After a night of pouring rain and falling spiders, we awoke to discover that a neighbor had moored behind us.
We both had the same problem, our stakes that we had pounded into the dirt the previous evening, were now underwater. The neighbor was able to pull his out without jumping off of his boat.
Ours were not loose enough and Dan had to jump into the mud. What you can't see in this picture are the cow patties floating in the water. I think Dan successfully avoided them, but it was a gross way to kick off our morning.
At least it wasn't raining. It was just bitterly cold. Icy and windy.
We had two choices. We could either deal with the smell or the cold. The mold was the bigger problem, so we opened up the retractable roof in the main cabin and aired out the boat. All bundled up, we continued down the river.
The clouds were amazing.
Thank goodness it wasn't raining, as we had to go under a very low bridge that we wouldn't have cleared with our roof up.
When we reached our first lock and there was a line. Only one boat can go into this lock at a time and the lock operator was on his break.
Rather than waiting to go through, we moored the boat and jumped off in search of lunch. We received directions from the oldest man on the river. This wasn't a vacation boater. He lived on his boat and by the looks of it, that boat had been moored there for a long time. He was the real deal. Helpful, but crabby and weather-worn.
His directions were roughly...
1. Walk up the steep metal bridge.
2. Go under a hole in the rusted gate.
3. Walk down a hill filled with stinging nettles.
4. You'll find the town after a half-mile walk on an unpaved busy road.
We are an adventurous family! We like a little danger and discomfort thrown into our holidays!
Here is a picture of the old guy with Dan and the kids. He asked for our help with his boat after we returned from our lunch. Although a scary walk, his directions had been solid, so the favor was repaid.
The small town of Earith ending up being a great place to stop for lunch. Although, I'd recommend going through the lock first and finding a proper place to moor on the other side.
In Earith, we ate lunch at the Old Riverview Tea Rooms & Country Kitchen.
The Old Riverview was a real find. It was clean and modern, with a wonderful afternoon tea spread. The scones were enormous and fresh. They even whipped up pasta with butter for the kids. We were seated right next to the cakes. Mouthwatering!
With bellies full of yummy cake, we set out on the treacherous walk back to our boat. On our walk back, I saw this on a house in Earith. I love the cute foxes, but not so much the spider at the top.
This boat was parked near us when we got back. Great boat name!
Next post, our first lock!