Charleston, SC - Post 11

March 18, 2019 - March 25, 2019

This week has been dedicated to preparations for our trip north and visiting some of our favorite Charleston restaurants.  To get ready for our trip we have:

• cleaned the cockpit thoroughly
• defrosted the refrigerator
• and had a diver clean the marine growth off of the prop, keel, strut and rudder
• other tasks like provisioning, cleaning the deck, stowing the bikes, splashing the dinghy, and doing laundry will have to wait until later in the week right before we leave.

Bob has thoroughly planned our trip north. We will be jumping outside for an ocean passage between Charleston and Georgetown since the weather is predicted to be perfect for this trip.  Our next day we plan for another ocean passage from Georgetown to Southport, NC (if the weather holds).  This will cut a week off of our travel time, reduce the number of marina stops, and miss all of the tricky spots of the ICW in South Carolina.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Bob and I visited New York City Pizza
on East Bay for lunch on Monday.

One of my favorite parts of our stay in Charleston
has been riding around the marina docks
and city streets on my beach bike.

A mural on the wall of Pearlz Oyster Bar where we
 stopped for oysters and lunch on Wednesday.
The unique aspect of Charleston oyster bars is
they not only serve local oysters, but oysters from
all over the east coast.  Bob has
enjoyed trying many varieties.

We found this antique wooden bike at The Bike Shoppe
in Charleston where we bought areplacement bike lock.
 I lost my first lock in the Ashley River.

Today we biked to The Brown Dog Deli on Broad Street for our final lunch there.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Charleston, SC - part10

March 11, 2019 - March 17, 2019

Spring has sprung in Charleston.  The weather is beautiful - warm and sunny with a cool breeze.  The trees are flowering and growing fresh green leaves.  

Nothing is more beautiful in the spring than
the light green haze on trees as their
leaves are beginning to grow in.

The city is bursting with colorful flowers
like these azaleas.

We kicked off the St. Patrick's Day weekend by attending the parade which started on King Street right after a celebratory mass at St. Patrick's Church.

Vintage cars and trucks decorated for the holiday
were a big part of the parade.

You can't have a St. Patrick's Day parade
without a bagpipe band.

There were two groups of Irish dancers.

This fire truck had a saying on the side,
"Do the right thing, do it the right way,
and do it for the right reason."

Colorful balloons decorated one float.

This week we have continued Bob's birthday celebration with visits to some of our favorite lunch restaurants.  Riding our bikes into town for lunch has been great fun.

When we return from our outings we
usually find Lola on top of the
companionway watching for our return.

We have only two more weeks in Charleston before we begin our journey north.  So many restaurants - so little time!

Thank you for reading my blog.

Charleston, SC - Part 9

February 3, 2019 - March 10, 2019

During the past month or so I have spent more time in Sarasota FL helping my children’s grandmother, Claire, than in Charleston with my husband.  I left Charleston less than a week after returning from Sarasota when I received a call from Claire that she was in the hospital with pneumonia and obviously not doing well.  My daughter, Jessica, and her husband, Joe joined us a few days later.  Her son also came.  We took turns staying with her all day and night so she would not be alone.  Since she did not want to have heart surgery Jessica and I helped her to transition back to her apartment under hospice care.  Being home and surrounded by family helped her to rally for awhile.  All of her grandchildren and her great-grandson visited the following weekend and when they left she began to decline.  Her daughter-in law was with her for a week.  And I was to return the following week when I got a call from the nurse at the assisted living facility that she had shifted into actively dying.  My daughter Rachel got there that afternoon and called me the following morning (3/1) at around 3 am to tell me that her grandmother had passed.  I left as soon as I could the next morning for a whirlwind of activity.  Claire’s husband, Fred, came home from rehabilitation the following Tuesday and Rachel, Juan (Rachel’s friend), and I stayed to help him until his daughter, Sheryl, and her friend, Laurie, arrived on Friday afternoon.

Claire in 1994.

Fun times at Jessica and Joe's wedding.

Happy times - Claire and granddaughter, Rachel

Close to the end - Claire and grandson, Karl.

I’m now back in Charleston finally able to rest and grieve.  Claire had been a significant part of my life for over 40 years. She provided an immeasurable amount of help and support over those years.  The last two years we switched roles and it  was my turn to help and support her in her illnesses and life transitions.  I have been constantly in touch with her by phone and visited numerous times even flying over from the Bahamas one January to help her move into assisted living.  The past two months have been consumed with concern for her well being and visits to provide help and comfort.  So now she is gone and I feel a giant hole in my life, I miss her so much.  I feel like I have been set adrift with no purpose.  I know I will recover from these feelings quickly, but right now I am just sad and lost.  I have my husband, my cats, my children,my grandchildren, my sisters, and a wonderful life style.  It’s just hard to appreciate all of those blessings at this moment.

My next post will be about our final adventures in Charleston as we get ready for our trip back to Baltimore.

Thank you for reading my blog.