Anyways, our destination for the first night out of Beaufort on the way to Charleston was an anchorage on the Ashepoo River. It was not that far, so we took our time waiting for the right tide to leave and had a nice journey there. Nothing terribly exciting to report. It was quite beautiful there, but the horseflies really became an issue. So, we had to stay inside most of the time and had to keep the screens on the back deck buttoned up. This was really unfortunate because, as I said, it was really beautiful.
So, we developed a new game. It's called "Horsefly Bingo". It's played just like regular Bingo, except that, instead of a rolling bowl of balls, the numbers come from horeseflies landing on a pre-made grid hung on top of the big screen across the back deck. Each player has a card. When a horesefly lands, you simply determine where on the grid it is and then that's your number - i.e., b-23, g-11, and so on and so forth. It's one stupid way to entertain yourself. Here's the twist, however. If a fly (aka "game piece") gets inside the enclosure, and thus behind the grid, he dies, because that's when "Leon" is activated. Such unruly "game pieces" simply cannot be allowed to remain part of the game and they are dispatched with a snap, crackle, sizzle, sizzle, pop!
We hoped in the dinghy to go check out this supposed waterfront seafood place about a half mile from where we were anchored called B&B Seafood, just a short jaunt up the Mosquito Creek. It was really funny. After battling horseflies all the way there, we found a dock with a large shrimp boat tied to it. So, we tied up and went ashore. We found no seafood place, but we did find a small office in the building so we went in. We were greeted by two very nice folks, definitely locals. This place was really out in the sticks. We asked if there was any place to take a walk, and we were told, "Well, you could walk up that there road a spell." So that's what we did. The main road in this little enclave was dirt. There was nothing there but this little place, a couple trailers scattered out in the tree laced fields, a volunteer fire department whose insignia was a mosquito with a fire hose nozzle for its nose, and some research facility that appeared new, but otherwise abandoned. So, we asked about some fresh shrimp, and were told, "There ain't none on a 'cause of the freeze this year." I was tempted to buy some frozen shrimp - you know, dump a couple bucks into the local economy since they were nice enough to let us use their dock to come ashore, and all that. But, I realized their five pound boxes of frozen shrimp were probably bait. So, we politely said we were going to take a walk and pick it up on our way back.
It was pretty buggy out there, so we didn't walk far. Do you remember the movie "Phantasm", and that really tall, scary looking dude who basically hung around the mosoleum stuffing aliens into barrels? Well, I'm convinced this guy was here driving a little red Subaru outback back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, up and down this dirt road. He must have passed us in both directions several times. It was pretty funny. Finally, we had had enough of swating at bugs on the road, so we headed back to the boat, and yes, we bypassed that wonderful offer to purchase five pounds of frozen, peel and eat, bait.
It would seem we picked up a passenger somewhere along the buggy line - a 3" Palmetto Bug. This nasty bastard, all red and shiny, made his presence known at night when we were going to sleep. Brenda noticed something was up because the cats were "hunting" in our bed. Not a good sign, right? Then, this critter ran over the top of my shoulder and then hit the wall and dove for cover under Brenda's pillows. Needless to say, Brenda was not pleased. She moved pretty fast. In fact, I cannot recall ever seeing her move faster. In fact, she moved faster than a prairie dog pickin' up scraps under the popcorn cart at the county fair.
So, then, this bug, large enough to saddle, wedged itself in the wood trim on the side of the bed closest to the hull. We must have looked pretty funny trying to find this thing. Pillow, sheets, the half matress, all of it, flying off the bed, and there's me, with a flashlight in one hand and a fondue fork in the other, going after this thing from hell with a true vigor. Unfortunately, the grimey little gamester got away and slipped into the space under the bed where the starboard side water tank and the exhaust line live. At that point, Brenda declared she had had all that she could take, picked up her pillows and, for the next 3 nights, slept in the wheelhouse.
