop, and replace the air intake for the diesel heaters with ones that we had purchased at the Southampton Boat Show last summer.  As a result of all this fun activity, I am now sporting navy blue fingernails which as you might guess is the color of our new bottom paint.  The good news is that we found a disaster waiting to happen with a bad rubber bushing on the starboard prop and got a definitive YES on the "will the boat stand evenly on its keels?" question.  This means no more diving to change the zincs if we can find a nice sandy beach to dry out on.  Thankfully our stay at the Winelodge was brief.  Everything that was said in the on-line reviews was true, including that the hall lights, which are motion activated, do not seem to recognize the presence of short people so unless King was with me I ran through pitch dark hallways to reach the room.  In four days, our list was completed and we were gently splashed back in the water. Many thanks to Leon Smythe who provided everything from tips on getting the water line straight to a cuppa tea and to the fabulous lift operator and his crew from Eastern Marine Charters.

Remains of the ship that guarded
 the river's entrance during WW2

May 21 - No respite in the weather.  The wind continues to howl out of the North.  Latest forecasts indicate  it may be another week before we see the return of southerly winds.  Its looking a bit tight for making the Caladonian Canal before June 8.  We decided to wait out our time back at the Lowestoft Cruising Club for a few more days so we could take advantage of 7 days for 5 slip rental and do a little sight seeing around Oulton Broad.  The area, including a lake and marsh, is believed to be man made as a result of medieval peat cutting used for fuel.  hmmmm.




May 23- If one is to believe the forecast, it appears that we will finally have a small weather window on Monday and Tuesday.  We plan to head for Hartlepool which is an overnight run, our first since the Scillies.   We are sorry to miss Whitby but Hartlepool, 30 miles further north, appears to be an easier transportation site should the north winds capture us again. 

Apple Pie
Reward for tearing down the head

While waiting for the weather, we took care of some much needed maintenance.  Bright and early in the morning, the head decided it could take no more and became an all day affair.  After hours of banging and poking, King finally gave in and pulled the hose out of the boat.  He, along with a few members of the Cruising Club who stopped by to watch the excitement, banged the hose on the docks finally breaking the sediment up enough for water to run through.  Everyone and everything smelled of poo by the end of the day.  But....the head is running very nicely now.





Have I mentioned its cold..let's add some hail!

May 24 - Walked the 3 mile + round trip to the marina closest to the town center today.  We had hoped to move there earlier in the week as it is on the other side of the bridge which has limited opening times.  However, all of the hammerheads are full and charges for inside berths are at 1 1/2 times the normal rate because of the big girl's width.  The plan now is to move on Sunday (26th) so we are sure we won't get trapped by the bridge....the memory of the lock in Ipswich is still fresh!  While checking out the marina we met other cruisers who are also waiting to head north.  It looks like there will be a small flotilla of 6 boats, and possibly Wings who is still waiting in Ipswich, will heading out as soon as the winds shift. 


Disappointing news arrived today.  Our daughter, Barbara and partner Michelle will not be able to join us for our crossing to Norway in early July.  A long awaited RFP finally hit the streets with due dates right in the middle of her planned time with us.  Maybe Thanksgiving.

King Takes A Mud Bath

We only planned on spending a few days in Ipswich but here we are, still snuggled up at the end of the harbour. 

May 2 - We found another option to be lifted surfaced thanks to contacts made through the CA.  This is another commercial yard but prices are anticipated to be more reasonable.  In the meantime, we have located yards in Scotland that can handle our width so no worries except for the zincs which haven't been attended to since Gosport. We can't find the commercial yard on the Internet so its time for a road trip. I will spare you from the fun we continue to have driving on the "other" side.  Just let me say when King suggested extending the rental for another day, my interest was less than enthusiastic....something akin to "no...hell no".  But I digress. 


Spring has arrived at Sutton Ho

The good news is the lift can pick us up.  The bad news is there are no shower facilities on site, or hotels in close proximity.  While we can survive this if we don't do the work, I know King and even if there are 10 people painting the bottom, he will be right in the middle of it all.  We will have to think about this.  On the way home we stop by the Sutton Hoo site to see the replicas of the hoard (originals are in the British Museum) found aboard the burial ship a half mile uphill from the River Deben.  (Must have been some funeral.) Spring has finally arrived!

