Waiting in Charleston

Friday, November  11

7:30am Friday morning, we tuned in to Chris Parker's weather net, and found that our Sunday window had deteriorated, and was no longer recommended for going south offshore.  But Monday and Tuesday still looked good. We called our friend Bill and updated him of the situation.  He rearranged his plans to come down a day later, and his wife Lisa was able to come along as well for a sort of mini-vacation weekend.

With a few days now on our hands we took a day to play tourist. Using the marina's free shuttle service,  we got a ride downtown and got in a visit to the Aquarium.

Pelican Feeding Time

Alligators!

We then spent the rest of the afternoon perusing the booths on the 5 block long Market Street.  Joanie got her first tast of boiled peanuts, a southern thing.  She liked them, but I found them not to my tastes.  Horse drawn carriages were everywhere.

Horse Drawn Carriages

Note the Emissions Control Device!

Saturday, November 12

The morning's weather net confirmed the continuing suitability of Mon and Tue for an easy trip south "outside". We got some chores done, and Bill and Lisa arrived in time for dinner and bar-hopping around town.  Charleston has quite a lot of nightlife.  After a fantastic dinner at the Husk's bar,  we ended up in a raw bar eating oysters and steamed shrimp.

Bill and Lisa in Charleston

Sunday, November 13

Sunday dawned cold and rainy. Bill and Lisa went off to play tourist and took a boat trip out to tour Fort Sumter at the mouth of Charleston Harbor.  Joan did laundry while I did some minor repair on the dinghy.  Later, when the rain stopped, Bill helped me deploy the offshore jacklines, and do some minor retuning of the mast rigging to prevent it from "pumping" in the wind.  Weather forecast still looked good, all ready to go.

Next stop, Florida!