This is the life.......

We have cut the umbilical cord at last..........although the promised early departure did not happen.  One or two domestic items forgotten and I managed to sleep until 0740 which is unheard of.  It is ages since I saw the figure 8 anywhere on my watch when first awakening........

However 0930 saw us waving goodbye to Helen and Paul at Clifton Cruisers and Petroc was underway with Geoff aboard.  Barney and I set off for our morning stroll as far as Tesco's in Rugby.    We managed to find a space to stop whilst I nipped to Tescos for a couple of items.  Whilst I was away President came past in full steam and Geoff was cross he could not reach the camera in time........we had elected not to tie up securely as it was for such a short time and he was holding Petroc on the centre line.

It was hardly summer weather when we set off, in fact I was seriously considering getting my gloves on......later the cloud did break and the sun shone, however I would take issue with the TV presenter who told us it was the hottest day of the year.

So quiet and peaceful

We passed tatty boats.......

.....and pretty boats

Swans with their young

We went under the M6

We eventually stopped just short of Anstey in the exact same spot we had moored before, lovely open countryside.   The railway is alongside with frequent trains but after a while you cease to notice their passing.
Geoff as usual remembered the spot he wanted to moor and as usual I have no recollection of having been here before!!!!   Still I think it makes for a more interesting life, every place is new to me............
We have managed to get everything serviceable on Petroc and have even bought a slightly bigger TV (eyes are not what they used to be!).  The Sat receiver has been replaced by a Freesat Box.  However I failed miserably to get my GPS to work with my new computer which is running Windows 8.  Lots of emails and help from Stuart at Water Explorer and much trolling of forums has shown that the chip in my GPS gadget is not compatible with Windows 8....Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!  So a new one, with I trust the later chip, will have to be purchased.  Meanwhile  I am using MotionX-GPS app on my iphone from which I hope to be able to upload our position daily for those of you who may be close enough to contemplate a visit.
Total distance:9.27 miles
Elapsed time:4h15m59s(includes shopping stop) 
Locks:0
Bridges:29 
Average speed:2.17 mph (2.17 lock/mph)