It has been a great and celebratory week for us in Charleston. We love this town as much as ever. Monday was thick and humid, but we persevered and hopped on the bicycles for a nice ride over to Sullivan's Island. We gawked at the beautiful homes, awed at the stunning beach and had a yummy lunch at
Poe's Tavern - yes that would be Edgar Allan. The wind was blowing (and hasn't stopped blowing!) so it kept us cool enough. This ride carries you over the
Ben Sawyer Bridge which crosses the Intracoastal Waterway. We have traveled under this bridge on
Dream Catcher many times, so it was fun to see the view from above. Monday night was dinner at
Henrietta's in the Dewberry Hotel, along with the four other people having dinner out on Monday night.
Tuesday being, Greg's birthday, we headed into town to do a bit of walk about and shop about. Lunch was on the patio at
Rue de Jean and featured a beet infused smoked salmon open faced sandwich with accompanying greens. Very nice! Later, we went back into town for birthday dinner at
Blossom, a birthday treat from Courtney and Paolo. A yummy meal that included fresh grouper and crab ravioli. Yum!
 |
| Happy Birthday to Greg! |
Wednesday we hopped on the bicycles again and rode out to Sullivan's Island, crossed Breach Inlet which runs between Sullivan's and Isle of Palms, then rode to the end of Isle of Palms. It was a beautifully clear day with low humidity, a light breeze and brilliant sunshine. Our visit to Charleston this time is at the peak of honeysuckle season. Honeysuckle is used as a hedge, a trailing vine that covers pergolas, gates and archways. The scent of Honeysuckle wafts through the air everywhere. It is so fragrant and intoxicating. Wonderful! On our way back, the Ben Sawyer bridge was open, so we waited as the sailboats cruised through, then went on our way. We clocked 30 miles on our bicycles this day!
 |
| Looking across the marshes towards Sullivan's |
 |
| Looking south from the top of the Ben Sawyer |
 |
| Charleston Light |
 |
| Breach Inlet between Sullivan's and Isle of Palms |
 |
Looking back across the waterway towards
Ravenel Bridge that spans the Cooper River,
way back near the marina |
 |
| Honeysuckle |
Thursday, we walked all over the South Battery - the southern most tip of the city where many of the old mansions are. Again the honeysuckle abounds. We poked into a very old graveyard that felt like a jungle, we strolled down small alleys and lanes, checked out the prices via realtor.com on each
For Sale sign, and walked some more. We have put over 15,000 steps on our feet every day this week, and had a 22 mile and another 30 mile cycling day.
Some Charleston sights
 |
| Red-headed Skink |
Friday was a work day that ended just in time to catch happy hour at
The Ordinary. The happy hour deal was half price oysters. So we shared a dozen with a variety that hailed from Prince Edward Island (PEI), Massachusetts, Maine, and Capers Island, South Carolina. We finished the celebration at
Peninsula Grill sharing a huge piece of their iconic Coconut cake.
 |
| Peninsula Grill's famous Coconut Cake |
It's time to go before we gain more weight or go broke dining out.
Tomorrow we leave bright and early and head back out to sea. We'll set a Northeast course of about 60 degrees and make our way to Beaufort, North Carolina. The trip is about 220 miles and takes about 30-32 hours. We expect to be in by late afternoon on Monday.
'Til next time.
