Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th September, 2015 back at Aston Marina.
A misty start brightened into a beautiful day in Stone.
We are so looking forward to the arrival of Charles, Emma, Penny and Minnie for the day - and the weather could hardly be better, clear blue skies and sunshine.
As we had breakfast, we got a message from Charles that their train had been cancelled, so they will be arriving an hour later than planned. So, after doing some shopping in Stone, we walked up to the railway station to meet them. It was brilliant to see them all.
On our way back to MM, a refreshment stop at Costa was the order of the day, then we all set off on MM for Aston Marina. Charles and Marion did the first lock together.
While Emma kept an eye on the girls who were hanging out on MM.
It was fabulous to cruise in such good weather. At Aston Lock, Charles and Penny helped M as lock labourers.
To be fair, Charles did most of the work but Penny looked on with interest.
The hedgerows are laden with autumn fruits including sloes and damsons, particularly on the non-towpath side. M invariably wants to stop and gather them but as that would mean blocking the canal, the opportunities are scarce.
We arrived back at Aston, moored MM up and went for a super lunch in the marina's Bistro, with some fun and games on the way.
Then it was time to collect all their stuff from MM (all except Minnie's Dolly, who appears to have gone AWOL) for them to take a taxi back to the railway station for the journey home.
A lovely day was followed by a beautiful sunset...
And moonrise.
On Sunday, we decided to have a quiet day in the marina and to treat ourselves to Sunday Lunch in the Bistro. Imagine our surprise to find Charlie's university friend (and best man), John Horan, there with his family! It was their first visit to the Bistro and they were celebrating John's Mother's birthday.
We invited them back to see MM after lunch as most of them had never seen the inside of a narrowboat. So nice to see them all.
A huge full moon rose in the clear evening sky. Tonight is a rare Supermoon Eclipse where the earth comes between the sun and the moon and, coincidentally, the moon is at its closest to the earth. Being a pair of mad lunatics, we set our alarm for 3:15am, got up and stood on the rear deck of MM. Out in the country, with little light pollution and wide horizons, we were blessed with a completely clear night sky and the combination of the red moon with all the stars was unforgettable.
On Saturday: 2 miles, 2 locks and 1.5 hours.
Summer Trip: 364 miles, 295 locks and 281.2 hours.
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