May 3 - A third option is to simply let the boat dry with the tides.  A new thought for us but there is always a first time at everything, right?  We use the last hour of the rental to drive to a recommended site but left unenthused.  Heading back to Hertz we decide that a marina that dries may be a good option to see what kind of shape she is in and change the zincs.  Directly in front of Hertz is the Orwell Yacht Club.  Is this fate?  These wonderful people not only agreed to take us under their wing for our first dry out but Brenda, the Commodore, gives us a ride back to the Haven marina where Ostinato is moored.

May 5 - We are scheduled to leave in the morning for the Orwell Yacht Club but have just been notified the locks are broken.  Only boats less than 6 meters beam can get through.  That leaves us locked in!  The dry out is rescheduled.



OYC in Ipswich at high tide

May 8 - Arrived at Orwell YC just before high tide. Lots of help has arrived and after a nice cup of tea its determined that we will not fit on the drying out posts.  Change of plans, we are drying out at the dock.  Neither of us understand the significance of this until the water leaves and Ostinato keels disappear in the mud.  Peter, the OYC Mooring Master, walks over to the boat making it look easy.  King jumps off the boat and immediately sinks in to his knees.  The stuff is like quick sand.  It's nip and tuck if King's boots are goners.  We have sunk so much they have to dig out a hole in the mud to find the zincs.  The good news, they look great!  The even better news, the bottom looks great also!  YEA! 



Help I'm sinking!

Peter makes it look so easy

 







OYC stop by to help us celebrate Ostinato's first dry out

May 9 - Our departure this morning from OYC promises to be exciting.  The wind is 20 knots plus out of the West and has us pinned to the dock.  Maneuvering room is tight to say the least. There is a chain directly behind us and no space at the bow.  The helpful OYC crew is back in full force to help drag us off the dock.   All, I'm sure, hoping that we will avoid wiping out any of their boats.  Peter, and his crew, man the launch boat.  Two more come aboard Ostinato to manage fenders.  Black smoke roars from the launch as it strains to pull Ostinato away from the dock.  We miss wiping out the twenty five footer tied up directly ahead of us by a hair.  I'm so glad the owners are not aboard.  Finally, Ostinato swings out and after a quick untie from the launch boat, King heads her into the channel to depart.   The channel is narrow and is shared with Foxes, a busy marina sitting next to OYC.  As we come around the first bend, I hear King begin yelling expletives....not to be repeated here.  I look up to see not 2 but 3 sailboats rafted across the narrow channel.  No way the big girl will fit through there.  The wind is blowing like stink and there is simply no where to go.  Visions of crashing yachts flash across my mind.  From the decks of Ostinato, I can see the eyes of the crew on the rafted yachts pop out as Ostinato swings into their view.   Feet begin to fly but there is not enough time.  King swings her to port and heads out of the marked channel into an area that dries out at low tide.  The OYC members from the launch boat and those still aboard give us hopeful encouragement as we move out on the wrong side of the channel markers somehow finding enough water to keep afloat until we eventually find deep water again.  Absolutely nothing like a little excitement in the morning to get the old heart pumping.  Ostinato is back at Ipswich Haven Marina.  A few of the OYC members stopped by to help us celebrate our successful dry out.




May 11 - Weather permitting we will stick our nose out into the North Sea tomorrow morning.  Next stop Lowestoft about 50 miles to the North.



Spring has finally arrived!

OYC members jump in to help get Ostinato settled



Waiting for the tide

King gets pulled from the mud

I know there's a prop in there somewhere!

King gets mud walking lessons

New babies entertained us as the tide departed





Keels in the mud

Spring launching



OYC members made and operate their own lift

 

Birthday on the Thames

April 21: We reluctantly crawled out of bed this morning at 6 a.m. after a late night of meeting new folks, accompanied by great food and drink at the Ocean Cruising Club (OCC) annual meeting and awards. Members had flown in from all over the world for the event. How fortunate to be in London when it occurred. The dinner was held on the SS Wellington moored on the Thames. The wine flowed all evening and neither of us regretted this morning that we had skipped out before the final brandy was served.




