Thursday November 17: Beaufort, SC

In the 3 1/2 half weeks since we left Norfolk we've traveled 536 miles and are closing in on Jacksonville, FL. This is where we'll leave the boat for a month while we travel to Cleveland and California for the holidays - looking forward to it!

Our visit to Linda and Jim's was really great. Their home has been in the family for four generations and I can understand why. The live oaks grow along the sides of the driveway and house - along with various types of palms. Steve is standing in front of the largest (and presumably) oldest of the live oaks.

Linda and Jim's grandson and his family are currently staying with them. This is Nathanial on Steve's lap on the swing in the yard. More pictures of the house and yard - really an amazing place. Linda and Jim host weddings on the property (during the spring and fall mostly) - what a gorgeous setting it is for a wedding!

This is Linda, Jim, Dottie and Steve as we prepared to tour the island. Dottie grew up with Jim on Edisto Island and is very knowledgeable about the history of the people and land (as is Jim!). The Edisto Indians who lived here in the 1600's eventually all died out but their legacy remains in the names of the rivers around this region.

The 67 square mile island originally 13 or 14 plantations (I don't remember which) with the main products being rice and indigo. Some cotton was also grown here. We were able to drive by several of the original plantation homes - many looking the same as they did in the early 1800's. The plantation homes basically were 4 rooms - a hallway down the center and one room on each side of the hallway (both first and second floors). This allowed the breezes from the marshes to cool the house. This is an example of the "1 room deep" homes. Many cypress trees also (the orange ones) as well as pecan trees.

The most interesting stop was the Edisto Presbyterian Church (Jim and Linda are members). It was founded during 1685 and 1695 and has been restored to it's original form. You can see the box pews (which some churches had to rent in order to pay bills) and the slave gallery up on the second floor along the sides. The cemetery there was also very interesting with graves dating from 1787. I think the parish is still mad at the Yankees for stealing their pipe organ during the Civil War - it ended up that the ship it was on sunk by the Confederates and the pipe organ still lies at the bottom of ?? The Union forces occupied all of the island during the war and didn't treat the homes very well. Few if any were burned though unlike other cities in the South.

After a great breakfast of oysters and grits (with brown gravy of course - and sweet rolls :-)) we headed out about 10:15. On the way, we passed the first of the plantations homes built on Edisto Island. It faces the water because there were no roads to the island and everyone came by boat - hence the front door faced the water. We used the GPS to backtrack (the pink/black line in front of the little boat was our path IN) down the unmarked river and reached the South Edisto River with no problems or groundings!! It was a very windy day which made for a rough ride up the Coosaw River. Waves were 1 - 2 feet with the occasional 3 footer just to remind me to pay attention :-)

Arrival time to Beaufort, SC was about 3 pm - early enough to spend a bit of time relaxing. Steve of course has the breakfast place already picked out ........ He spotted this little bird pecking at the oysters that are stuck to the dock pilings.

Tuesday November 15: Edisto Island, SC

The intention was to leave early this morning for an early arrival at the Edisto Island home of Jim and Linda Murray (we traveled with them and Peter and Cheryl from Chicago to Alabama last fall). But the fog had different ideas .... and it was 9 am until we felt we could see enough to make our way up the Stono River. Went well for the most part - until it became thicker! Steve rode on the front as he could see better from there. I steered using the GPS. It worked great - especially after a couple of boats passed us and we could speed up and just follow them! Eventually the fog totally cleared and it was a pleasant sunny day.

Jim was kind enough to meet us at a dock about 1 1/2 hours away from their home (by boat - 15 minutes by car!) so we could manage to make it up the river that leads to their house. There is nothing like having local knowledge when navigating unmarked waters! Linda and her great-grandson were at the dock waiting when we arrived - how good to see her again!!

A golf cart ride past Jim's brother's home and on to Linda and Jim's place. Talk about amazing. The trees are really something as is the whole tidal thing with the appearing and disappearing sand bars. It's so different than what we grew up with in Ohio.

Back to the boat for exercise and showers - we'll join Jim and Linda later for dinner. Hopefully we'll be able to do a tour of Edisto Island with them while we are here. The guidebooks list it as a place that is like going back to the 1950's. More about our visit tomorrow!

Monday November 14: St. John's Yacht Harbor - near Charleston

We only moved about 5 miles today - talk about a short trip! Yesterday worked out really well though with Tim, Carter and Whitney joining us on the boat for a harbor ride. It was a nice day with very calm water - perfect for a short cruise. As you can see, Carter and Tim enjoyed the flybridge seating while Whitney drove us around the harbor - with just a little help from me. She did quite well - I see boating in her future! Our destination was just to get close enough to Ft. Sumter to actually be able to see it as something other than a speck on the horizon.

