To open a lock you use the foot-holds for traction. Oops, here comes a boat... shoot the photo, Robin!
Now that I'm outta the way, a real boater unlocks the gears so he can crank open the gate.
Some boaters do seasonal parking and just stay here for the winter. Some of the boats have their engine idling and some have smoke coming out of stove pipes, which I assume is from a heater or stove inside.
There's nothing like cruising down the bayou, I mean canal, with your dog. And your home.
Canal reflections.
Robin reads her book while I grab some photos and sketch.
One guy maneuvered both of these boats under this bridge. Part Cajun, no doubt.
The Malt Shovel is right on the canal. A good place for dinner if you happen to standing here on the edge of the canal anyway. We made ourselves at home with a glass of cabernet and hot mulled Aspall's cider before dinner. The scampi shrimp was pretty satisfying too. Reminded me of Louisiana. And Cajuns.
The canal from The Malt Shovel.
Robin relaxes with her book while I keep an eye on my pint of Strongbow cider. I mention cider a lot. I should also mention that it's very weak as alcoholic drinks go. It hasn't even gotten close to Robin having to take my shoes away to prevent me from walking.
The Malt Shovel bar. A family-friendly place, as evidenced by the man with his 8-year old daughter who I was in line behind.
It was getting dark when we left for the Brunel campus, just a 10-minute walk away.
Tomorrow we'll be grocery shopping in Uxbridge, and planning a weekend into London to visit it's largest and most famous cemetery, Highgate Cemetery, one of the "magnificent seven" Victorian cemeteries built in the early 1800s. Douglas Adams, George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans), and Karl Marx are among the dead celebrities found there.