In the locks to leave St Katharine Docks

Listening to Happy Birthday song 

After a few last minute chores, Ostinato was finally back in cruising mode...or at least close enough to get us down the Thames to our first anchorage. We pulled in last in the lock behind Wings, who is also headed to Ipswich to have work done, and one of the Thames River Barges. Once in the lock, the send off group, led by marina staff, Melanie, sang a chorus of Happy Birthday for King. We learned Wings was also celebrating birthdays this month. What is it with cruisers and April birthdays? That, along with the festival spirit of the London Marathon which was going on all around us, made it quite the send off.

Along the way, just after we passed Greenwich, who do we see standing on the side of the river but our favourite Australians, Judy and Merv from Thorang La! They came to wave goodbye....and catch the Marathon.


Judy and Merv wave goodbye from Greenwich!

One last look at the Cutty Sark

The trip down the Thames was uneventful and the weather picture perfect, that is if your picture includes gloves and a hat. Seven hours after leaving our home for the last 6 months, we slipped into the Medway and made our way up Stangate Creek where we put down the anchor for the night. King had ordered a apple pie for his birthday cake so while I was getting my sea legs back as we motored down the Thames, I was also trying to figure out how to make piecrust. What was I thinking?

Thames Barriers give ok to transit

We are both a bit sad about leaving London. We were way over our fair share of fun and we also know new adventures are waiting for us....so, off we go!




April 22: King performed a new trick last night. His cell phone can now make the boat a wifi zone. So as long as we have cell service, we do not have to skulk around town looking for unlocked signals. This morning we were up at 7:30 to get the boat ready to catch the morning tide. The dinghy still laid across the trampolines so that was the first chore of the day....after I had my coffee. Next was getting the anchor up. It was like we had been doing it every day for the last 6 months instead of partying in London. The final chore was raising the sail. Up it flew to the first spreader, then.... Oops. Did I mention the new boom arrived last week? Looks like a few of the lines were not in their assigned spot. After 30 minutes of King rerigging all of the reefing lines while I held the boat into the wind we were off.

Ipswich lock

It was an easy jump in light winds and flat seas. As a result, we were able to take the inland passage up "the Wallet" into the River Orwell. The trip up the river while fighting the current was beautiful. The River Orwell is reportedly one of the prettiest in the UK. Arrived at ipswich Marina at 7:30 minus one alternator. We are hoping its just a fan belt problem. A long 12 hr day. I'm ready for bed.



Ipswich Haven Marina

April 24: it didn't take King long to find the town's essential suppliers. After a few phone calls, off we strolled to the Ipswich Junk Yard.    While the Junk Yard did not have what was needed, a bearing "store" was located right next door. Complete ecstasy. Fan belts hung around the wall of the tiny outer room of the business. King actually "Oooooed" as we stepped through the doorway. Mercifully it is close to the boat so I did not have to accompany King on his second, or even his third visit as he worked to find the correct sized fan belt. Good news! We have the best fitting fan belts ever.

April 29: Best laid plans have disintegrated into thin air. We had been waiting for the boat yard to give us prices for our haul out. The "tariffs" arrived by email on Friday, the bad news day. The charge for just the haul out is £1000 ($1500. That's double what others charge.  King turned pale. Looks like we will be staying in Ipswich another week as we work out Plan B and I do CPR on King.




waiting for the locks to open at St. Katharine Dock



Goodbye London Tower Bridge!



Royal Navy College at Greenwich on Thames

Count Down!

Oh be still my heart. The sun is shinning and the Home Depot temperature gauge is claiming its 72 degrees. However, the gauge has been a bit suspect since it was first stuck onto the window in February. I decided it thought if it ever told me how cold it really was outside that I would never stick my nose out the door. One would think you could get some idea on the temp based on how the hordes of people that stroll around St Katharine's everyday, but no, if I've learned anything it's don't count on a tourist to suggest appropriate dress. Regardless of the temp, it only takes a sliver of sun to propel some nut to immediately slip into a pair of Bermuda shorts and go for a sprint around the neighbourhood. But I digress. It is so nice today the heat is off and we opened a hatch....only one. Didn't want to get too carried away.....oh good grief. There goes a guy in a t-shirt and shorts strolling across the St Kat's bridge.

