We just can't keep away..

And there was me thinking that was our cruising done for a couple of weeks!

So to start with, as planned, we visited to do the 50 hour service on the engine and to get the waste tank emptied.:

Before we cruise over to the pump-out in T&K marina, I check with the office only to find it isn't working so well, and therefore not available to us. Never mind, out onto the river we go and upstream the few hundred yards to Better Boating. The pontoon there is empty and we maneuver alongside and tie up. It takes an age to empty the tank, but it is 1000 litres, a bargain for £16.50

Back into Dreadnought and now we are nicely warmed up, time to do the oil change. This goes pretty well, I also check belt tensions, nuts and bolts and stuff, the small alternator belt needs to be a bit tighter, so I adjust it and all is done until we get to 300 hours, wonder how long that'll take?

We go to Tesco to stock up with 'dry goods' for the forthcoming 3 week trip, funny how there seems to be a lot of 'wet goods' too! We have a bit of a clean and tidy then back to the real world for a few days.

And there I was thinking that was the cruising done until the hatham trip! The following Friday we're back again and heading upstream towards Beale Park. It's pretty quiet on the river and we have an uneventful trip to the park, we even get to tie up on the bank nearest to the path to the entrance.

A quiet afternoon / evening, then the following morning Emily, Gareth and Granddaughter Charlotte arrive for baby's first boat trip. We load up the required equipment for the day trip, I remembered it being a lot, and yes, it still is a lot!! We head off further upstream and see 'Steel Away' coming downstream, (memo to self, take pictures!) Up through Goring and Cleeve and on to Wallingford where we stop for lunch.

During lunch Trigger and Julie from 'Tickety Boo' come over for a chat, we learn they are soon to be owners of Piper Barge 'Mimosa' we wish them well and suspect we'll see them in Henley in September.

We turn around after lunch, wishing we had time to go see the food festival which was taking place on the other side, but alas, maybe next time. We have the same quiet, uneventful (I quite like uneventful) cruise back to Beale Park where we unload the passengers and say our farewells. Myself and Penny (at Penny's insistence) take the walk to Pangbourne so we can take a look at the woolen artwork which is on Whitchurch Bridge, and quite impressive it is too. We drop into the Coop for some superglue which I hope will stick my broken glasses back together (it does) and return to Deep Thought for the evening.

A lazy Sunday morning and another quiet, gentle cruise back to Caversham where we laze around until we force ourselves to pack up and go home, interesting point, where is home these days?