Barge Date: 06-19-2021
2021 Travel to Begin June 24
We have our tickets and will depart for France on June 24 using the normal route through Atlanta to Paris. If it is Atlanta it is Delta.
I am taking my usual collection of items I have assembled or constructed that will make life on the barge more attractive. Will post as I get them in place on the barge.
Going back with a bit of trepidation. We departed last from France in August 2019. While the boat is still afloat there may well be hidden problems that we will only discover once we go on board. Will the batteries be at full charge? Will the fuel be normal and not have water and diesel bugs in it? Has the water system escaped any damage from cold weather? What does the deck look like? The varnish? The paint? And more that I am not even considering now.
It may well take more than a week to get underway. If the batteries are OK and can start the engine then the biggest concern will be the diesel. Will undertake some steps to see what I can find out. Will drain the sludge from the tanks and this may give some clue. Is there water? The tanks were topped off as we departed but some moisture always gets in. The question is how much. Then there are diesel bugs. These are small microbes that can infest fuel and seem to become obvious at the worst possible moment. I am not aware of any history on the boat and we buy our fuel from suppliers that don't let the product get old; this should help.
But we will need to go out on the river for some distance at the beginning of our trip and I don't want to get into a situation of being dead in the water and with a river current.
Will spend a night in Paris to get our clocks reworked. We arrive at 8am and hope to be at a hotel near the Gare de Lyon by 11am. Maybe take a nap then walk out along the river and visit the marina at the Arsenal where we hope to stop over some day. Then on the fast train to Dijon and a local to Auxonne.
What will I enjoy most on return? Since I turn off news it is not having news injected into my life.
