Happy 60^th Birthday to Malcolm!!!!!!

Our Day by Day Diary

Met up with Michael, Carrie, Nathan, Toni, Jane, Clint, Hallie & Justin at the car rental office. We all drove to The Old Mill in Baginton. Then to Brian’s house in the afternoon for the family reunion. Brian & Maureen had a wonderful surprise for us by having this cake. It was decorated for Malcolm’s 60^th Birthday, Peter & Jodye’s wedding, Jane & Clint’s wedding, Michael & Carrie’s wedding, Michael & Carrie’s baby and Antony & Caroline’s baby !! How nice of them! Click here for a better pictures of the cake. The family reunion was wonderful. We got to see and meet so many relatives. All of the kids played very well together and had a ball running around their back yard. Click HERE for pictures.

We also had a huge group photograph taken by a hired photographer. I will add that photograph when I get it.

Our gang, Michael’s gang and Jane’s gang all went to tour around the Kenilworth Castle. We ate lunch at the Queen and Castle pub across the street from the castle. Click HERE for pictures.

Then we went to Grandma/Grandpa’s house for a nice visit. Click HERE for pictures.

We didn't have time to tour the Warwick Castle, but we did drive down the most beautiful street to see it. Click HERE for pictures.

Then back to the Old Mill to meet Clive (Davies). Dinner at The Old Mill. Click HERE for pictures.

We met at Brian’s house and then all drove to Middlewich. Peter, Jane, Michael & Daddy returned the rental cards while a group of us went to have lunch and get groceries. We had lunch at a fish & chips shop in town. The boats weren’t ready on time and we were delayed in starting our voyage. We finally pushed off at around 6:00. We didn’t make it very far that night and moored just after going through the Wardle lock still in Middlewich. We had dinner at the "?????" Pub (check on this). Click HERE for pictures from today.

Boated out of Middlewich onto Barbridge Junction, where we had lunch at the "Jolly Tar" pub. Then onto Hurleston Junction (4 locks), where we started on the Llangollen Canal. Our boat broke down and we were behind schedule. We boated until 9:00 or so and ended up in Wrenbury, where everyone else had eaten at the "Dusty Miller" pub. We moored just outside of Wrenbury for the night. Click HERE for pictures from today.

Jane, Carrie and I headed into town to get groceries. We had so much, we needed Clint to bring one of the suitcases to haul it all back to the boat. We boated through Wrenbury, Marbury and onto Grindley Brook (the "staircase" locks) where we did a little more shopping. Then onto the Waggoner’s Inn where we had dinner and moored for the night. Click HERE for pictures from today.

We started early and boated back and forth between Shropshire, England and Clwyd, Wales on to Ellesmere, where we stopped for water and a little shopping. We continued on to Chirk. We went over the aqueduct and through the 459 yard tunnel there (Wales). Then on to Froncysyllte, Wales where we moored for the night. We had dinner at The Aqueduct Inn. Jane, Clint, Peter and I walked up the hill to an old church before going to the pub. Clint played the piano and sang and Peter played the piano at the pub. Jane, Clint and I stayed longer than everyone else and got a free bottle of scotch from the pub owner! He loved our entertainment! Click HERE for pictures from today.

We got up at 8:00 and went over the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in the heavy mist. We turned around just on the other side and came back over it to start our way back. We boated back through to Ellesmere, where we moored for the night. We shopped in town for a while, where Peter bought me my beautiful ring (!) We ate dinner at the "Black Lion" Inn, where Clint performed again. We gave Daddy his "safety" helmet so he wouldn’t bump his head again (see pictures). Click HERE for pictures from today.

We got up early and boated on to Grindley Brook, then on to Wrenbury, where we moored for the night. Peter and I walked into town to see St. Margaret’s Church, which was amazing. It was built in the 1500’s on top of the remains of a much earlier church. We all had dinner at the "Dusty Miller" pub. Our reporter friends sat and had drinks with us there. Click HERE for pictures from today.

Last day of boating. We got up and boated on to Hurleston Junction, then Barbridge Junction, then onto Middlewich. We moored at the boat marina for the night and walked to the "Big Lock" pub for our last pub dinner. Click HERE for pictures from today.

We woke up and gathered all of our things and said goodbye to each other and the boats. We were picked up in a large taxi/van that took us to the airport. Manchester to Heathrow, then on to Dulles. Home again. Click HERE for pictures from today.