Winter in Charleston

Jan 20 thru Jan 25

—Blogpost written by Bob

Sunday, January 20

I'm starting this blogpost sitting in a Starbucks located within a Harris Teeter grocery store while drinking a decaf latte.  I came here this morning to do a little grocery shopping ahead of Maggie's return home late this evening.

Inside the Harris Teeter grocery store
on Savannah Highway.

On the way here, the driver of the courtesy van reminded me that Charleston got a 6-inch snowfall last year at this time.  Schools and many businesses were closed for nearly a week.  Any snowfall is very unusual for Charleston but the roller coaster of outdoor temperatures is common as of late.  Early tomorrow morning it is expected to be below freezing--we have to go further south in future winters!

During the late afternoon I watched both the AFC and NFC championship games—both teams I was rooting for lost. So now the teams that will play in the Super Bowl are set and I don’t feel comfortable backing either one of them (New England Patriots nor the Los Angeles Rams).  In fact, in my opinion, the main reason the Rams made it to the Super Bowl was due to a bad no-call against the Saints when they were on a touchdown drive.

Maggie arrived at the boat about an hour before midnight after an exhausting flight home from El Paso.

A small bouguet of roses that I got
for Maggie;s return home.

Monday, January 21

It’s a beautiful sunny day though a bit cool (but not quite as cold as expected). It seems like a lot more of the locals have spent this long holiday weekend on their boats. The showers were more crowded than usual this morning. I woke up late this morning and made ham and cheese omelets for breakfast which at the late hour seemed more like brunch.

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Today is Martin Luther King Holiday.  To me, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the most influential orator of my lifetime.  I knew him only through his speeches, the most famous was his “I had a dream speech” that he gave on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC on August 28, 1963. I remember listening to this speech live on the radio while I was still in high school and I’ve listened to recordings of it many times since then.  Every time I hear it I am moved. (He would be 90 years old today.)

Among the most quoted lines of his speech are "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

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We really didn't accomplish much today but a lot of reading and relaxing, the way a holiday should be, right?

Tuesday, January 22

We woke to a beautiful sunny day but it was cold outside.  I realize that 30 degrees F doesn't sound cold to most people living north of here but it is cold for Charleston SC.  The water was not running in the showers this morning (We found out later that it was due to freezing in the lines).

We took the marina's courtesy van to West Marine (actually to Harris Teeter for us) today.  We had to pick up some more cat food, litter, and some groceries.  While there, we had lunch at the East Bay Deli.

By the time we got back to the boat the temperature had risen to 50 degrees but the wind was still cold.  Of course, it was nice and warm inside our cockpit enclosure where I spent most of the afternoon.

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I just finished reading a good book, American Prison: A Reporter's Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment by Shane Bauer.  Many of today's prisons are run by businesses that skimp on staff, wages (lower than Walmart's), medical care, and food.  There is no money spent on rehabilitation.  These are the same companies that currently run the immigrant detention centers.  (I bought this book because it was on Barrack Obama's reading list--he still publishes it.)

The book cover for the Kindle
book I read recently.

Chapters alternately deal with historical information on our prison system and the story of the undercover reporter that was hired as a guard at a privatized prison in Louisiana.  It's a great read but very depressing!

Wednesday, January 23

We woke up to an outside temperature above 50 degrees F this morning—what a change from yesterday! The wind is from the south which makes our boat a little rocky in this slip (J-15) but it wasn’t all that bad for sleeping—the motion is just different than we usually experience. 

My eyelid infection is finally clearing up (after 3 weeks of treatment) and I feel better today than I have in a month. Now, Maggie has a sore throat—she thinks it is due to her ear blockages from her recent flights. Of course, the outside temperature roller coaster we’ve experienced here lately doesn’t help either.  

Two sailboats on the outside of H Dock.
A tour boat is in the background--
it is docked on the MegaDock.

I successfully downloaded the new software onto my chart plotter today!  However, somewhat unusual, the waypoints and routes were automatically loaded when I put my chart card back in place (I made the backup copy on the chart's microSD card.  When I tried to find them on the chart card to load them, they weren't there--only the charts.)  So, my chart plotter with all new software appears to be working fine, as it should be.

Awhile ago I purchased a second (identical) chart plotter on a close out sale.  I intend to mount it in the navigation station but keep it as a stand alone unit--this way I could replace the primary chart plotter underway if it ever fails.  I was toying with the idea of updating its software too but since I can't mount it until I get back to Baltimore, I am going to wait on its software update.  (I also have to get another chart card for it.)

Thursday, January 24

Last night we experienced winds of 25 knots and gusting to 42 knots, mostly out of the south (the worst possible direction for us). I didn’t sleep at all because of the boat’s motion until early this morning after the wind had died down. We had some brief downpours throughout the night as well. This morning (11 AM) it is warm outside (66 degrees F) and the sky is starting to clear. I’m very surprised that the tarp we placed over our bikes on our pier is still in tact!

We decided to have a very light breakfast (peanut butter and sugar-free strawberry jam on a slice of whole wheat bread) and then go out for lunch. At noon we took the courtesy van across the peninsula to Fleet Landing Restaurant, a seafood restaurant that we haven’t tried previously. Our lunch was great—we both had fish, two different kinds. Maggie had sheep’s head (a type of fish) and I had triggerfish. 

While walking along Cumberland Street to the City
Market we passed this unmarked pink door.  It
makes one wonder why someone painted
a side door pink and what's behind it.

We walked to the City Market and then called the courtesy van for a pick up. We were exhausted from not sleeping very well last night. I took a long luxurious afternoon nap to get caught up on my sleep.

Friday, January 25

The temperature got down to 30 degrees last night but we stayed nice and warm on the boat.  (I had the thermostat set at 75 degrees!)  In the morning, the combination of the warm sun and the cool air felt good to me as I walked to the bath house for my morning shower.  Oops, I forgot my bath house key...back to the boat I go.  When I got back to the boat I fastened my bath house key to my shower bag so that I won't forget it again.

It was a beautiful sunny day in the mid-60’s. We rode our bikes into town for lunch at the Mellow Mushroom and to go to a walk-in clinic about Maggie’s ear infection. The walk-in clinic was also a IV spa where people come in to get shots and IV’s for various purposes (I.e. for more energy, to boost immunity, etc.). The clinic was staffed by two nurse practitioners. Maggie got a prescription for antibiotics for her ear infection and we were off. 

Some heavy reading ahead?

We walked six blocks from Mellow Mushroom (at 309 King Street) to Renew Clinic (at 442 King Street)--I still can't figure out the numbering system on Charleston's streets but we have two more months here to figure it out.


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