The Captain and His Mate(s)

Dave, Olga and I are all home now, back in London safe and sound. Olga is sleeping like a log, once again fully relaxed after a couple of days of tension and uncertainty. She is never fully at ease in new surroundings.

Not to say we didn't have fun on our weekend getaway! In fact yesterday, after breakfast but before leaving our hotel, we had another adventure. Dave used to go boating with his family in Michigan and he's always talked (jokingly, I hope) about getting a boat. After I realized the hotel has boats for the use of guests, we arranged to rent one.

We took "St. Trinian's" (see yesterday's post) out on the water for an hourlong cruise up and down the Thames. Dave piloted and made "Gilligan's Island" jokes, but we survived without running aground or making banana cream pies or having to fashion a telephone out of coconuts.

I made a four-minute condensed version of our cruise so you could experience it too! (Jazzy soundtrack courtesy of my copyright-free Apple iMovie jingles.) Some of the things you'll see include Bray Studios, a riverfront movie production studio; the Bray Marina; the pedestrian footbridge where I crossed the Thames on my bike ride the day before; Olga watching some swans; the big bridge carrying the M4 highway, which runs all the way to Wales, over the river; and a guy feeding waterbirds. And of course the three of us.

Olga didn't like the boat at all, at least not at first. She shook like a leaf, which is why I'm holding her on my lap. She eventually calmed down. I don't think she'd ever been on a small boat before.

After our aquatic outing, we went back to the hotel, gathered our stuff and caught an Uber to the train station. Unfortunately, about five minutes into our train journey back to London, I realized I didn't have my reading glasses! Where were they?! I racked my brain. I was afraid I'd left them in the Uber, or at a coffee shop at the train station, but the more I thought about it the more convinced I was they were back at the hotel, on a table in the lounge. Sure enough, when I called the hotel, they were found on that very table. The hotel staff are mailing them back to me. Whew! I love those glasses and I would hate to lose them. (Besides, they're prescription!)

I know I mentioned slow service when we had dinner that first night, but I must say, every other aspect of our stay at Oakley Court was wonderful and I would definitely go back. And I'm not just saying that because they're holding my glasses hostage.

Meanwhile, in our garden, our second miniature sunflower is blooming, and something knocked down two of our big sunflowers during our absence. Their stems were broken and their heads dragging on the ground. Squirrels, I'm guessing, trying to get at the seeds. I tied them back up again, although it really doesn't matter because the flowers have already faded.

It's good to be home!