Charleston to Myrtle Beach

All along the waterway between Savannah and Charleston we saw mansions like the one below.  It amazes me that there can be so many.

Arriving in Charleston harbor on Friday, April 20^th, we came upon hundreds of sailboats with colorful jennies and spinnakers flying.  We later discovered this was the week-end of the Charleston regatta.

 We stayed at the Charleston Maritime Center which proved to be a very handy location for sightseeing.  On Saturday, Donna, Diane, Tom and I took a carriage ride around the historic district.  After the ride we tried to tour the Palmetto Brewery as Donna knows the owners, but it was not open on Saturdays.  So Tom went his way and we ladies went back downtown to stroll along rainbow row and other streets we had seen from the carriage.  We also toured Russell mansion, a house tour I would highly recommend—beautifully restored and full of history.  The gardens and ironwork in Charleston were gorgeous.  We were constantly snapping pictures.  (Check out the separate blog featuring gardens and windowboxes!)

Diane with her wonderful camera
 taking a picture of the
Russell Mansion

Homeowners buy the gas fixtures
and the city pays the for the gas.
Sounds good to me!

Beautiful ironwork

Jasmine was in bloom everywhere

Since most buildings were commercial
on the first floor, the residences on the second
and third floors were accessed by
outdoor stairways.

Rainbow Row
Pastel colors on the houses.
In Charleston, it works.

Saturday, Carla and Frank Taylor came to join us and arrived in time for dinner.  We feasted on shrimp and crab legs and sadly said good-bye to Donna and Diane as they caught a train back to Savanna to pick up their car Saturday evening.  Later that evening a large square- rigged brig flying a Swedish flag pulled in to the gas dock at the marina.  We  learned it was a sailing school and the student crew signed on for three months.  This crew had come aboard in Miami and they were headed to Bermuda and beyond.  Tom talked his way into getting a tour of it.

Swedish square-rigged brig

Tom was very glad to have male company after a week with a boat full of females. While he and Frank went to tour the aircraft carrier, Yorktown, Sunday morning, Carla and I went for a carriage ride.  It worked well as this carriage toured a totally different part of the historic district, so I learned even more.  Then we checked out the sweetgrass baskets, tasty wafer cookies, and other goodies at the open air market.

Linda and Carla after carriage ride

Sweetgrass baskets and weaver
at the market.

Deck of Yorktown

After doing our part to help the economy at the open market, Carla and I took a pedal-cab back to the dock where we met the guys in time to catch the ferry to Fort Sumpter.  It was pouring rain as we boarded the ferry, but let up when the ferry reached the island.  Perfect timing.   Fort Sumpter was originally built three stories tall, but by the end of the war it was reduced to a single story.  Having only 83 men to hold the fort, Captain Anderson, the Union commander, was forced to surrender, but did so with very little loss of life.  Later in the war bombardment by Union rifled cannons  proved to be the demise of the fort.

Approaching Fort Sumpter by ferry

Carla and Frank at Fort Sumpter

Showing thickness of the walls looking out a window at the fort

Sunday night we went to dinner at Magnolias specifically to have their highly touted fried chicken and they were out of it!  We still had a delicious meal and Frank even tried a bite of my collard greens.  Didn’t like it, but did try it!! And I must tell you he ate creamy grits later in the week and even had seconds!  Yea, Frank!  Monday we left Charleston and headed north. The newbies were pressed into service taking turns driving.  

Helmswoman Carla

Can't this go any faster?!

Tom seemed quite confident in his recruits!

It's so nice to let someone else do the work!

We did let them have some time off, though.

Frank as bow spirit--a great place to stand
and watch the world go by

Carla engrossed in a good book
with the sun on her back

That night we stayed at the dock at McClellanville.  The sun setting behind the shrimp boats was spectacular.  We enjoyed it as we toasted a successful day over a dinner of pepperoni spaghetti.  Tuesday morning I walked to the shrimp docks and purchased fresh jumbo shrimp for our next dinner aboard.  What a treat.

Sunset through the shrimp fleet at McClellanville

Cheers!

Tuesday night we stayed at Georgetown Landing Marina.  Carla and I were on a mission to find a pot large enough to boil our shrimp.  We passed up the $365 stainless steel pot at the boutique in favor of a $10 heavy aluminum pot at an antique store.  Georgetown was a very nice town with lots of interesting shops.  We really did not have an opportunity to see much beyond the waterfront area.  Apparently at one time it was the center of a large rice growing area, growing over half of the rice consumed in the country. 

Wednesday we anchored at Bull Creek, S.C., enjoyed our shrimp dinner and played bridge.  Carla and I were determined to beat the guys, but it was not to be.  We did, however, bid and make a small slam!  Next time!

Thursday we headed for Myrtle Beach.  Just before reaching the city, cable cars pass over the ICW carrying golfers to the 27^th hole of a nearby course.  We knew we had arrived at the land of golf. 

Aerial lift to the 27th hole

Entering the land of golf

We stayed on the wall at Barefoot Landing.  A new marina has been built on the west side of the waterway, but we had been advised to stay here as it was closer to restaurants, etc.  We rented a car Friday morning and headed for the links playing couple’s scramble at Cypress Bay Golf Course which turned out to be a very pretty course.  They had the strangest looking squirrels there.  They are called fox squirrels, but they have the markings of a skunk.

Fox squirrel

That evening we briefly checked out the beach (it was raining) and overate at a calabash seafood buffet. All of us swore off buffets in the future!   I think I am growing gills.

Saturday we drove Carla and Frank back to Charleston to get their car.  The week had flown by. Sunday we did exciting things like laundry, grocery shopping and changing oil—getting ready to move on.  Next major stop­—Atlantic Beach!