Let's Do the Charleston

December 14, 2015

Coordinates 32 44844N, 80.56464W

9 hrs, 47.8 nm, 5.3 kts

Dataw Island, SC

ICW mile 522

Arrived 4:35 pm

December 15, 2015

Coordinates 32.42965N, 80 67443W

3 hrs, 16.7 nm, 5.6 kts

Beaufort, SC

ICW mile  536

Arrived 11:15 am

My favorite pet

I must want to be in North Carolina instead of South Carolina because for two postings I have listed our location incorrectly.

Monday was a long day on the water but especially for Rob who captained the boat all day and says he enjoyed it.  I have several projects going so this works for both of us.  

I thought about writing down what I think about during the day so I wouldn’t forget to tell you, but then I thought if it doesn’t stay in my mind from the days events then maybe it isn’t big enough to tell you about.  

I have to tell you about being in Charleston, SC.  First it was really fun to be there and walk around.  King Street was fun and had very high end stores.  Some where Rob read about King Street being the best shopping street in the US.  Who investigates these things?  I did like one shop called OOPS! that had overstocks, seconds etc., I picked up Chico pants, my kind of store.

What I really enjoyed about being on King Street were the dogs and their owners.  I don’t want a dog because they need too much work, but I sure do love talking to them.  I heard one dog owner say that dogs were chick magnets, he is probably right.  I bet there were as many dog owners as non dog owners.

Prickly Personality

I think that God, or maybe Ginger and Gracie are sending us a message.   It has been nearly a year, December 21, 2014, that Ginger died.  I think that she is up there orchestrating the next cat adoption. I can’t wait.  Rob is onboard, no pun intended, we just have to find the right cat.  Maybe when we get to St. Augustine we will look into adopting, that part Rob doesn’t know yet.

On the 14th we spent the night in another one of those “in-the-middle-of-nowhere places and beautiful at that.  No need to lower the shades in this anchorage since there wasn’t anyone for miles.  Dataw Island was a good stop after leaving Charleston.  We were headed to Beaufort, SC and needed a good point to stop for the night, this anchorage fit the bill.

I really like the anchorages that are so far away from anything because they are so peaceful.

Tuesday we arrived in Beaufort. There is a Beaufort, North Carolina and a Beaufort, South Carolina. They are not pronounced the same way. It is “Beautiful Beaufort By the Sea”, is what I was told.

We spent the day doing chores and errands.  If you have a mooring, for $20.00 a night you can borrow a car for one hour to do errands, it was a challenge but we did it.  Laundry done, most store shopping done, diesel, gas, propane, water, done.  Guess what?  Today we put away the flannel sheets and brought out the cotton ones.  We also left off the wool blanket and put away the down comforter.

We are walking around Beaufort with shorts and t-shirts, the windows open and the Beaufortians talking about how unseasonably warm it is.

There are dolphins, pretty birds and blue skies. Today we are walking around “Historic Downtown Beaufort” and I finally have an appointment for a pedicure. 

We have seen a number of people that are “live a boards” at marina docks.  I am surprised by that. In Charleston we talked with people from New Hampshire that sold everything they had and live on a 53’ boat on the Megadock”.  The boat has a full size dishwasher, full size washer and dryer and two Chihuahuas. They are both still working and waiting to retire.

If you are still reading my blog I have saved the best for last, so you can hear my story.

There was a boat parade of lights in Charleston.  I really wanted to see it so we sat at the waterfront dock for hours waiting for it to start.  It was so cold and I was not dressed for it.  The most fascinating part was the rounding up of all the boats.  The Coast Guard with their red lights and the Charleston water police with their blue lights were there for hours hoping to make this parade work.  There were two great parts for me.  There was this little boat, I have no idea what the boat was, that crashed the parade sauntering in and going the wrong direction. They had strung lights from the boat to a peak of the mast, making it a moving tree. Every time another boat went by the wake caused the boat to roll and the lights to jiggle. It was so fun to watch.

Sunset from the Charleston dock

There were several kayaks that came from under the dock and I am pretty sure they didn’t pay to be in the parade. The boats were all decked out with lights and one had a Santa Claus to wish us Merry Christmas.

We abandoned the parade after that and headed back to our dinghy.  OH MY GOD!  It was dark, there were lots of big boats in the harbor and we had 2.2 miles to go. Rob used his GPS (Garmin Blue Chart Mobile), that he mapped out, to get us back to our boat. I held the iPhone with the GPS guiding us back.  It was a harried ride with two bridges to pass under a bit of the channel to cross and wake from other boats.  It was an amazingly successful trip back but not without fear. 

Christmas is in the air in Charleston

The End

Tricia

The 17th we are still in Beaufort.