Beaufort to Charleston

Hi Everybody!

How are you all doing? We left Beaufort on the 17th of November and we arrived at the Charleston Maritime Center’s marina on the Cooper River on the 23rd. We are situated just below the sculptural Cooper River Bridge, which dominates the eastern skyline with its twin sails. This is a city owned and maintained marina and open only to transients in order to bring more tourists to downtown Charleston. The marina is in the heart of the historic district adjacent to the aquarium. Within walking distance is a multiplicity of art museums, fine dining, historic churches and homes, and best of all, family. Chappell and Betsy live nearby and Isaac will be joining us for the long weekend.

Our travels from Beaufort to Charleston brought us through Bogue Sound, the canal cut at Camp Lejuene, Onslow Beach, New River, Alligator Bay, Middle Sound, Snow’s Cut, Cape Fear River, Little River, Saucepan Creek, Pine Island Cut, Wacamaw River, Winyah Bay, Minim Creek and finally Charleston Harbor.

Traveling the ICW is sometimes peaceful and relaxing and at other times arduous and consuming. There are days when we are greeted by porpoises playfully leaping off Namaste’s bow and brown pelicans clowning around at the edge of the water. There are other days when I feel like Dorothy chanting “lions, tigers and bears, oh no!” Perhaps I am more like the scarecrow and my version of the chant goes “crab pots, currents and shoals, oh no!”

We have spent the night in places that vary greatly in landscape and ambiance. We dropped the hook in the little Hammock Bay past Camp Lejeune where helicopters chopped at the air above us all evening and we could hear artillery shells exploding in the distance as the marines practiced warfare. We spent one night anchored on Awendaw Creek in the middle of a vast marsh listening to the Laughing Gulls hiding in the reeds. We had a lovely night at the secluded, protected and accommodating Osprey Marina at the south end of Myrtle Beach.

In the larger perspective we have enjoyed the cruise down the ICW and we are glad to be greeting warmer weather here in Charleston. During our stay we have a few boat projects planned and some stocking up to do. We are also going to spend time with family and friends. We will be sharing Thanksgiving with Betsy’s family and Becca, Caitlin and Lynn Ward will be visiting us on Saturday. We also plan a trip to the aquarium, lots of walks along the water, we will be participating in the annual Charleston Turkey Trot and taking advantage of the museums and great dining available to us.

We think of you All often and miss your company.

Peace and Love