Charleston

Well, folks, we have been in Charlesto for 5 days - a little longer than planned! The weather just is not cooperting - rain and 15-30 mph winds. As in EVERY place we have been, the comment is "this is very unusual weather for here!" Do you know how tired we are of hearing that? The Morris Vortex - follow our track at your own risk!! We have double lines on the boat and it is a real challenge getting on/off as the wind is pushing us away from the dock!! Alan has to get off and TRY to pull her over some so I can get off (we have a 5 step Little Giant ladder) - and of course the doggies. We HOPE to leave Monday, with the next stop being Georgetown, SC. This certainly is a great place to be holed up, however! Charleston is wonderful and they have the whole tourist thing down to an art. It is VERY busy here, what with spring breaks and Easter, but everything runs very smoothly. One day we did part of a walking tour (hope to complete before we leave), which is the way we feel we best "get to know" a city. They have very a stringent preservation policy here - nothing over 75 years old can be torn down and anything that affects, or shows, on the outside of any structure (even dryer vents )has to be approved by the city. As a result, 75% of the structures are original!! Also, 95% of the homes have never been sold and have been passed down thru the genertions. Pretty amazing! The day we arrived they were having their annual salboat races in the harbor - hundreds of boats! It was quite the site. We had to call the Coast Guard for instructions as to how to circumvent the race to get to our marina. Our marina is small and very nice, but exposed to the weather and the wave action from alll the container ships, ferries, tour boats etc. This is the 4th busiest port on the East coast and it is a constant parade of BIG container ships right outside our marina (pix follow). We get big white caps IN the marina!! Yesterday we took a bus tour of the city, followed by a harbor tour - fascinating history!! Another day we spent at the museum (the first museum in the states) and it was FULL of the most amazing things and, of course, a lot of it centered around the Civil War. That was followed by a tour of one of the historic "summer " homes . The planttion owners found that the city, with the ocean breezes, was much cooler than inland plantations in the summer. We have learned (relearned) so much here. Did we really ever attend high school? Seems like that could be a myth??? The couple next to us (36 ft sailboat) sailed across the Atlantic, thru the Canary Islands, to the islands (Barbados etc), up to Fl and now the ICW to Maine. It will be a 2 year journey for them and we are in awe!! This trip is as much about the people you meet as it is the journey!! We made plans for Easter brunch at one of the hotels, so now praying it doesn't rain - again!! More pix following!

Posted with Blogsy