Back on the waterways tomorrow ...

We're now aboard AREandARE, our new home for the foreseeable future, with many adventures and I'm sure challenges to come.  It's wonderful to be back living on a narrowboat, though it's going to take a while to get used to sleeping in a fixed double -  I'd forgotten how 'cosy' it can be, but at least we have a spare bedroom this time if we need more space!

We made the most of the hire care yesterday and did a huge Tescos shop.  Here we are below, late at night, having a well-deserved drink to toast the boat before eating for the first time since breakfast.

Today I took the car back to Enterprise Worcester, where the lovely Becky informed me I could've paid a bit extra and delivered the car back to the Rugby office - ah well, I saw my parents and had lunch with my sister Viv and her fiancee Ray there, while Barry mooched around getting to know the intricacies of our new home and doing some washing while we've got the electric hook up (such a  luxury).

Tomorrow we're venturing out and heading north for a while, Barry can't wait - the beginning of our next chapter on the waterways of Britain.  

One day to go ...

... and we'll be on board 'AREandARE' - so exciting!  We're not sure at the moment how much will be left on board by the previous owners, fingers crossed they've been kind to us so we don't have to buy too much before our boxes arrive from New Zealand.

We hired a car through Enterprise, an on-line booking, and they phoned yesterday to confirm.  Then at just before 12 midday today, they phoned to say they couldn't find a car for us - hilarious!  No point in getting stressed, poor girls sounded beside herself.  She said they were still frantically trying to find one, and she'd phone back at 1pm.  So in the meantime I phoned their office in Worcester and explained the situation and asked if they'd have one if Kidderminster let us down - yes they said they did, and they could collect me from my parents house instead of me catching the bus for the Kidderminster one.

One o'clock came, and sure enough they didn't have a car.  Solution found, Worcester office will collect me between 5 and 6pm, and take me to sort out the paperwork ...

So we'll be loading the car up this evening, in readiness to leave around 9am (if we can get up in time!) and head to Crick Marina, and then to Yelvertoft Marina where our new boat is moored.  They have negotiated a week's mooring there, so we can sit and pontificate if we choose to, but I think it's more likely that once we've sorted out what we need to obtain to make the boat habitable, we'll be off.  My guess, knowing Barry, is that we'll move by Saturday, but we'll see.

In the meantime, here's the last of Barry's stunning photos to date, all from around Bowness-on-Windermere in The Lake District ...

The next post will be from our new home for the next who knows how long, so many adventures and experiences to look forward to, and so many wonderful people to meet and catch up with.  Oh happy days.

Barry's images - take two

The money's been transferred today for AREandARE, so it's all on for taking over ownership from Thursday.  We're still obtaining insurance quotes, and importantly reading their small print!  It's amazing how much is in there, and the differences in approach to contents covered.

We're hiring a car for a couple of days from Wednesday, to take our belongings from my parents house to the boat, and then check what's on board and what we may need to purchase in order to live before our boxes arrive - in about ten weeks time.

Here's the next ten of Barry's images ...

The first six are around Ambleside Wharf ...

Walking around Lake Windermere and to Windermere ...

Ray, Sandra, Viv, Dave and Pete - all togged up against the cold

Many babbling brooks along the route

More to come over the next day or two ...

Boat bought at last!

Things are beginning to fall into place now after two weeks and two days in the UK.  It was a bit of a mad rush arriving on the Wednesday then going away for a week on the Saturday.  Needless to say we didn't manage to get a lot sorted out until this week.

We did, however, have an amazing and magical time with my three sisters, their respective partners, and my parents (who celebrated 80 and 93 years of age that week), in the awe inspiring Lake District. Many people in the party were concerned about travelling in the wintry conditions, but all was well with clear roads all the way - and the scenery was spectacularly beautiful.  Barry was well pleased - he'd been asking for snow!  It's been mostly sunny, and we've not had a drop of rain since we arrived, though admittedly it's cold outside - especially compared to the temperatures we'd been used to in Gisborne over the past six months!  However, they're now coming into autumn, as we approach spring (I know, I know, it should be here already - but the daffodils and crocuses are beginning to bloom) ...