(Ultimately, we did kill that Palmetto Bug from Hell. We found it snacking in the galley on the crumbs of some croutons I had made. He died under the spine of a book. I sure hope that was the only one. It's not like you can identify them from their license plates, although they are big enough. I know, you are probably thinking that this guy loves to write about insects - like he is some kind of entemologist, or something. The truth is, if there were a way to rid the entire planet of all bugs, I'd vote in for sure. We thought the bugs would be bad in Florida. Well, welcome to South Carolina.)
Next, we continued our journey to Charleston with a brief stop on the Stono River, just short of Elliott Cut. We were only a few miles from Charleston but we had a reservation for the Mega Dock, which was for the following day. We also wanted to get through Elliott Cut on the right sort of tide. So, we anchored outside of this place called Harbor Yacht Basin. They allowed us to tie up the dinghy and we did so and went in for lunch at the snack bar on premises. They have a wonderful pool and the service was good. The food wasn't bad either. We didn't do much there as there was nothing to do. This stop was basically a staging point. So, in the morning, when the tide was right, we departed for the short run to Charleston City Marina, home of the Mega Dock.
Going through Elliott Cut was one of the most ......... well, interesting rides. The tide was going out and, unfortunately, was really ripping through there. I guess we should have left a half hour earlier. I have been white water rafting. That is fun. Now try it on a single screw, full keel trawler. That was quite a ride. Many of you know that when you are moving down stream like that, you have no (or very little) control. To make matters even more interesting, it was a slow speed, no wake zone. So, while I was in basically idle, I was still moving 10.5 knots in the stream, and only applying power to keep the nose of the boat pointed in the right direction. I would have loved a water cop to stop me for speeding. Didn't happen, so all's well that ends well. As you can probably guess, that you are reading this is evidence we didn't have any problem getting through. A couple bends and a bridge or two and then Charleston came into view.
I'm certain there are few enough words to describe Charleston. The first that comes to mind, however, is "vibrant." This town is colorful, tasteful, delightful, wonderful. It is old and it is new. It is easy to negotiate. It is easy to do.
The city is actually located on a penninsula with the Cooper river on the north/east, and the Ashbury River on the south/west. Thus, it is obvious that the city had important logistical and strategic purposes when it was established many, many years ago. This city was here before America was America. There are fabulous parks where you can look out over the water, see beautiful bridges, and view Fort Sumpter, the place were the first shots of the Civil War were allegely fired. And, because it is on the water, and surrounded on two sides by water, the climate is well moderated and the weather was perfect.
The Charleston City Marina was very nice. This place is the home of the Mega Dock - it's over 4000' long and can take anything from small boats to very large ones. In fact, David Copperfield's boat, "Magic" was there. It's only about 150' long. You would think that such a grand magician would make his boat even bigger. The staff are numerous and all very helpful. There is a van that will take you pretty much anywhere you want to go and then pick you up. Taxi's in town, however, are quite inexpensive.
We toured around in Charleston for 3 days, and as far as I am concerned, I absolutely love this city. I would come back. I would stay here for a long time. This town has absolutely everything. It figures. It's a university town. USC (University of South Carolina) is nearby. The MUSC (Medical University of South Carolina) is there. Charleston College is there. The Citadel is there. There is a large technical college there. And, Clemson is not that far. In other words, there is an abundance of things to do, festivals every weekend of the year, and other events which serve to entertain and inspire the more than 120,000 university folks (faculty and student body) that come to town. I have always thought that university towns are more alive than others for the very reasons you can certainly anticipate and appreciate.
The real bonus to our visit to Charleston was our chance to visit my friend Albert. Albert is the older brother of my best friend Norman. They both grew up around the corner from where I grew up, and we all became friends nearly 40 years ago. Their parents are like my parents and they have always been super good to me. I cannot say enough wonderful things about all the great memories and experiences growing up in their home. So, we, (Brenda, Albert, and I) had a lot of laughs and recounted some funny memories and stories from the days on Calhoun Street and Albers Street. Albert was a great City Host and took us to some fine eateries and and on some great walking tours. Our friends on Love Shack were also in town and so the 5 of us went out and laughed hard over dinner and talk of Pugs. So, to my friend Albert, I say, thank you very much for a delightful visit. We will miss you.
No comments:
Post a Comment