12/8/13 Charming Charleston and points south

Our visit to Charleston was so delightful we hated to leave, but it was time to keep moving south and we will be back. The morning of our departure we awoke and arose early to go for a run/ walk on the Battery boardwalk and through downtown to say our final goodbye to this warm inviting town. As it turned out, they were preparing for their annual Reindeer 5K running road race. What a treat to see the city turn out for this festive event wearing Santa costumes and reindeer antlers. We had colorful conversations with locals, delicious bagels and a great workout. A fabulous goodbye to one of our favorite towns thus far.

We meandered our way south along the ICW to the Ashepoo River through the Fenwick Cut. We found an idealic anchorage along the bank of the Ashepoo River in the lee of a tall stand of trees which shielded us from an overnight northeast blow. Since we expected calm water we rafted up for the night with Leela. We have done a lot of creative anchoring on this trip and Graham and Janaki are becoming quite experienced, one of their goals for the winter. The next morning it was on to Beaufort, S.C. 

The weather was cold and foggy so we were back into our winter layers. In Beaufort, pronounced beu- fort, the weather cleared a bit and we enjoyed lunch at Plums located on a lovely waterfront park overlooking the boats at the free town dock. Towns in the south seem to be very welcoming to cruisers and some provide lovely storefront facilities.!

Back to motoring on down the ICW to our next anchoring site, off the community of Fort Fremont on the eastern shore of the Beaufort River. The fog was so thick, had we not had our electronics, we would never have been able to continue. Captains Graham and Janaki also have AIS and radar allowing them to take the lead and notify us whenever any other vessels are in the vicinity. 

At some point we passed over the border into Georgia, very exciting!

We motored up the very industrial and busy Savannah River and docked in The heart of the Savannah waterfront at the town docks. This dock is all about location without much in the way of amenities, no bathrooms, a few working power pedestals, and one functioning water spigot.. Soon after our arrival with Leela, two Canadian boats we last saw along the New Jersey coast arrived on the dock to join us. Two other boats we passed in the previous days also arrived filling the dock to capacity. We have enjoyed meeting the sailors on other boats and sharing our adventures. Three out of the four boats had sold everything and sailed off without any serious plans or schedules for their futures...very interesting!

Our initial impression is that his town has a much different feel than Charleston. Where Charleston was a comfortable, young and active town, Savannah feels more of a city. The population of Charleston is 120,000 vs 140,000 for Savannah. One fabulous thing Savannah has going for it is it's parks. Every other block has a beautiful greenery culminating with Forsyth Park at the far south end of town.

The Spanish moss is prolific and it is not a surprise that Savannah has been host to many movie sets.

 During our three days in Savannah we spent much of the time walking and eating. We went to Mrs. Wilkes Kitchen, a popular family style all you can eat restaurant, for a southern comfort food feast. She apparently began serving people in her home in the 1940's and they have continued the tradition to this day. Her fried chicken recipe was my favorite and we both took second helpings of the 20 plus side dishes including okra, squash, blackened peas, and green collards.

Tim has somehow found another taffy store and our ongoing challenge is to see if anyone rivals Tucks of Rockport, our quest continues...

It was time to continue on so we left Savannah early AM on Thursday 12/12 and met up with Leela in Thunderbolt where they had been for two days getting some engine maintenance completed at a marina. We then continued on along through the low country to a remote anchorage surrounded by marsh.