We made it – Charleston for Thanksgiving!

Big deal, you may think… but imagine planning a road trip which would take you at least 10 days to finish (which is tough since we can make LA from New York in 5-7 days if we had to). Now, imagine that sometimes the roads are closed (aka tides are too low to make it through, bridges don’t open, etc), or the weather prevents you from leaving. We’re spoiled with our highway systems and cars, but sailing is a little more old fashioned, there are many more days you just can’t leave. Add all that up, and then set a target of a place on a certain date, and we made it, by the skin of our teeth : )

Coming through Charleston Harbor was a bit of a ‘finish line’ of sorts. Those that talk about doing big things, say that it is important to set goals in the middle, or the objective can be overwhelming… that was Charleston for us.

On our way, we stopped in Myrtle Beach – kids got to swim in a hotel pool connected to the Marina. Not sure how deep those swim suits were in the pile of clothes, but we finally got to break them out. We also got to see a concert streamed that we would have loved to attend in person (“Trying to Reason with Hurricane Season” – a benefit concert for the islands… for the record, one of us may continue, for many years, to remind the other one of us that they had floor seats that they had to give up because we are taking this trip… good thing we could catch it streaming). We were lucky enough to catch up with Becky’s college roommate in Georgetown – another one of those waterfronts that you’d likely miss on your trip south on I-95. We were just a few hundred yards down from the local fishing pier. We couldn’t resist stopping by and picking up 2 lbs of jumbo (yes – for those that know, we’re talking about 16-20 size shrimp) for $8.00 a lb. Shrimp Scampi for dinner – yum!

It was great to be able to see this concert streamed… we were all set with Corona’s in hand.

Beautiful ride through the “Rock Pile.” Short story, simply put… when they were dredging the Intracoastal, they did not budget for hitting rock – which they hit plenty of… so they threw in the towel, put warning signs up, and you announce your presence (and hope not to hear about a tug or barge coming the other way).

We continued our ‘educational curriculum’ with the implications of the plantations on the south, the Civil War, and slavery by visiting the Middleton Plantation in Charleston. (A little minor historical significance – we both went to this plantation as part of our ‘Babymoon’ when Becky was pregnant with Tali. Can you even imagine thinking then, about coming back 8 years later on a boat, Bahamas bound? Life – what a great journey!)

The girls in front of the “North Flanker” of the, now destroyed, Middleton home. An interesting note… Henry Middleton spent his entire fortune backing the Confederacy, then came home to find his house burned and destroyed… the fact we can still visit and see a place like this is amazing.

Dad and his girls…

A picture from the ‘front’ of the estate… visitors would have arrived by boat from Charleston via the Ashley River, not the road, which was a swampy path used by the Native Americans.

After we got the educational part of the trip covered, it was time to enjoy the other great things about Charleston – like the food and beach. Thanksgiving dinner was with friends from home who have relocated to North Carolina – it was great to see them! A trip to Folly Beach gave us a our beach fix, and then we needed to start some shopping at the central market and the Charleston Christmas Bazaar.

Tali with her Mermaid’s purse and Savy with her shells…

Great to connect with the Key’s – perfect timing!

We’re currently moving quickly through the rest of South Carolina to Savannah. We’re getting into a groove and continuing our trip south. It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost a month since we’ve moved aboard… looking at the map, we can see the miles we’ve covered, but to actually adjust to life aboard, it doesn’t seem like it’s been that long.

The view as we’re writing this… these sunsets never get old!

Miss you all!