On the way back in, the dolphin watch from the front deck was in full force but we saw only a couple and they weren't really that close. Sad. Once back at the dock though, the fisherpeople fished (Steve, Tim and Whitney). Carter and I decided that while we liked to catch fish we didn't really enjoy fishing. So there was lots of fishing going on but not catching so Carter and I played Mariocart Wii instead. Whitney did manage to land a fish though! It was a very nice afternoon.

We were up early this morning, tried a different place for breakfast and then I rode around the south end of Charleston while Steve walked the mile back to the boat. There was a neat church along the way complete with a walled-in cemetery. Very old as you would expect. Many of the headstone unreadable due to the weathering of the stone.

Battery park is at the very south end of Charleston. It's complete with cannons, a monument to the Confederate solders who defended Charleston during the Civil War and is lined by huge homes - some of which date back to the 1700's.

The tall ship was in the harbor as we were leaving with all sails up. Not sure where it was going though - I think it actually lives here in Charleston. Sunset tonight at the St. John's Yacht Harbor. Nice marina - crazy currents (1.5 knots when we came in) and tides (a change of 7 feet from high to low).

Tomorrow we head to Edisto Island. Jim and Linda Murray from Selah (with whom we traveled for much of the inland rivers last fall) live there and have just returned from leaving their boat in Tennessee. It'll be great to see them again - we parted ways not quite a year ago.

Sunday November 13: Charleston, SC

It was a short day - only about 12 miles - to Charleston. Sadly the current was against us so we were traveling at 6 mph instead of our usual lightening speed of 8.3 mph :-) The Carnival Cruise ship was in port. We saw it leave early last night. It was fairly close to the marina we're at (Maritime Center) but nothing like we saw at Norfolk! On the way in we saw more indoctrination of the young: a flotilla of small sailboats with small children on them. Is it any wonder that there are so many sailors out there? Talk about starting young :-0 The bridge over the Cooper River is really fun looking. It can be seen for miles as the land is fairly flat around here.

A tall ship arrived shortly after we did. A bunch of kids were leaving carrying sleeping bags and stuff but I'm not sure where they came from or how long they were out. That would be a fun thing to do as a kid.

Of course Steve took care of our nourishment needs once again. He found a place that had shrimp and grits - definitely a southern dish. It was excellent - do I see this in our future again tomorrow morning? Perhaps so. After breakfast, I rode down by the waterfront at the southern end of Charleston. It overlooks the inlet from the Atlantic as well as Fort Sumter (can't really make out the fort but it's out there!). This is the waterfront park that had the fountains and really fun swings. So I sat there a while and people watched.

Tim, Carter and Whitney are due to arrive in a few hours so we'll take a harbor tour - maybe go out closer to the fort so we can actually see it! No Browns game today as we'll be out of the dock. I think it's just as well. Maybe we will win?

Friday Novermber 11: Isle of Palms - Near Charleston, SC

After a nice night at Lightkeeper's Marina, Steve headed out to find the breakfast place and I followed closely behind by bike. There were two places. How to decide? By the number of cars, right? Plus the county sheriff cars were at one of them. Easy decision then - go where the cops eat! We left the marina fairly early as it was another long run planned. The ride on the ICW north of Myrtle Beach is very much like some of the inland rivers from last fall. Quiet water, sunny, little wind and trees with the colors of autumn. It's like we've been experiencing the fall colors for the last 6 weeks!

I am again struck by the number of 'developments' that look as though the intention was to have a hundred houses yet only a handful were ever built. Once south of Myrtle Beach the ICW connects to the Macamaw River which again reminds me of the rivers of Tennessee. Most of the leaves are dead and dropping. All of the osprey that were so numerous in this area when we came north are gone - assumably to someplace warmer but I'm not sure where.

Our destination was the Heritage Plantation Marina which is literally a 5 minute walk to Ernie and Marion Dozzi's home. We arrived late afternoon and were greeted by Marion not five minutes after we had tied up - must have been mental telepathy! They came to Christmas dinner at our house many years ago in Sagamore but we hadn't seen them since then. It was great going to their place for dinner - an enjoyable night out!

Early morning again this morning as we were headed almost to Charleston - 63 miles. Long not so interesting waterways. This part of South Carolina is very large areas of wetlands, shallow rivers running everywhere and very little in the way of homes along the waterway. Very different than the northern part of SC.

Tim, Holly, Carter and Whitney brought pizza to the boat for supper and after we ate, Carter, Whitney and I played Mariocart Wii. Whitney was practicing up on her driving skills as Tim and the kids will be back Sunday to go for a boat ride (Holly has to work :-( ). Must be bedtime. Finally I am going to get to sleep in ......