Charleston Disclaimer

     Before I write about what we have been up to lately, I have to revisit my Charleston, SC blog.  My ever vigilant editor-in-chief and fact checker, Connie Jordan, correctly pointed out that the "first" First Baptist Church was not founded in Charleston at all, but rather in Providence, R.I. in 1638.  I mention this because I had been told that the historical tours offered in Charleston were very entertaining, but not always accurate, and I pretty much ignored that fact and accepted everything they said as the gospel truth--silly me.  My facts may be wrong, but everything else I wrote about Charleston is accurate--it is delightful and not to be missed.

This is the "real" first First Baptist Church, still serving the Providence, R.I. community.

North Myrtle Beach, SC

     We docked at the Barefoot Resort and Yacht Club in North Myrtle Beach last Sunday to attend the AGLCA Spring Rendezvous.  Interestingly, the only thing there was the marina, three condominium buildings, a small conference center and a registration office for renting those condominiums (which were mostly vacant).  Seems this poor resort was the victim of a greedy financial officer, and ended up in default--thus our rather spartan accommodations (there wasn't anything else there).  But they still had one claim to fame--the largest swimming pool in all of South Carolina.  Check it out (and also notice all the empty boat slips--that is where we docked while we were here, so this photo must have been taken before they were even open):

     But we weren't there for the facilities (good thing, huh?), but instead, for the AGLCA (one more time, it's America's Great Loop Cruisers Association) meetings.  Much to my dismay, they were scheduled daily from 9 am to 9 pm (who wants to be up and civil by that hour and then have to go all day?).  On the plus side, now that I am done whining, the meetings were very helpful and we got some good tips about the trip ahead.  Lunch and dinner were provided every day (good thing too, since there was nowhere else to eat and no access to a grocery store to cook on the boat).  Surprisingly, the meals were quite good and we always enjoyed the "social hour" before.  Not much else to say about the five days we spent there, but at least you know what I was doing when I wasn't posting.  We did have some fun with our fellow boaters in the marina, as you can see in the photo below.

Notice how I am smiling?  Amazing what a cocktail party will do for your attitude.

Here's our boat safely tied up at the marina.

This was the beautiful sunset our last night there.

       Our next stop will take us into North Carolina (boy, there's a lot of this Carolina stuff to get through) and we will be planning our future stops as we go--at this point we don't have any set schedule, so I will let you know where we end up.

 

Georgetown to North Myrtle Beach

     We woke up in Georgetown to cloudy skies and a promise of rain in the forecast (it didn't take much to convince me--the humidity level here would qualify as rain in California).  We headed out, and sure enough, the drizzle began.  But it was still a fun day with wildlife to see, some quirky bridges and the usual collection of homes along the way.  Today's post will be a photo essay of our day.

We passed so many trees with Osprey nests and an Osprey sitting there keeping watch.  We were about to find out what they were doing.

They were watching mama looking out for her chicks.

I think this is the first "swing" bridge we have come across on this trip.  The bridge tender had a reputation for being a cranky old guy and he didn't disappoint. The bridge opened only on a set schedule and we were told before leaving Georgetown that he would only open it between 10 am and 2 pm on the day we were passing.  We floated around in the middle of the channel with a few other boats for about 15 minutes before he opened the bridge for us to pass.

This poor house was part of a small group of fishing camps built in the water (I didn't have a wide enough lens to capture the very nice house next to him), but this guy's fishing days are over.

This McMansion is typical of the homes we have seen along this trip.  Attention IRS:  there are a lot of very rich people living in the swamps of South Carolina.  We have been absolutely amazed at the size of some of the homes we have passed.

     We are about to cruise into North Myrtle Beach for our meetings, and that will be next.

    

Movin' on from Charleston

     A whole week has passed since my last post and I wish I could tell you that my reason for not writing was that we were so busy with exciting things to do and places to see, but sadly that was not the case.  We have been attending the AGLCA meetings (that's the "Loop" group we belong to) for the past week (more on that later), but we are on the move again and I want to bring you up to date, so here goes.
     We left Charleston in the wee hours (for me, that is anything before 9 am) and once again headed North on the ICW.  Not much happening here, but the scenery was beautiful as we cruised through the South Carolina swamps, with a few diversions, as you can see in these photos:

We love the cypress trees covered with moss--this was at high tide.

And not too much further, the trees disappeared and we were back in marsh land.

And just as suddenly, along came this group of kayakers.  We have no idea where they were coming from (or going to) because we were still in the middle of nowhere.  God love them--they will be paddling their little arms off for a long time, but they seemed happy enough, although too occupied to wave.

Here we are still in the middle of the marsh, and up comes this sign.  Obviously there are not a lot of roads in this area, so I guess if you want to go anywhere, you catch a ferry.  And here she is:

Not too impressive, huh?  No passengers or vehicles today.