The reason the temp has me so excited is that we are on the 7 day count own to departure. King has had the boat turned into what appears to be the aftermath of an explosion for the past 4 days as he changed the oil, fixed leaks and replaced pumps in the engine. Of course, lets not forget the joys of a catamaran. You get to do it twice! So, what better time to invite folks over for dinner. What was I thinking. The other joy of a catamaran is plenty of bedrooms to slide things into and shut the door.

Speaking of food, we took to the road last week and rode the train down to Gillingham to have lunch with David and Liz on Lazy Tern. They were preparing for their next jump to Ramsgate and then off to France and the beginning of their adventure. The day was rainy and cold so the Algarve is sounding better and better. The following day we took the DLR to join Judy and Merv for lunch onboard Thorang La. Afterward, we took the tube to Leicester Square and put our names in the pot in hopes to be one of 11 lucky lottery winners to buy 2 front row seats for £20 for Book of Mormon. Very exciting....we didn't win.....But the boat ain't named Ostinato for nothing. We are going back tonight to give it another whirl.

Chores were completed early today so we decided to make another run at trying to win the Book of Mormon lottery to buy cheap tickets. The show is sold out until Sept. so even if I wasn't cheap, it's the only way we can see the show. We jumped off the tube with only 15 minutes to spare so we zipped up the stairs but turned the wrong way so lost valuable minutes waiting for the phone's GPS to decide to share its pearls of wisdom on the theatre's location. It finally coughed it up and off we ran....10 minutes to go! As we flew around the corner, the first thing we noted was no crowds. Yippee! We got this one covered! Hmmmm. When I say no crowds, I'm meaning deserted. Oh, hell. It's Sunday.

For our last land cruise we took the train to Bath....that's baaaath, and Bristol. It was a typical 2 cites in 2 days Ross tour. To add a bit of interest, we decided to do Baaaaaath during the first day and then hop the train on to Bristol so we could start off fresh the next morning. What we didn't think through was that meant we would be wearing our backpacks for 12 solid hours. By noon, I was ready to start dumping the extra sweater, 2nd pair of shoes (just in case we go to eat somewhere that tennis shoes are not a fashion statement) and the tangerines (one never knows when hunger will attack). As a result, a pact has been made. No more manic traveling! Till next time.

The new boom has been delivered, the reprovisioning completed and a final, unsuccessful bid made for Book of Mormon tickets. Looks like its time to leave our winter nest.

Think warm thoughts

Ostinato all alone

Full house

As Spring struggles to crawl out of this deep freeze we are in, the Cruisers at the marina are beginning to shake out their sails, change the oil, scrub off all of the winter grim on deck and stow all of the items we have dug out of the bilges over the long winter.




The St. Kats Cruisers come out to say goodbye

Thorang La leaving St. Kats

The first yacht out the lock and into the Thames was our neighbour, Thorang La.  Merv and Judy got the royal send off from the winter live aboard's showing up with as much fanfare as we the group could muster considering it was 32 degrees. Three boats followed two days later. Then, the day after Easter, our other neighbours, Lazy Tern, untied her lines at 6 bloody a.m. and headed up the Medway to be hauled before turning Southward to the Med. They, on the other hand, only had us waving them off.......go figure.

Lazy Tern departs before sunrise

So you ask, what about Ostinato? When will she pry herself off of the dock? Not until it gets above freezing is our response.....or the summer rates kick in, which ever occurs first!  In the mean time, we have a lecture on the Back Sea to attend, a new boom to install, the oil to change and, with a bit a luck, one last musical for the road. Current date for leaving the nest is April 21, King's birthday. Think warm thoughts.

