Winter in Charleston

Dec 24 thru Dec 27

--Blogpost written by Bob

Monday, December 24

The day before Christmas was a beautiful sunny day, even reaching 60 degrees by mid-afternoon.  (When you live on a boat, the weather is the most important aspect of daily life--this is why it is mentioned almost every day in my blog.)

This is a digitally painted version of one
of my photographs of Rainbow
Row taken yesterday.

Our boat neighbor across the concrete wall from us mentioned that last winter, the water temperature dropped to 40 degrees for a period of time and boats couldn't use their reverse-cycle heat.  We brought along an oil-filled radiator for this possibility but I hope we don't have to use it.


I know I mentioned that I would be installing the remainder of the autopilot remote soon (in fact, yesterday was the day I intended) but I decided to wait until after the Christmas holidays.  I might get to it by the end of this blog period but I don't feel the least bit guilty in procrastinating!

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I forgot to mention in my last blog post that I lost 10 pounds in the last 6 weeks.  I think it is due to our healthy diet and a lot more exercise.  I also cut down my alcohol intake to no more than 1 drink per day (and some days, no alcohol)--this saved a lot of empty calories.

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One of my favorite sides to have with Christmas dinner is cranberry relish made from fresh cranberries.  It is so easy to make!  Simply put the (rinsed) fresh cranberries in a shallow pan, add just enough water so that the cranberries are not covered.  Add a cup of sugar (Splenda, in our case) and cook for 10 to 15 minutes.  (In this version I added a bit of lemon zest and some lemon peel slices for garnish.)  Served chilled.

Making cranberry relish for Christmas
dinner.  (The lime skin curls look
festive in this photo but they
didn't stay green in
the relish.

Maggie made a pumpkin pie in the afternoon, using Splenda and a low-carb crust.

Tuesday, December 25 (Christmas)

The outside temperature dropped to a chilly 43 degrees last night here in Charleston. In the morning, the sun was shining brightly and warming up our enclosed cockpit. I walked to the bath house this morning—it must be an eighth of a mile away from our boat! From there I walked out to the MegaDock and looked out at some of the boat’s anchored in the harbor. It was a very calm morning. The tide was still coming in but it was very close to high tide. Because of all the sediment, the color of the water here is brown, like coffee with a splash of cream, and about that opaque.

Lola lounging in the warm
morning sun in the cockpit.

One of the differences between spending the winter in Charleston and spending it in the Bahamas is where the beauty comes from.  Here it comes from man-made things whereas in the Bahamas it comes from nature.  Life is a little easier here but simpler in the Bahamas.

Our Christmas dinner included turkey,
mashed potatoes, cranberry
relish, cucumber salad,
and pumpkin pie.

Wednesday, December 26

A cool morning (48 degrees F) with lots of sunshine greeted us on the day after Christmas. The temperature reached 60 by mid-afternoon. These temperatures aren’t that bad but I would prefer it to be much warmer.

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I drank a Diet Coke last night before bedtime and the caffeine kept me awake for some time. I got up and measured the length of my shoe laces (doesn't everyone do this the they can't sleep?) in the three shoes that I need to re-lace and then ordered them on Amazon along with some other items that were in my digital cart.  I have a 30-day trial “prime” membership—so, shipping is free.

Four flags on the second floor 
of a home on Church Street.

We rode our bikes into town for lunch (Brown Dog Deli) and Maggie had to return a pair of shoes at the UPS Store.  I took a little excursion down to Battery Park on my way back to the marina.  It seems like the largest of the historic homes are located near Battery Park.

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Writing a blog like this brings out all our daily experiences, most of them are very simple. Many times I question why I am writing about the simple things but life, even boat life, is comprised mostly of simple everyday things. If I only wrote about major experiences, I would have many blank days in this blog. I am learning to write a little more creatively so that I make the simple things more interesting. It is a work in progress.

Our bikes at rest on our finger pier.
(Maggie's bike is the yellow one.)

Photography is similar in that most images are of simple things, like the above image of our bikes leaning against our dinghy on our finger pier.  They are simply beach bikes with foot brakes and big tires--they are perfect for the local flat terrain around Charleston.

Thursday, December 27

The day started out with an overcast sky and the threat of rain--the rain is expected to start around mid-day and last through tomorrow.  I'm so sick of rain!

This draw bridge is just upstream of
the marina on the Ashley River.

The far end of I-Dock.

The opposite end of J-Dock (even-numbered 
slips J-2 thru J-16) from us, looking toward
Charleston. (We are in slip J-15.)

We prepared for the rain by covering our bikes with our forepeak tent. We had grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for lunch onboard. We watched a little TV and did some errands onboard. We didn’t venture very far from the boat today because we believed that rain was imminent—but it never rained. Rain is still in the forecast for tomorrow and the next couple days with varying degrees of probability.

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