My mum's 80th birthday celebration - left to right Kath, Sandra, Don, Irene, Linda and Viv

At the top of 'Brantfell', overlooking Lake Windermere - with the scenery looking remarkably similar to Queenstown in the South Island of New Zealand

This week we've managed to get UK phones and internet access sorted out, and with our two mobile phones and a dongle, we now have coverage for Three, T-Mobile (which we're told includes Vodafone), and TalkTalk (which we're told includes Orange).  So hopefully we'll have some sort of signal for most of the waterways network!  It's amazing how cut off we felt for just under two weeks without good internet access - whatever was life like without it?  For us both though, it's crucial to how we earn a living now, so it's imperative to have.

On Wednesday we went to have a trial run of 'AREandARE'.  The 'in-water' survey had been carried out while we were away, and the surveyor had highlighted to us a possible challenge with the current engine configuration.  I'm not going to bore you with the details, mainly because I don't really understand them (it's a blue job as my dear friend Rivka would say!), but Barry wanted to see how she performed.  After much deliberation, and advice from many engine 'experts', and fellow bloggers (many thanks for your input Tom and Doug & James), we've negotiated a slight price reduction which will enable us to get the engine configured differently.  We do realise there are hundreds of boats 'out there' for sale, but this boat is the only one Barry's found which ticks the majority of the specific boxes of our requirements.

So today, we've agreed the purchase, with a take over date of Thursday 11th April.  We'll probably then be travelling up the Grand Union to Loughborough, take a left turn onto the Trent and Mersey, moving towards Fradley Junction in time for our boxes to arrive from NZ at my sister's house in Lichfield.  Well that's the tentative plan so far ...

Barry back on the waterways and in his element!

Barry and 'AREandARE"

Thank you to Tom, John and Sue for your comments on our recent post regarding suggestions for the blog.  We've yet to decide what we'll do, but your thoughts and advice have been most helpful.

So not long now and we'll be back 'on the cut'!  How exciting is that?!

It's all coming together, saving the best till last ...

"I think there is something more important than believing: Action! The world is full of dreamers. There aren’t enough who will move ahead and begin to take concrete steps to actualize their vision." 

W. Clement Stone

Well we're definitely taking concrete steps and our vision is becoming a reality!  The elephant that has been seeming so large over the past few months, weeks and days, now appears to be shrinking - we've been eating it piece by piece.

I'm almost finished packing up the boxes that we'll be shipping - how on earth we still have so much stuff after we've let go and sold so much is beyond me!  It's taking a lot of willpower to keep reducing our belongings down to the absolute (honest Barry!) essentials.  The remainder of our furniture will be taken this week - so by Friday we'll have very little left, apart from items the new owners have bought.  We're so lucky to have lovely people coming to live in our house and Suki, our cat, is staying too.

We had an awesome leaving party at the Hospital Social Club last Friday night arranged by some friends ...

The hall was decked out in red, white and blue with a few All Blacks flags too - what amazing friends we have, we're very lucky.

Next weekend I am flying to Auckland for my Diploma in Holistic Life Coaching Graduation which is awesome - it's been a long journey to achieve this, in time, money and commitment, but it's been so worthwhile.  I have two more clients to get to complete my 100 hours of case studies, but I'm waiting until we get to UK for that or it will be too disjointed.

And the very best news is WE'VE BOUGHT A BOAT!  Well, we've put a deposit down subject to survey.  Barry came home last Friday with the details and said it's the closet he's seen to the boat we've been searching for - and after some deliberation and the fantastic Captain Ahab taking the time to visit her in person and report back to us, we decided to go for it!  

She's called 'AREandARE', which we pronounced in a variety of ways, until we discovered it actually says R and R!  So apt, we're very pleased.

We'll be seeing many of you in the very near future ...