Life in the Slow Lane (The Pearl): July 11

Day 115 - 30th Anniversary

Charleston Maritime Center (Market Pavilion Hotel)

Charleston...what a wonderful place to celebrate our 30th anniversary. Stan surprised me this morning by telling me we were going to spend the night at the Market Pavilion Hotel...what a treat, five star hotel all the way.

We started our day by visiting The Old Slave Mart Museum. It is in the building originally used to trade slaves between 1856-1863. It was very interesting and educational. It's hard to believe that people actually thought the idea of owning someone else was okay. Charleston was the main entry point when slaves were brought to America from Africa. Next on our agenda was shopping on King Street. I found a couple of new things and then we had lunch and went back to the boat to pack a few things for the night.

It was the first time we ever arrived at a hotel on bicycles! They asked if we had a car...NOPE. Kind of funny. While I enjoyed the room and the rooftop pool, Stan had a spa day. Kyle and Bryt gave him a gift card to the Old South Barber Spa for Father's Day. They gave him The Old South Pedicure and he added a haircut, facial and manicure. He felt like a new man by the time he returned. We had drinks in the hotel bar before our wonderful dinner at Magnolias. We finished our day by having a nightcap at the Pavilion Bar on the roof...with a great view of Charleston. When we got back to the room the bed had been turned down, robes and slippers laid out, cookies on the nightstand and fresh towels in the bathroom. I think I want to live here…it won’t be easy to go back to the boat.

The Old Slave Mart