Wednesday, 4/21, caught in the tides!

It was supposed to be a quiet day of exploring Broadstairs and not driving much. And it started out as such. Then after lunch we decided to walk to the next town over and see if we could find Patrick and Julia at their boat. This was the couple we met our first day in town at the pub and we had enjoyed them and their dog Scupper so much that we said we would drop by during the week to see the boat.

Along the coast where the towns hug the White Cliffs, there are promenades in some of the towns which are very wide walkways above the sea and built into the cliffs. In Broadstairs, it's called the Prom. We decided to walk below the Prom directly on the waterfront to Ramsgate where Pat and Julie live, only a 2 mile walk away. The tide seemed to be out and it was sort of a "let's do it" decision while we were walking so we didn't check the tide chart available in the flat. We were enjoying talking to people as we strolled along and spotted a couple of women up on the prom in front of their "hut". A hut is a small shed, about 6x6 feet standing about 8'tall at the roof's peak inside. People own or rent these and most of them are taken down in the winter and rebuilt in April. People use them for storage of beach chairs, etc. and some are decorated to look really cute when they are open.


These two ladies had one of the "cute" ones and we talked for awhile about it. We asked them about the best place to get fish and chips (Eddie Gilbert's in Ramsgate) and they said we shouldn't miss the ice cream parlor, Morelli's, in Broadstairs. Then we mentioned to them that we were on our way to Ramsgate and they said we had better hurry - we had about 4 minutes to get there. Well, the prom does not go all the way to Ramsgate but there are stairs from the beach up to the Ramsgate prom and we could see them. They really didn't look that far away. Not until we rounded a corner of the cliffs and saw that there was another bay that the cliffs had hidden! Well, we started walking faster and faster and what seemed like all of a sudden we were knee deep in water! We weren't far from the stairs, maybe 50 feet, so we weren't too alarmed but we were getting very wet! I was knee deep being the shorter of the two and John was mid-calf and he could hold his pants up. Mine were more fitted and didn't want to go up!! A couple of times my foot went into a deeper spot and I was laughing so hard by this time it's a wonder that I didn't lose my balance and land face first in the water.

By the time we got to the top of the stairs - about 20 stairs to the top - and had walked about 5 minutes, I realized that the long nylon Cuddle Duds pants I was wearing under my jeans for warmth (it was about 50 out and windy) were beginning to wick and the wetness in my jeans was moving upward. Soon I would look like I ought to be embarassed!



Well, we found Patrick, who used to be a Bobby (policeman) in London, working on the boat they live on and he offered to dry my clothes for me but I declined! I'd have to hide somewhere and I really preferred touring the boat. He made a pot of coffee and we sat in the "lounge" (that's what Brits call the living room) while he told us about the boat and what he wants to do - outfit it to be a working boat for photographers, birdwatchers, that kind of day tripping. They really are doing beautiful work. Julie says it's her husband's dream and her nightmare! She works full-time and helps out on the boat when she can. She welds and also dons a wetsuit and goes under the boat to clean it. The harbor water looks pretty bad to me so I admire her for her fortitude. I think I would tell John he'd have to do that if it were his dream boat!

  

We had a nice visit and agreed to meet Friday night at the pub in Broadstairs.   We took the bus home!