The last couple of days have been pretty relaxing as we extended our stay in Charleston. Yesterday Mattias was suffering from cold symptoms and stayed at the boat. This gave Liv and Hanna the opportunity to play, read and nap. Mom enjoyed a nice nap and read in bed! What luxury! In the afternoon, Liv and I shuttled downtown and window shopped, stopped at a book store and looked at Christmas trees, holiday decor and model train exhibit in the large hotel. After a stop at Starbucks for a little pick me up, we called the shuttle for a drive back to the boat. Hanna stayed with Mattias on the boat and both girls enjoyed alone time with one parent.
Today, was a sunnier and warmer day than the sprinkles yesterday. Mattias was feeling better so we set out walking to a restaurant his friend Mike recommended, Hominy Grill. Looking at the framed postings we saw it had been highlighted in the NY Times, Gourmet, Bon Appetit etc. We had a delicious lunch. I ordered the Shrimp and Cheese Grits which the waitress said was popular breakfast, lunch and dinner. Mattias enjoyed a steaming bowl of Gumbo while Liv and Hanna each ate safe grilled cheese and blt's sandwiches. We skipped on dessert (not sure why) but were tempted by Buttermilk Pie and the popular Chocolate Pudding! I purchased a cookbook and hope to introduce some Swedes to grits!
Back on foot and Burley, we walked miles around Charleston today after lunch. Back to the historic neighborhoods of the trendy King St. close to Charleston College; Bay St. (the Battery) and Market. Our little dogs (feet) and girls were tired and the shuttle came just in time to take us back to the boat. We made it an early night as we are setting out tomorrow for more fun on the water!
More later,
Carrie
Friday, November 30, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Charleston, SC Days 1 through 3
Day 1
Mattias was working on the boat so I took the girls to the Charleston Aquarium today. It was a beautiful setting right on the harbor with a bridge that rivals the Golden Gate in beauty. Sorry the picture doesn't give it justice. We had an enjoyable several hours there, had a bite to eat and then walked to the library just a few blocks away for a little quiet time. Heesook, Christopher and Don showed up there as well and we hung out in the kids section while the kids were busy on the computers and/or reading. We all went back to our boat for a cup of tea and later took the shuttle to the historic area for dinner. We were heading to one Thai restaurant and little did we know that our driver was moving to Thailand to start and orphanage with his wife so he steered us to a place he recommended and we had a delicious meal.
Day 2
It was plantation day today and it was my choice to decide which one to see and I was down to three. I selected Magnolia after reading reviews online, a recommendation from Charles Kuralt in the guide books, and thought it would be a good one for the kids since they had a petting zoo, the variety of tours etc.. After lunch, an informative tram ride, house tour and nature boat tour, we decided that we could have skipped all but lunch and the tram ride! The home itself was a little disappointing but we saw some beautiful gardens and alligators lurking around the lake! This plantation is still run by the family who lived in the home until 1975 and probably does not have the national budget like Middleton or Drayton Hall, my other choices.
We did some grocery shopping, had dinner out and arrived home after 8. Don and Christopher surprised us on the dock and invited us for wine and cheese since they moved their boat to the marina for one night. We got the girls in jammies, popped them in the Burley and motored down the mega dock which is like, "pack a lunch long"! I took a nice picture of the biggest yacht here. You too could own this 19 million dollar beauty if you were the attorney winning the tobacco settlement of a couple of years back. I guess he pocketed $100 million. So, this yacht has fenders taller than Liv, and its own monogrammed golf cart! One of the dock guys says he wants to tell her (the yacht) how beautiful she is since she doesn't get used nearly enough. And apparently, the mega rich owner has her registered in the Bahamas where there is no tax. This attorney ain't no dumb box of rocks!
Day 3
This morning, I took the girls with Heesook and Christopher to the park to burn off some steam. Mattias actually drove us there before he went for errands as long as we still had the rental car. He picked us up and after lunch our family went to the Children's Museum while Mattias continued to work on the boat. He changed the oil and did some other messy things while we were out of the way. Because we lost a day for repairs and errands, we decided tonight to stay an extra day here in Charleston to do and see more before we leave. It is a beautiful city--and there is so much to see and so much history, plus it is miles ahead of Minneapolis/St. Paul in the trend quotient...something I never realized! I'm afraid if we don't take advantage of seeing the sights while we are here now it'll be a century before we get back again!
More later,
Carrie
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Little River, SC to Georgetown; McClellanville, SC to Charleston, SC
Day 1 Little River, SC Mile 346.0 to Georgetown, SC Mile 402.9
Mattias had my personal sympathies the entire day as he had "shitty" start to the morning. It was the day after Thanksgiving. While most of the U.S. was out doing their Christmas shopping, Mattias was pumping out the toilet holding tank. Unfortunately, while I was adjusting some screw thing inside, he was unscrewing the valve outside and a weird pressure created a spray of waste all over his face and clothes! Disgusting? Definitely! I felt so bad for him I promised him anything he wanted all day!
After he cleaned up, we had an interesting journey the way to Georgetown. We traveled through the Waccamaw River which is beautiful. Mattias must have studied the navigation book really well because he went down to take a nap and left me at the helm for a good part of the 25 mile River route. I looked at the nav book and saw that he trusted me with 20 foot depths and a few 2' shoals to look out for so he could dream easy. It was fun to be alone at the wheel for a while without my "backseat driver" offering advice!
In Georgetown, we anchored alongside Patience but didn't raft this time. The anchoring went well.
