Kumbaya.......Come By Here

Approach to Boone Hall

As many people know, it's the 150th anniversary of the Civil War on April 12. Being in Charleston there is a lot of historical activities going on.
You can go broke trying going to all the different houses, plantation, prisons ,etc. that abound here.  We've been here for several months and decided to go to Boone Hall Plantation which is only a few miles from where we are docked.  

Exodus from Charleston

Well, we are one of the last of the wintering boats here in Charleston. Our friends are leaving one by one as we try to finish projects and get ourselves out of here.  Now that Bill is on leave from work we don't have incoming funds to stay at a marina for very long. We hope to finish up and be out of here by the end of next week. We are headed south (while everyone else is headed north), destination will be the Bahamas or the Florida Keys. We are still waiting for Cooper's passport which is taking longer than usual to process.

Homeschool Kids

The other kid-boat here in Charleston with us, Inconceivable, left Saturday. Sabastian and Paisley were just about the boys' ages and were great playmates for the months we were both here.  But, now they are on their way north to begin the Great Loop, a trip that will take them (basically) up the Hudson, through the Erie Canal, the Great Lakes and down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico.  While we have been here, we were lucky enough to join a homeschool group that had different activities going on in the area, including a chess club and book club.  Usually we don't stay in one place long enough to get involved like that, but since we were here for 4 months (yikes!), it has been very helpful to have a little routine to get into and other kids to play with. The marina is also walking distance from the library so that is a big plus.  

Out With the Freighters in With the Destroyer

Normally we have car freighters and cruise ships coming and going at the docks next to us.  It's pretty cool to watch them and see how the tugs push them around and up to the docks. They're too big to maneuver in those close quarters without (usually) two tug boats to help guide them into the right position.  They are just so incredibly massive and they come so close that it looks like they're going to crash into the docks.  I definitely would not want to be that close to one if I was in my boat. Their props are very deep and they cause a lot of suction behind them. They also could run a little sailboat over without even knowing they hit anything.

Car Freighter Heading up the River

Still Hanging out in Charleston

Heading to the beach near Fort Moultrie

It's warming up here now and we've been able to turn off the heaters (at least during the day) and open the hatches.  It feels good to have some warm wind blowing in  at last! The motivation level to get things done is greatly improving. We've been trying to decide whether to head south soon so we can be in a warmer place and be able to work on the boat better, or to stay here where we have a car and access to a lot of cool things to see and do.  A couple other pluses to being here is the active homeschool group that has allowed us to meet new friends/kids and participate in some fun activities.