November 22-24

We discovered that you don’t need to make many sightseeing plans for Thanksgiving Day, because you’re not going anywhere, and nothing is open even if you do get there. That actually worked out pretty well, though, since there are always lots of ‘chores’ to take care of on the boat. It was nice to have a day to just take care of some of these.

On Friday we caught the bus into Savannah and spent the entire day touring about. Downtown Savannah has been very thoughtfully restored to maintain its original architecture. The shops along the riverfront are quaint and interesting



After spending the morning wondering about, we were hungry and headed for the noted restaurant The Lady and Sons run by the apparently very well-known Paula Deen. Our timing was perfect, as we were able to get in without a wait, even at lunchtime. The buffet served, in part, fried chicken (unbelievably good), collard greens, black-eyed peas, sweet potato … the very best of southern home-style cooking.

After lunch we went on a 90 minute bus tour of the historic area of Savannah. This provided an overview and tease of all of the things we need to come back and see.

While waiting for the bus to get back to the boat, we walked through the cemetery alongside. The tour bus driver had told us about this gravestone dating back to the eighteen hundreds. Can you see why it is noteworthy?


Saturday has been cool and windy, a perfect day to get some provisions and blog postings completed in preparation for an early departure, with lots of high tide, for some 'thin' waters on Sunday.

November 19-21

We have decided that we know it is going to be a good day when we don’t see our breath when we get up in the morning. We have been on a wonderful string of good days, and are thoroughly enjoying it.

On Monday we traveled from Charleston to Bass Creek, a small creek off the Parrot River. The scenery is beautiful through this relatively undeveloped stretch of the waterway, and we had a leisurely trip.

We made the relatively short run to Factory Creek, just outside of Beaufort, on Tuesday. One should be sure to get the pronunciation right. In South Carolina it is pronounced ‘Bew-fort’, as opposed to ‘Bo-fort’ in North Carolina. The story goes that although both towns were named for the Duke of Beaufort, North Carolinians pronounce it with a proper French accent, while in South Carolina they say it however they want, thank-you very much.

Beaufort is a vibrant town with a rich history through the civil war era as well as in terms of pop culture. There are homes and buildings dating to the 1700s, as well as the Beaufort National Cemetery containing 12 000 graves of Confederate soldiers.

On the pop culture side, both of the movies The Big Chill and Forrest Gump were filmed in Beaufort.

Bay Street, the main street along the waterfront, has a number quaint shops and restaurants with decks overlooking the harbour. We had a nice lunch on one of these decks as we took a break from our search for the cooking classic Hoppin’ John’s Lowcountry Cooking. We are assured it contains recipes for shrimp and grits and the other famous Lowcountry classic, Frogmore stew.

On Wednesday we continued on to Turner Creek, a nice anchorage from which we will be able to gain bus access to Savannah, Georgia. Along the way we passed by the Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot and, at the other end of the spectrum, Hilton Head Island. I have always associated Hilton Head with golf courses, of which there are twenty-five. Apparently it also has 250 restaurants.

Nearing the anchorage we passed by Bonaventure Cemetery, which sets the stage for the novel and movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Without television, we are really enjoying reading the books with associated different parts of the trip.

November 16-18

We set off early Friday morning for Charleston. Our intention had been to take a marina slip upon arrival and spend Friday afternoon and Saturday exploring. No slips were available when we arrived so we ended up anchoring out in the river, an excellent spot.

This picture looks back from where we were anchored to the mega dock of the City Marina. There are three large boats in the picture. Grits, the one on the right, was in Solomons when we were there and it looked very big at the time. In this picture it is overshadowed by the other two boats. The grey boat is called Kismet. The URL below describes the boat and makes for interesting viewing.
http://www.moranyachts.com/Article/?ID=54

Charleston is a great town. On Friday afternoon we wandered down King Street, a very trendy shopping area. Unfortunately we couldn’t find any festive dresses or holiday attire that seemed quite right for the boat.



On Saturday we browsed through the ‘market’, a four block long collections of shops and stands. I asked in one of the shops if I could try on one of the ‘southern gentleman’ hats for a picture for our blog, and the owner replied, with a big smile, ‘Nope, you’d look much better in this one.’

The shopping was actually pretty good at the market. We bought a bag of grits – because we are still looking for the perfect recipe for shrimp. We did make the one fella’s version of fried shrimp, minus the hog fat, the olive oil and most of the butter, and they were very good. Our favorite so far, though, has been boiled shrimp with a liberal sprinkling of a southern spice concoction.

There were numerous stalls selling the most beautiful baskets made of sweetgrass. We admired these each time we went by, but settled for a ‘rose’, which this young lad made in just a couple of minutes. They really are a work of art, but unfortunately don’t stay together very long.

On the way back to the boat, I said, ‘Maybe we should stay another day.’

Corinne replied, ‘I think that’s a great idea.’

Sunday morning we went for a long walk around the battery, the harbour edge of town. Charleston is steeped in history, beautiful old homes and gardens.

After our walk we met another cruising couple from England for lunch. Three of us, in a moment of recklessness, ordered the shrimp and grits, which were phenomenal. I have to figure out how they do that.