Winter in Charleston

Mar 16 thru Mar 20

—Blogpost written by Bob

Saturday, March 16

Today started out a little on the cool side, compared to the last couple of days.  Saturday is always quieter here in the marina because there is less traffic on the nearby roads and bridges.  As I was taking the photograph shown below the seagulls were squawking loudly and there was a light sea breeze--you can see it on the surface of the water.

The interior pathway of Charleston City Marina
in the morning.  The MegaDock is on
the right side of this image.

I really like the serenity of the early morning in a marina, before anyone is up and moving about.  As a photographer I appreciate the hue of the early morning sun and its reflection on the water.  From this photograph is is hard to believe that a 3-knot current runs through the marina when the tide is ebbing and flooding--it is nearly impossible to safely dock a boat in the swift current.  We waited for slack tide to dock when we arrived and we will leave at slack tide as well.


Today, the day before the holiday, was the Saint Patrick's Day Parade in downtown Charleston and we decided to join the festivities.  The parade starting in the northern section of King Street and ended where King Street meets Broad Street.

Bagpipes played a big role in the
St. Patrick's Day Parade.

There were several marching bands.

This military color guard was 
(almost) perfectly in step.

Antique cars always seem to have
a place in parades,

...as do Mustangs,

...and old sports cars.

We ended our outing by having lunch at the Brown Dog Deli on Broad Street.  I'm still wondering why the Germans, French, and Italians don't have similar holidays and parades.

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Maggie and I have recently had discussions about our trip to the southern Bahamas next season. We’ve been tossing around the possibility of traveling further south (to Fort Lauderdale or Miami) before we cross the Gulf Stream and clearing into Customs at Bimini—this would be new territory for us. Alternatively, we could cross from West Palm Beach to West End as we have in the past but then travel southward to the Berry Islands. We’re also thinking that it’s a good idea to add a water maker this summer before starting our adventure to the southern Bahamas where fresh water is harder to obtain. In addition, we would probably stay in the Bahamas longer than we have in the past, probably until June or July.

Sunday, March 17

The sky was overcast when we woke--it looked rather dreary outside but there was only a slight 20% chance of rain in the forecast.  It was cooler than it had been lately.  Sundays tend to be rather uneventful for us.  Since it's usually more crowded downtown on weekends, we usually try to avoid going downtown.
  

The teak reflects the sunlight from our completely
refinished dining table.  I stained the teak for
a uniform color after initial sanding and
then applied 4 coats of Epifanes gloss
varnish, sanding between coats.
It was a big job but worth it!

I feel the need to do some boat cleaning today, particularly the aft cabin area.  As I was cleaning, Lola peered into the companionway, wanting some attention.

Lola peers into the cabin as I
do some boat cleaning.

Monday, March 18

We worked hard this morning to retighten the galley faucet from turning and to fix a fresh water leak under the galley sink.  After working in such a confined area, my legs cramped up and I was stiff all over.  As a reward we went out for lunch at New York City Pizza, riding all the way on our bikes.  Afterwards, we walked around the market house for an hour or two.

Most of the market house is open to the outdoors.
This is the ceiling of the market house.

There were many vendors selling
sweetgrass baskets. (This man
was just telling me not to 
take pictures but he 
was a little late.)

Colorful hair accessories that I certainly
don't need. (I really liked the colors!)

We got back to the boat around 3:30 PM and prepared for Happy Hour.  I must admit that it didn't take a lot of preparation.

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Recently I did something a little crazy for a 72-year old--I ordered two musical instruments that Maggie and I can take with us cruising and occasionally play (once we learn how).  I ordered a set of bongo drums for myself and Maggie wanted a tambourine, a much simpler instrument even though she is more musically inclined than I am.  They soon.  We'll see how it goes...

I ordered an inexpensive set of bongo drums
to use while we are cruising.

Tuesday, March 19

Today was a little cooler than yesterday (in the mid 40's in the morning), reaching only 62 degrees in the afternoon--the forecast for tomorrow features a high temperature of only 57 degrees!  I hoped this will be the last cold spell of the season!

We did a lot of boat cleaning in the morning.  I also put a new painter on the dinghy, a piece of black 1/2-inch 12-strand nylon line that I had laying around.  I removed the two old green Dacron lines I was using as painters and cleaned up the ends, rewhipping them--they might come in handy sometime in the future.  (I hate to throw out ropes!)

We went out for lunch at Pearlz, an oyster bar, and I had a new type of oysters on the half shell, Fancy Sweets from Nova Scotia.  They were tiny but tasty!

Pearlz Oyster Bar from the inside.

A street scene along 
East Bay Street.

Maggie's tambourine arrived today.  Here
she is practicing to a YouTube video.
(There is much more to it than
you would think.)

My old friend, Bill Hulanick, and his wife, Carol, stopped in Charleston for a visit on their way from New Jersey to Florida.  We had a nice dinner at Leon's and got caught up on old times.

Wednesday, March 20

In the morning we had breakfast with Bill and Carol at the restaurant right here on the marina property (Salty Mike's) and then they left for Florida just before 10 AM.

It was cool this morning (in the 50's)!  The sun was shining brightly and the tide was very high.  We decided to catch the 11 AM courtesy van to West Marine/Harris Teeter since it was a little too cool outside for outdoor activities.

While at West Marine I picked up some 3/8-inch diameter rope to replace the lines on our fenders since they were getting pretty rough looking and faded.  (Of course, I'm kind of rough looking and faded too!)

The fender lines are gold and
white with a red stripe.

 
While I was installing the new fender lines Maggie was doing laundry.  Thankfully, it warmed up considerably in the afternoon.

The Spring Equinox in the northern hemisphere was at 5:58 PM today.  Tomorrow is the first full day of Spring.  This is our last blogpost titled "Winter in Charleston"--the next one will be titled 'Spring in Charleston."  Happy Spring, everyone!


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