 

Surprise visitors

While all the boat goodbyes have been going on, we also had the pleasure of company from Shell Point. Bill and Claire had 5 days and they whizzed through London like a buzz saw. I have never seen anyone walk through the British Museum at that pace. They rented one of the apartments surrounding the marina so getting together was easy. The best part was Claire's son and his fiancé flew into London from Germany.   They surprised her by walking into the restaurant while we were having a glass of wine. She was speechless.

One of the pleasures of having company is that you get to see the sights. Lucky for us, the London Eye and the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace was on Bill and Claire's "bucket" list. The view from the Eye was superb. The view of the changing of the guard a bit lacking.

View from the London Eye

The Changing of the Guard is going on in there somewhere....

Who Knew Peanut Butter Is A Liquid

After much preparation and sad goodbyes to Merv and Judy on Thorang La, we hopped on Delta for a quick trip back across the Atlantic. The shutting down of the tube 5 stops before our arrival at Heathrow added a bit of unnecessary excitement but £25 and a quick taxi managed to get us there in time.

I have gained a billion lbs thanks to our fabulous friends who wined and dined us from the minute we arrived in Tallahassee. The first things to greet us, at the apartment we were so lucky to call home (thank you Bill & Claire), was a jar of dill pickles and Gold Fish. Somebody's been reading the blog! From there, we were lavishly entertained every night, most lunches and even breakfast at our weekend sleepovers at Shell Point. Oh, how we have missed the lovely seafood. Sorry fish & chips. You don't stand a chance with stone crabs from Lynn Brothers, just to name one of the delicacies we enjoyed. We also were able to sample much of our fast food favourites...Whataburger, Lindy's wings and Leaning Tower pizza made the short list. Did I mention the champagne? Many thanks to all of you that hosted, joined in, and/or met us as we moved frantically about between Drs, Dentists, Labs and various others who poked and prodded, eventually pronounced us healthy and ready for another year of cruising.....with the minor issue of a need for additional vitamin D and a torn ligament in King's shoulder....justification to purchase that push start dinghy motor.

Monster Kitty (MK) greets us at the door.

Of course, no trip is without its hiccups . The first weekend back, we stopped by the house to pick up much needed Florida clothing, visit the kitties, MK and Ziggy, and gather the mail. While I was trying to make up with the kitties, who were not speaking either because they were so angry about being left behind or in a panic that we were there to take them back with us, ....or both, King was opening the first letter marked JURY DUTY on the envelope. Then the second announcing he was in CONTEMPT OF COURT for missing jury duty. I immediately began envisioning a great photo op for the blog. Neighbour, Lynn Thompson came to his rescue and assisted getting a new jury assignment. Next court date...the day we were scheduled to fly back to London, of course. Multiple scenarios were conceived for who, when and how each of us would return back to the boat but in the end no jury was needed and he was dismissed.....till the next time. What's life without a bit of drama.

King and I prepared a slide show of our sail across the Atlantic, "Sue & King's Summer Vacation" , to share with our many friends at the Apalachee Bay Yacht Club (ABYC). The plan was King would do the first 3 or 4 slides and I would take over from there. As all who joined us that night can attest, once King had the stage he was off and running Ed and Ivor, Ostinato's crew were the self appointed "Fact Checkers" for the evening, got more stage time than I did! It was fabulous to see so many people turn out for the talk. It is for certain that without the support and assistance of many of the members of ABYC we might still be making preparations at the dock.

We arrived in the States with 2 backpacks and the dog's suitcase Catharine left following her visit in October.... another story....We returned with the 2 backpacks and 4 suitcases, 2 of which weighed over 50lbs. The Delta agent let the first and 2nd bags slide but when the 3rd tipped the scale she squawked and King and I hit the floor to swap items about between bags and our backpacks. Hmmm, so what can we carry....the air conditioner compressor or the hose insulation?
Among other goodies, the Jiffy Peanut Butter moved to the backpack. Who knew peanut butter is a liquid. I whined as it was confiscated but got no sympathy.

Arrived back in London to sunshine .....which we enjoyed for about an hour before it suddenly began to snow. Yep, I'm home.

