Charleston

We arrived at the Charleston City Marina about 11:30 Wednesday, April 25.  We had read about the "megadock" but, when we were assigned slip 190 and the first slip is 1500-what were we getting into?  We passed Passport partway down and, when we arrived at a sign that read "No Outlet" we called the office again to make sure we were where we should be.  We were assured that we should just keep going and eventually were greeted by dock attendants aboard the "welcome wagon":

All the way through southern Florida, where the houses and boats are SOOOO big, we somehow avoided being docked close to any that made Mary Frances look miniscule.  Not so here.  Oh well, the small cruise ships blocked the wind:

Wednesday we rode the marina courtesy van route to get an idea of what we wanted to do the next couple of days.  Thursday we took a ride in the van to the Charleston Visitor Center and took a tour from there.  Do you think this tour was advertised as a "mule-drawn" carriage?  Just doesn't seem as romantic as horses, somehow.

The black disc is an "earthquake bolt", part of a brace installed to keep the building together after an earthquake in the 1880's.  Many Charleston buildings have this extra decorative touch.

A few years ago we visited Charleston with Matthew and Christine.  John and Matthew rode across the Ravenel Bridge between Mt. Pleasant and Charleston and back.  Mary rode half-way.  This time she was determined to make the complete trip:

The center span:

The WWII aircraft carrier Yorktown, which houses the Medal of Honor Museum:

We've traveled so far to come such a short distance!

We rode almost 14 miles.  You may think we should discount the fast coast down the Mt. Pleasant side of the bridge, but riding back up that side, into the wind, more than makes up for the respite.

Charleston Coast Guard Station:

We left Charleston Saturday morning, April 28:

Houses along the Battery:

Looks like a long bike ride!

Castle Pinckney, part of the harbor defense system:

Fort Sumter:

The lighthouse on Sullivan's Island.  Fort Moultrie, where Edgar Allen Poe was stationed, is also on this island, but on the ocean side.

Mary Frances IV posing as Towboat US:

We don't think these fishing boats are still in use:

Yes, that's really an alligator swimming across the river in front of us!

We saw  couple of fire towers today and the 2012 edition of Tidelands, a Guide for Georgetown County, SC includes an article about these towers, used from the early 1900's until the early 1990's.  Some are still in use as radio transmitter sites or repeater sites.  The 911 system and aircraft replaced them to locate fires. 

The intracoastal has changed and we see trees again!

This was an accidental picture, but we decided to put it in the blog to show what our electronic chart looks like.  If John just keeps the little red boat on the magenta line, we are generally okay.  Of course common sense, a good pair of binoculars, watching for markers that have been moved since the chart was published, e-mail updates, information from other cruisers, and good old-fashioned paper charts "just in case" are also important!

This cable-driven ferry is even smaller than the Ironton ferry back in Michigan:

Uh Oh-look how brown the water is.  Will Mary Frances IV develop a mustache?

Safely at Georgetown, a delightful surprise-many old buildings and lots of parks, we visited the Rice Museum to discover how important rice production was in South Carolina before the Civil War and why it could not be produced at a profit afterward.  These are the remains of the Browns Ferry vessel,  a 50 foot freighter that sank about 1730.

The walking tour brochure for this town is the best yet-they've put plaques on the houses with numbers that coincide with the numbers on the guide!  Mary Frances at rest in Georgetown:

Beautiful Beaufort

We spent an easy day at Isle of Hope on Sunday, April 22.  Rain was expected, but very little developed.  Another load of laundry and a batch of white chili then to bed for an early departure Monday.

Passing Hilton Head-notice the water kicking up a little, warning us what was to come:

Port Royal Sound was rough, but usually once you cross a sound and get back on the more protected ICW, things calm down.  Not so this day, as we turned into the Beaufort River the following (behind us) then beam (against the side of the boat) seas became head-on, washing saltwater over the bow.  We followed a larger looper boat to the marina, staying close enough that their wake helped calm the water for us.  This is Parris Island Marine Recruit Depot, where John's father endured basic training in the early 30's and refresher training when he rejoined in the 40's:

Mary Frances at the dock in Beaufort, SC:

An unusual neighbor:

We walked around the city.  How do you like this street sign?

There are many beautiful and historic houses and other buildings in Beaufort:

Do you think they recognize the historical significance of their napping place?

