Not having seen a whole lot of civilization the past weeks, we were anxious to set foot in Charleston - a new city to explore for both of us. We arrived at the city marina Thursday Nov 18th at 11:30 am but checking time wasn’t until 1:00 pm so we had to circle around. At 1:15pm the owners of the boat where we needed to dock finally showed up and after 30 minutes, they successfully managed the winds and currents and vacated our spot for the next two nights. We wasted no time securing Juno and headed on foot past gorgeously maintained homes with piazzas (balconies) under live oaks dripping with Spanish Moss to Christophe’s - a French chocolatier near the College of Charleston- where we shared a delicious chocolate pastry. We continued to walk the old parts of Savannah taking in sights seen on a YouTube video we had watched, and ended up at a rather touristy restaurant called Hyman’s - for supposedly the best seafood in the city. There we started with boiled peanuts, followed by fried green tomatoes and grits, and Cajun shrimp. The place supposedly was frequented by many celebrities as there were photos of them mounted on the wall but we both thought we probably could have found better seafood elsewhere and now know we don’t need to seek out grits.
On Friday morning, we toured the Nathaniel Russell home which had an incredible semi-circular, staircase built without nails, and unsupported except at each floor. We learned about Savannah’s affluence from rice and indigo which were major exports during the colonial period as well as it’s role as a major center for the sale of enslaved people - primarily those born in the US. An old post office museum with the first cancellation stamp was also a stop we made. Along our walk we encountered a gate with "Public Welcome". The owner of a beautiful garden invites anyone to come in and enjoy it. Lou gave us a little private tour.
Back at the marina, we took advantage of the Friday night happy hour and met Franklin and Francy from Hull, MA doing roughly the same trip as us aboard their power yacht Nightingale. We got a lot of great tips from them on ports of call and a taste of what life could be like with a washing machine and dryer on board.
On the morning of our departure, we had enough time to visit a little farmer’s market and an authentic French crêperie (Brezhnev Crêpes) before we had to let go our lines and move on southward on the ICW. We stopped in the middle of the sweet grass marshes in Toogoodoo Creek where we were able to catch the Michigan vs. Maryland football game. No word from Sally and Luis yet about a birth, but she’s shared that she’ll be induced on Monday if nothing happens this weekend.
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