Saturday, April 22 - Eating Our Way Around Charleston

Saturday, April 22 - Eating Our Way Around Charleston

Charles had told us that he and Stephanie love to eat in special paces when they travel, so no Waffle House for us this day!  We put all four bikes in the truck and headed for town.  Hominy Grill is their favorite brunch place, so we started there.  I loved the sign on the side of their building, "Grits Are Good for You." 

LOTS of people were waiting, there was a long line just to order drinks.

Charles even  had time to drop Stephanie's bike off to get a new tube before the Bloody Mary's arrived.  We sat on a wall surrounded by flowers and waited our turn. 

Everything was excellent, I ate every grain of my shrimp and grits! 

Touring an old house was on our agenda, and we picked the oldest one that was open to the public, the Nathaniel Russell House, built in 1808.  It is recognized as one of America's most important Neoclassical houses (Wikipedia).  Danny photo bombed my picture.

The "public room" where business was conducted had beautiful doors that separated this area from the family residence.

The accents on the trim around the ceiling in two of the rooms is 22 karat gold.   That's an expensive border! 

The gardens were pretty, of course I loved the trees.  I took this picture of Charles and Stephanie from the entrance gate looking through to the side yard. 

This house was across Meeting Street from the Nathaniel Russell House.  I just love white houses! 

Next stop was the rooftop bar, I can't remember the name.  We parked the bikes and went upstairs for a cool drink and wonderful views of the waterfront and the sailboat races. 

We made a quick stop at the market downtown for me to buy some Jimmy Red Grits.  I hope they are as good as their purchase price indicates.

Leon's Oyster Shop had been on Stephanie's list, so we stopped there for an appetizer/early dinner.  The oysters were delicious.  (Indian Pass, FL, is still our favorite for oysters, though.  Thank you, Lynn.

The one place Charles had wanted to visit was Westbrook Brewery in Mt. Pleasant.  We made it there 15 minutes before closing.  The beer was great, and the young lady at the tasting bar was terrific.  Charles took quite a few cans and bottles home! 

Back at the boat, Charles ate the last of the pimiento cheese that our friend, Henry Wall, had made and brought us.  It's a good thing I love that boy.

Friday, April 21 - Charles and Stephanie Arrive!

Friday, April 21 - Charles and Stephanie Arrive!

We have been so excited that it worked out for Charles and Stephanie to meet us.  Charleston is one of their favorite places and we are looking forward to exploring it with them.

While waiting for them, we rode the bikes to look for beach access.  And we found it!   Very few people, and a pretty beach!

Charles and Stephanie arrived mid-afternoon. We enjoyed visiting and catching up, then headed to Poe's Tavern on Sullivan's Island for dinner.  Stephanie had heard about it from her co-workers, including rave review of the fries.  They were excellent!

We spent the rest of the evening relaxing on the boat and enjoying each other's company.

Thursday, April 20 - Charleston

Thursday, April 20

I have been having issues with my phone, so took advantage of the short distance to the Apple Store while Danny stayed at the dock and washed the boat.  I didn't get either issue resolved, but the nice young lady did change several settings so my battery should last longer.  The ride to the store no back was beautiful.  I just couldn't help but take pictures of some of the houses I passed. 

Our slip was only available for one night, so we moved to Isle of Palms today.  There were so many things to see as we traveled.

First was the bank of the Ashley River. 

Then The Battery. 

Next was Charleston harbor including the cruise ship terminal.

This is race week, and it was evident!  The pink sail gets the award for the most eye-catching.

I really wanted to see some old beach houses on Sullivan's Island, but these were the closest we saw.  Maybe the old ones face the ocean. 

These houses were on the Intracoastal Waterway.  I would move into either one of them, as long as someone else kept them clan and paid taxes and utilities! 

The Intracoastal runs between Isle of Palms and Goat Island.  There is no bridge to Goat Island,  so it has escaped high intensity development.  We saw several tiny houses similar to this one, some old cabins, and a few new homes.  There were lots of people on the docks and boats going and coming, everyone having a good time. 

Our new marina is on Morgan Creek where Wild Dunes resort begins.  Most of the boats in the picture are permanent "residents."  Only a few slips close to the Waterway are for transients, and we were the last slip out.  That meant we would get a bit of rocking from passing traffic and a parade of boats, paddle boards and jet skis to keep us entertained. 

Wednesday, April 19 - On to Charleston

Wednesday, April 19 - On to Charleston

We were headed for Charleston but did not have a marina or a place to anchor.  This is Sail Week in Charleston, and all the marinas were full we had found out last week when we called.  We decided to call back this morning, one was still full, but one did have a slip - for one night!  

The cruise from Steamboat Creek to Charleston was beautiful, which was no surprise!  The Wadmalaw River was first, and had this huge shipyard right in the middle of a residential area! 

Stono River was next.  It looked so funny to see piers going out into the grass and stopping.  There was water back there, just not deep enough for us.

We also saw some houses with very long docks, some beautiful large homes, and a rain cloud along this stretch.

This is Elliot Creek, a cut between the Stono River and the Ashley River at Charleston.  The current was very strong, and the houses were beautiful. 

And we're at Charleston!  There are boats everywhere!!

This gorgeous sailboat is the sailing vessel Athena, currently on the market for the reduced price of 75 MILLION dollars.   It was custom built for James H. Clark, founder of Netscape and WebMD.  If you can't swing the purchase price, you can rent it in the Carribean for $450,000 per week. It has plenty of room for your friends, with a length of 295 feet and five staterooms.  Please invite us!

Since this had been a short cruise day, we docked in time to eat lunch at the Charleston Marina and go get a pedicure.  It was raining when we finally got through (2 hours), but we still biked down King Street and then back to the boat.  

Sunset from our marina.