St. Helena Episcopal Church is 300 years old this year:

Some of the tombstones were used as operating tables during the Civil War.  When Matthew and Benjer used to help their Grandma Leatherman place flags on the graves of veterans for Memorial Day, all of the flags were the same.  Not so here:

We stayed 2 nights, as the wind picked up as we approached and continued through Tuesday.  We left early Wednesday, April 25 (Happy Birthday to Mary's sister Sue) and arrived in Charleston before the winds picked up again in the afternoon.

Isle of Hope/Savannah

We left Jekyll Island Tuesday, April 17.  This boat was anchored across from the marina and the harbor attendant told us that it is a 1901 wooden "buy" boat from Chesapeake Bay.  These boats were built to go out to the crabbers, fishing boats, etc, and buy the catch then sell it on shore.  The local TowBoat US captain lives on this one:

St. Simon Island Light:

We traveled through tidal marshes most of the day.  Looks like John and Mary took a wrong turn, doesn't it?

We found another reason to love our boat-we can outrun the bugs!  Every time we slowed, several horseflies (called greenheads here) joined us on Mary Frances.  When we sped up, Mary used a rag to shoo them out over the stern.  We ran about 80 miles through marshes today, with only a couple of sounds (wider bodies of water that lead out to the ocean) until the last 2 miles.  Suddenly:

In another couple of miles, we came to Isle of Hope Marina.  Mary and John had told us that Chris and Kerm (Southern Belle) recommended this marina and, indeed, Chris is here while Kerm is back in Wisconsin visiting with his father.  It's great to see Chris and Passport also arrives late in the day.  Mary Frances at Isle of Hope (low tide as the barnacles and oysters on the dockpost attest):

Wednesday we take a walk along the bluff and borrow a marina courtesy car-haven't seen one of these since the rivers!-to go to Piggly-Wiggly and Wal-Mart.  The only things wrong with the van and Civic that are loaners here seem to be that a back door on each doesn't work-not bad!  Brown-Eyed Girl arrives and we all go to The Shrimp Factory in Savannah for dinner.  Chris recommended this restaurant and we all enjoy our meals and thank her often during dinner.

Thursday we do a load of laundry, drive back to Wal-Mart with Mary and John, and end the day with a potluck-Cheesy grits, lasagna, fried chicken, cheese bread, salads, brownies-YUM!

Friday we sign out the car for each boats' allotted 2 hours, which gives us 8 hours in Savannah.  We all agree we want to take a trolley tour and all start at the Savannah History Museum for a movie about the history of the city, then separate to follow our own interests.  We go through the museum.  Here's a picture for you, Mom:

Savannah is a beautiful, historic Southern city.  James Ogelthorpe planned it with 24 squares, 22 still exist, and there are many monuments in these green parks.  The buildings, whether homes, offices, medical centers, colleges, or museums are attractive and well-kept and many still exist because Sherman, instead of burning Savannah, offered it to President Lincoln as a Christmas gift.  It was saved a second time a hundred years later when a group of women formed the Historic Savannah Foundation and put a halt to planned "development".

This street is paved with ballast from ships, which dumped the ballast they had loaded to keep the ships upright until they sailed to the new world to load up and make the return trip.  A lot of cotton left this port.

Florence Martus was the sister of the lightkeeper in the early 20th century.  She waved to every ship that entered the harbor, perhaps waiting for her love to sail back to her.  The waving girl statue:

John was commander of  Michigan's Armor Battalion in 1996, when Atlanta hosted the olympics, and he and his soldiers traveled to Georgia to guard pre-olympic sites.  The sailing events were held near Savannah:

City Market area:

After lunch at a Scottish Pub, we decided to visit the Georgia State Railroad Museum.  The roundhouse; for storage, refueling, and repairs:

We actually had a ride on this steam-powered train as the still operational turntable swiveled and the engineer drove the train onto different sections of track where a narrator taught us about this railyard and its importance to Savannah:

Talk about multiple use structures-this smokestack drew smoke and fumes from the site, had a 40,000 gallon cast iron water tank, and 16 privies around the ground floor:

Saturday Passport and Brown-Eyed girl move on.  We ride our bikes to Wormsloe State Historic Site, 1 1/2 miles from the marina:

By the time we rode down this live oak lined  driveway to the visitor center and back to Mary Frances, we managed about 5 3/4 miles today:

Noble Jones was an original Georgia settler and the tabby wall ruins of the home he built are the oldest standing structures in the Savannah area.  Although this home deteriorated, a new dwelling was begun in 1828 and, 7 generations later, Jones' descendents live there today.  More than 800 acres of  land was donated in 1972 and a colonial life area includes this simulation of wattle and daub construction that would have been used for servant quarters:

Another load of laundry, blog update, dinner in the crockpot..........see you tomorrow.