Friday May 13: Charleston, SC

We had a really nice time in Charleston - better than I expected! Although there aren't really any bike paths, it was very easy to take side streets or the sidewalks to any part of the city. And because it only took 45 minutes to move from our anchorage to the marina, we had the whole day. The bike ride was first thing as it was supposed to be hot (and it was - let's hear it for air conditioning :-)). We rode by the Charleston City Marina and then around the island. Many old homes that are really beautiful but the upkeep must be a challenge.

The harborfront was fun with very cool fountains. One was pineapple shaped and the other one was a wading pool but Steve managed to walk in it without getting wet (he was the only non-kid in it :-)). A sign next to it said "No Lifeguard on Duty" - which I thought was interesting. There was also a pier with a number of swing on it and lots of folks sitting and swinging. It was fun.

Harborfest was opening later in the day but we rode around by it as well. There were a number of tall ships but the Pride of Baltimore for some reason was not there (as advertised). The second picture is of a solo racer - AROUND THE WORLD if you can believe that. Charleston to the starting point in France is the last leg. I can't imagine crossing an ocean in one of these things by myself to say nothing of traveling around the world.

Tim (Matt's brother), Holly, Carter and Witney came down to the boat (they live north of Charleston) bearing pizza for supper so we had a nice time on the flybridge watching for dolphins and enjoying the evening. Witney seemed to love the boat and wanted to explore every part at least twice. She was also interested in how we drove the boat! Carter and I had fun playing Mario Kart - he's pretty good though - beat me a number of times. We finally played as team members and were about to annihilate the blue team just as it was time for them to leave :-( When we come back through in the fall, maybe a sleepover on the boat for Carter and Witney??

As we left Charleston this morning, the skyline stands out as being very low profile - with the most prominent feature of the city being the church steeples. The city is very proud of this! All in all a great stop!!