 

Off To See The Wizard

We spent the last 3 days cooped up on the boat catching up on chores, so when King suggested an outing, I said YES without hesitation. The ruse used to get me out the door was to visit one of the English Heritage sites. Which we did. However, I was to find out soon enough that we were on a mission to finally address the satellite phone that had fallen into a permanent coma before we even got off the coast of Florida.

Now I will give King his due. He did attempt to locate assistance in Bermuda and the Azores. Not surprising, there are no Satellite phone dealers in either place. After we arrived in Ireland, the need wasn't as critical and unless one of us saw "The Brick", as it had been lovingly named, it was out of sight, out of mind. Our last try had been to chat with several retailers at the Southampton Boat Show, all of which recommended we chuck it and buy another brand. A bit self serving, we thought.

After 3 buses and the required amount of wandering around, we arrived at Immersat Global Headquarters with Sat phone in hand. As we walked through the door the two 6 ft model satellites in the reception area made it pretty clear this was not likely to be the place we were going to get our phone repaired. Of course, those of you that know King know that did not stop him from asking. The receptionist was not quite sure what to do with us but she had that "can do" attitude and was determined to help. She made numerous calls to folks around the building, with each, I'm sure, telling her they had no clue where we should take our phone, they worked on satellites, ...phones.....nope. But she persevered until she finally tracked down an engineer who reportedly loved challenges. Yep. He would be down to talk to us. I want this woman on my team.


Immersat Global lobby

By this time, I'm feeling a bit embarrassed that we are asking these people to look at "The Brick". King, on the other hand, was happy as a clam. As he should be. The engineers said they had never seen one go bad and took it up to their offices to see if it could be revived. They returned saying that "reliability was everything" and that the team was so intrigued with our phone that we left the Inmarsat World Headquarters with a brand new one! King is still smiling. : ) He and our neighbour David on Lazy Tern, whose phone just arrived the day before, have been thoroughly entertained for hours.

Feb 5: Realising that our time in London is rapidly disappearing, we are prioritising our "things to do" lists. One of those items on the list is the musical "Wicked". While King was working on choosing a supplier for our new boom, I spent several hours figuring out how I could get decent seats that didn't cost an entire monthly retirement check. Like several of the London theatres, the Appolo Victoria has a group of 25 or so tickets they keep for day of the show sale. For Wicked, the entire font row is kept for that purpose. The catch is they go on sale when the theatre opens at 9:00 a.m. After a bit of research to ensure we would not have to go to a chiropractor the next morning to get our necks realigned, I decided we would give it a try. King was less than enthusiastic about trekking out at 8:00 and standing in line in the cold until they opened. He was considerably less so when we arrived and learned that the time had changed to 10:00. The only thing that saved me was there was another person there ahead of us who had read the same announcement of the theatre's hours....and it was a guy! Time went by reasonably fast...as fast as it could in 35 degrees..... We were repaid for our efforts with front row centre seats. Yea! Spectacular evening! Worth every frozen toe.

Feb 8: We were invited for a visit with Mary Anne and Larry on Traversay III this morning. While we have been on a number of boats recently, I was especially looking forward to this visit as Traversay has a piano! You just don't see that every day. Mary Anne treated us to Chopin on a harpsichord and Debussy's Clair de Lune on the piano! Very cool!

Feb 10: Chinese New Year! So, of course there's a parade. I love parades. Lets go! It started off with high promise with lots of drums and a long dancing snake. It quickly went down hill from there. Did not pass go. Did not collect £200. The best part was it only lasted 30 minutes. I have no clue why the folks from Mexico and the Philippines were in the Chinese New Year Parade but there they were.....happy but looking a bit confused. Add a lot of rain and, well, you get the picture. Did we really miss breakfast for this?

Happy Valentines Day! King did good. The boat is filled with flowers. Only a week now till we leave for the States. Getting a bit excited. Kinda like going on a vacation.....from our vacation. Looking forward to seeing family and friends.....and the kitties!










King and David playing with their new toys



Front row seats for Wicked!

Chinese New Year Parade was a bit wet



Doesn't everyone have a harpsichord on their boat? Judy is not so sure.

Mary Anne wowed us with a little Chopin onboard Traversay 

Valentines Day surprise