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.