Day 2 Georgetown Mile 402.9 to McClellanville, SC mile 430.0
We departed Georgetown at 9:30 a.m. for a short trip, 28 miles, to McClellanville. It was a brisk layering of clothes sort of day. Lot's of wind, currents and cross current on the creeks. The high tide was extremely high. By the time we got to McClellanville it was nearing low tide and got stuck as we were rounding the corner to the small channel to the marina. Fortunately it was only in soft mud and Mattias backed us out and took the corner again. We arrived at this rusty marina, home to about 25 shrimp boats that turned out to be one of our favorite stops. Pictures show the sleepy town of McClellanville with hanging moss in the trees and homes with historic name plates out front. Our family was a novelty of sorts to a larger family reunion happening in town. We were even invited to their party but declined in order to go to the only restaurant in town! The nearest grocery store is 30 miles away but the restaurant we ate at was featured on the Travel Channel and boy, the food was delicious! We tried a heaping plate of steamed oysters in shell, some crawfish tails, flounder, shrimp, sweet potato fries, marinated cole slaw and a homemade key lime pie for dessert!
Day 3 McClellanville Mile 430 to Charleston, SC mile 469.3
Mattias was up at 6 a.m. and got the boat ready for take off by 7 in order to make high tide. He brought in a steaming cup of coffee and said I could sleep...oxymoron...who can sleep with that lovely smell of coffee next to their head?! I was soon up and then the girls. Mattias enjoys being on his own in the cockpit sometimes and that lets me referee battles below! I got the girls ready and joined Mattias by 10 a.m. after making fried egg sandwiches for breakfast and then baking blueberry muffins for still hungry girls. The tide was really high today as there was a flood warning in the Charleston area. The current was with us and then against us pulling and pushing the boat. Once we got in to Charleston harbor it was windy again. We found the Charleston City Marina no problem and our little 33' foot Windfall is dwarfed by these Mega Mega Yachts docked here.
We had a late lunch of fresh shrimp purchased the day before. Our friends, Heesook, Don and Christopher dinghied over from their anchoring spot and joined us before we all set out on foot to tour Charleston. We got to the historic district near College of Charleston and cute, trendy shops by dinnertime and stopped for a pizza snack. Home now and resting.
More later,
Carrie
Mattias had my personal sympathies the entire day as he had "shitty" start to the morning. It was the day after Thanksgiving. While most of the U.S. was out doing their Christmas shopping, Mattias was pumping out the toilet holding tank. Unfortunately, while I was adjusting some screw thing inside, he was unscrewing the valve outside and a weird pressure created a spray of waste all over his face and clothes! Disgusting? Definitely! I felt so bad for him I promised him anything he wanted all day!
After he cleaned up, we had an interesting journey the way to Georgetown. We traveled through the Waccamaw River which is beautiful. Mattias must have studied the navigation book really well because he went down to take a nap and left me at the helm for a good part of the 25 mile River route. I looked at the nav book and saw that he trusted me with 20 foot depths and a few 2' shoals to look out for so he could dream easy. It was fun to be alone at the wheel for a while without my "backseat driver" offering advice!
In Georgetown, we anchored alongside Patience but didn't raft this time. The anchoring went well.
Day 2 Georgetown Mile 402.9 to McClellanville, SC mile 430.0
We departed Georgetown at 9:30 a.m. for a short trip, 28 miles, to McClellanville. It was a brisk layering of clothes sort of day. Lot's of wind, currents and cross current on the creeks. The high tide was extremely high. By the time we got to McClellanville it was nearing low tide and got stuck as we were rounding the corner to the small channel to the marina. Fortunately it was only in soft mud and Mattias backed us out and took the corner again. We arrived at this rusty marina, home to about 25 shrimp boats that turned out to be one of our favorite stops. Pictures show the sleepy town of McClellanville with hanging moss in the trees and homes with historic name plates out front. Our family was a novelty of sorts to a larger family reunion happening in town. We were even invited to their party but declined in order to go to the only restaurant in town! The nearest grocery store is 30 miles away but the restaurant we ate at was featured on the Travel Channel and boy, the food was delicious! We tried a heaping plate of steamed oysters in shell, some crawfish tails, flounder, shrimp, sweet potato fries, marinated cole slaw and a homemade key lime pie for dessert!
Day 3 McClellanville Mile 430 to Charleston, SC mile 469.3
Mattias was up at 6 a.m. and got the boat ready for take off by 7 in order to make high tide. He brought in a steaming cup of coffee and said I could sleep...oxymoron...who can sleep with that lovely smell of coffee next to their head?! I was soon up and then the girls. Mattias enjoys being on his own in the cockpit sometimes and that lets me referee battles below! I got the girls ready and joined Mattias by 10 a.m. after making fried egg sandwiches for breakfast and then baking blueberry muffins for still hungry girls. The tide was really high today as there was a flood warning in the Charleston area. The current was with us and then against us pulling and pushing the boat. Once we got in to Charleston harbor it was windy again. We found the Charleston City Marina no problem and our little 33' foot Windfall is dwarfed by these Mega Mega Yachts docked here.
We had a late lunch of fresh shrimp purchased the day before. Our friends, Heesook, Don and Christopher dinghied over from their anchoring spot and joined us before we all set out on foot to tour Charleston. We got to the historic district near College of Charleston and cute, trendy shops by dinnertime and stopped for a pizza snack. Home now and resting.
More later,
Carrie
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