     Not too much else went on as we journeyed toward Georgetown (our next stop), but we were joined by this flock of seagulls who escorted us for quite awhile, squawking all the way.  And of course, one of them made the obligatory donation on our deck, which Art dutifully scrubbed off when we docked.

     Our stop in Georgetown was recommended by some other boaters we met along the way, and for the life of me, I can't figure out why.   The dockmaster squeezed us boaters in pretty tight and so there was little privacy and everyone was pretty grumpy about how they were going to get out the next day.  I went up on the flybridge to enjoy the view and the first thing I spotted was this critter slowing swimming across the water:

     You'll have to use your imagination again, but that is an alligator cruising slowly beside the sailboat.

     We got off the boat for our obligatory walk and to discover this town.  They have built a boardwalk along the river, but after a day on the water, last thing we wanted to do was stroll the waterfront, so we headed in to the main street.  Here's photos of both:

 

The boardwalk.

Front Street, Georgetown

     In all fairness to Georgetown, I guess there are many beautiful plantation homes nearby to visit and they have built this beautiful little park, cannons and all:

And even better, check out the sunset over Georgetown :

Tomorrow we journey to North Myrtle Beach, S.C. for the AGLCA meetings.

Charleston, S.C., Chapter 2

     Here is a very short summary of the founding of Charleston.  The city was settled by English colonists (and a few slaves from Barbados) in 1680, on what was known as Oyster Point (still lots of shells there).  The colonists named the city after King Charles II (they first called it Charles Town), who was happily sitting on his throne on the other side of the ocean.  And if you want to know anything more about the history of Charleston from then until now, you need to visit the city or read your history book.  Too much other stuff to cover in this small space.
     Charleston's nickname is "The Holy City," both because there are so many churches and because the skyline of the city is dominated by church steeples.  Here is St. Philips Episcopal Church, one of the oldest in the city.  Now just picture the skyline dominated with beautiful steeples like this one (and the photo below).  You have to "just picture it" because I forgot to take a photo!

    

     If memory serves me, this church sits on one of the highest points in Charleston--a whole 20 feet above sea level--not exactly like the hills in San Francisco, but our tour guide thought it was a big deal to take us to "the top of the hill" to see the church.

      Before I end the topic of churches, Charleston has the very "first" First Baptist Church, founded in 1682.  All the rest of the First Baptists came after that.  I thought that was interesting.

     Moving on.  Art spent part of a day at the Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum, which is best known as the home of the World War II aircraft carrier Yorktown.  He toured the ship as well as the submarine Clagmore  (most famous for patrolling the waters around Cuba during the tense US/Soviet relationship in 1962).   Here are some photos of the ship, its planes and the submarine.

    

The USS Yorktown

F-4 Phantom on the Yorktown flight deck

Submarine Clagmore

     Traveling from our marina to Patriots Point, Art had to cross what is one of the most beautiful bridges we have ever seen (okay, so the Golden Gate still gets our first place vote, but the beauty of this one rivals it in many ways).  Anyway, it is the longest cable-stayed bridge in the Western Hemisphere and was the most prominent feature in the view from our boat.  We loved it day and night, as you can see below.

     One more thing I forgot to mention when I was writing about the architectural charm of Charleston, was the cobblestone streets.  They were made from the ballast of ships bringing goods into the city in the1700's.  They really are charming, but not too cool to walk on--I nearly fell on my face numerous times trying to walk and take in the beauty of the street at the same time.  Here's one of my favorites:

      A few more odds and ends before I end this long post.  The restaurants in Charleston rival any in the U.S. and we dined like kings (and queens).  We had a spectacular meal at Magnolia's and it seems everyone in our marina as well as the other boaters we met in Charleston raved about that very same restaurant (thank you Robin for letting us know about this one).  Since arriving in the Low Country, I am eating my way through Shrimp & Grits, and each dish I have had so far has been different, yet wonderful.  So far Magnolia's wins.  We also had a fabulous meal at Virginia's on King (also thanks to Robin), with a new twist on my favorite dish--shrimp, fried green tomatoes and grits.  Wow is all I can say.  We barely touched the list of fine dining there, so come prepared to eat when you visit.

     At last, I am done.  Charleston is special.  I was called "Sweetie" so many times there, I was beginning to believe it.  This is one place we will return to!
     Next we are off to Georgetown, S.C. and then on to Myrtle Beach, where we will stay for 5 or 6 days while we attend the Spring get-together of the Great Loop organization.  We hope to learn a lot more about the remainder of our trip at this meeting, as well as meet a few people who will be traveling the route along with us.

