Charleston

Elixir docked at Charleston Maritime Center Marina

We stopped in Charleston on the way north, but there is so much to see that two days did not even begin to cover it.  So we decided to hit Charleston again on the way south.  This time we stayed at the Charleston Maritime Center Marina, which is located on the other side of Charleston from where we were before.  This is a smaller marina and not as popular, in part because it is more exposed to shipping traffic wakes and waves in general.  But it is within walking distance of all the shopping and tourist areas, as well as a grocery store and hardware store, so we parked Elixir there.

Marie in front of a wall mural

Our first day we revisited the King Street Shopping District.  King Street is were you go to buy anything.  Pretty much every store you can think of, and some that you didn't, is located on King Street.  After we were there the last time, we remembered we should have bought this and that and so we returned.

King Street also has many restaurants serving just about any type of food that you would want.  So while we were there, we grabbed lunch... and dinner!

Ron gets a shave

Among the stops we made was The Art of Shaving, one of the very few stores where you can find quality shaving products.  They also give shaves and Marie felt that I should pamper myself with a shave while she did some shopping.  I recommend it to all guys as it is so relaxing and you will get the smoothest shave you have ever had!  I felt bad for the guy though, since, as I am apt to do while cruising, I had not shaven in 3 days!  He did a great job though and I will stop in next time I am in town.

Theater 99

After dinner, we took in a comedy show at Theater 99.  A hard place to find, it is a small theater just big enough to get the crowd going, but small enough to interact with everyone.

We really enjoyed the show which featured three nationally known comics (sorry, I am bad at remembering names).  After the show, we had a nice night-time walk back to the boat.  In our hectic lives (even on the boat life can be busy) it is not often I get to just stroll with Marie so I enjoyed that as much as the show.

Entrance to The Market

The next day, we went to The Market.  Originally, this was where meat and produce vendors sold their wares.  Today is is packed with blocks and blocks of arts and crafts as well as souvenirs.  We spent most of the morning there and of course, we found some things we just had to buy!

inside The Market

Charleston's storm of the week

On the way back to the boat, we stopped at Harris Teeters Grocery to re-provision. While we were inside, a really bad storm rolled in.  So we grabbed our bags of groceries and ran to the boat, which was about 4 blocks away!  The wind was making it hard to move in a straight line and at one point, a police officer stopped to offer us a ride.  Unfortunately, he had forgotten about all the equipment in his backseat, so we had to pass on the offer.  Luckily, we got back to Elixir just before the bottom fell out!

The coming storm pushes the water over the dock!

It was just outside of Charleston during our north-bound trip that we got hit by the storm that tore up our bimini top.  Now we get hit by another storm that had us banging against the dock!  I'm beginning to think Charleston is a storm magnet!

The Charleston Aquarium

Since the storm cancelled some of our sightseeing plans, we decided to stay an extra day.  Along with just walking around town seeing the sights, we took in the Charleston Aquarium.  They did a wonderful job of making it interesting and informative and we enjoyed the day.  While there, we watched the 4-D movie about aquatic dinosaurs.  It was pretty cool and at least twice, the 4-D part almost got Marie to jump out of her seat!

We found this hidden in a fire station on a side street

We were reluctant to leave Charleston, but we have to get Elixir back to Brunswick before my vacation ends.  So we promised ourselves that we would come back some day and make Charleston our destination, rather than just a stop along the way!