Monday - Punting

On Monday, we walked to the Thames and rented two boats and punted down the river to a little pub where we stopped for a while and then punted back. I got to be the guy with the stick on our boat for the whole way there! The other boat beat us, but in our defense, they had Professor Connery doing the punting in their boat and not only has he done it before but he's insanely muscular for a older fellow.

It took me a while to get the hang of it, and the pole was so long that it was hard to maneuver without losing my balance. On the way there, Holly and I had made bets on who, if anyone, was going to fall in the river - she picked Morgan and I picked Katelyn (the least likely person to fall in the river, my reasoning being that it would be the one we'd least expect) but at the end of the voyage, both of them were still dry and I had had the most close calls out of anyone. Sometimes the pole gets stuck in the mud, but the boat keeps going, so you have jerk the pole free before it is out of your reach. We were instructed beforehand to not try and hold onto the pole if we can't get it out in time. These were instructions that I ended up totally ignoring because I was determined not to lose my pole. Thankfully, this lapse of judgement resulted only in a lot of wobbling and arm-flailing and silly-face-making. I believe Kara took a picture of me when I was the one punting - if she posts it, I'll add it here.

At the pub I hung out with Professor Connery and talked about genealogies and Irish history. It was a beautiful day to be on the Thames.

After our arrival at the pub.

Getting ready to punt back down the river.

When we got back to BNC, I suddenly desperately needed to get my hair cut so I called a salon downtown to make an appointment, but the standard rate for a cut and style was FORTY-FOUR pounds!

So I stole some craft scissors from the parlor where our drama class meets and cut my own hair. It turned out really well! And it was free. You'll see in any future photos. I'm getting better at this.