Charleston, South Carolina

     I'm getting a bit behind in updating this blog and my reason is that we have been having so much fun in Charleston.  I have always wanted to visit this city, from the time I lived in New Orleans in the 1960's (where many comparisons to Charleston were made) up through last summer when Art and I came here on one of our road trips. On that visit, we were unable to do any sightseeing because it rained like hell for 2 days straight and we gave up hope that we would ever be able to get out of the car.  So I'm glad we had this opportunity to come back.
     This update begins last Sunday (4/18) when we left Beaufort and meandered up the Intracoastal towards Charleston.  That part of the trip was pretty uneventful, save a boat leading us around a dredging barge and the occasional shallow water that raised our blood pressure until the depth sounder again registered numbers that allowed us to breathe.  Everyone talks about being grounded at one time or another, but it is an experience we hope to avoid.
     As we neared Charleston, we were given a dose of Southern Hospitality that was way beyond our expectations.  In the photo below, look at all those Charlestonians rushing up to us in their boats to welcome us to their fair city:

     Okay--moment of truth.  The Charleston Air Show was going on that day and the Blue Angels performed on both Saturday and Sunday.  Most of these folks had taken their small boats into Charleston Harbor to watch the show (the Blue Angels performed over water) and were on their way home as we approached.  For a while there, I thought we were back in Los Angeles traffic--there were boats everywhere and all were pretty bad drivers at that (probably too full of beer to pay attention).  We had a few near misses and lots of excitement, but we obviously made it through unscathed.

     We docked at the Charleston Maritime Center near the historic downtown area and were doing our usual "getting settled" routine when I heard a lot of noise.  I looked up to see the Blue Angels team with a lead plane flying very low right towards us.  We could almost see the pilots, they were so close.  I was jumping up and down, screaming and carrying on like an idiot when it suddenly occured to me to take a photo.  By then, they had passed, but I still captured their formation:

     We spent our first two days in Charleston taking care of boat related odds and ends.  And finally it was time to be tourists.  Chareston has taken the concept of "charm" to its limits.  It has cobblestone streets, historic homes and buildings, churches up the wazoo (more on that later), beautiful gardens and a waterfront area with no rivals.  Here was one of the first sights we saw off the boat:

There were flowers and decorative wrought iron everywhere.

     The fountains were spectacular, but as I walked next to one in the waterfront park, I found a sign with the park rules that included:
     *Swimming in the fountains only from 6 am to 12 am
     *No more than 25 people allowed in the fountain at one time
     *No spitting or blowing your nose in the fountain
and a few others that I thought must have been written in the 20's, or as a joke, but they were serious.  Here is a shot of the next fountain I came across, complete with the usual beach warning:

No swimmers today.

     The real tourist fascination for us was the architecture, specifically the houses.  In Charleston, they are called "single houses,"  known in a lot of other places as "shotgun."  They are one room wide and built to avoid the sun and capture the breezes.  From the street, there is a "proper" front door, but it opens up onto a porch, which they call a "piazza." Check out the photos below and you can see what I mean:

     For now, this is my introduction to Charleston.  I have lots more to share and will continue tomorow.  So hang in there for Chapter 2...

Goodbye Georgia, Hello South Carolina

     A little less than 15 miles after leaving of the Isle of Hope, we cruised into the Savannah River which marks the boundary between Georgia and South Carolina.  I honestly can't say I noticed much difference.  The "Low Country," as this area of the southeast is known, looks pretty much the same (in a very beautiful way) wherever you go--marshes, saw grass, pines in the distance, wide waterways and very little signs of human presence.  It really is quite mesmerizing to just float along and enjoy it.
     Just south of our next destination, Port Royal Marina near Beaufort, S.C., is Port Royal Sound, said to be the deepest natural harbor south of Chesapeake Bay.  Our crossing was in good weather and fair winds--just lots of water everywhere, as you can see:

     Here we are (in the photo below) approaching the marina a short while later (notice I have my lines out ready for docking all you boating friends--fenders still up, though):

     Port Royal is also a town, separated from Beaufort only by the width of a signpost at a Burger King on Ribault Road, which runs through both towns.  But Beaufort gets the attention, and for good reason.  It is another historic area with beautiful restored homes, but it also has a lot of modern-day claims to fame.  It has a naval hospital and Marine Corps Air Station that is home to seven F/A-18 Hornet squadrons (wadda ya' think, Jeff?).  It is even more well known for the movies that have been filmed here:  Forrest Gump, The Big Chill, Prince of Tides and The Great Santini (the last 2 were written by local author Pat Conroy--a factiod for Karen and all my Barnes & Noble friends).
     Once we were docked, we went for our usual walk to the Piggly Wiggly (yeah folks, there really is a grocery chain by that name in the South).  We also stopped at a seafood stand at the side of the road and bought shrimp, flounder and freshly boiled peanuts from a local fisherman.  We had the flounder for dinner and it was like nothing I ever cooked before.  Here is a photo of Art, hauling his half of the groceries, as we walked back to the boat through a beautiful neighborhood right by the marina:

     This last photo is of our marina at low tide--amazing how much water disappears when the tide here goes out.  We just don't see these kinds of tides on the West coast.

     Our next stop is Charleston, a city I am really excited about visiting.  We will spend a few days there enjoying the sights and the food, so that will be my next post.