Feb. 27 - Charleston, SC

Ashley Marina

"When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator."—Mahatma Gandhi

Well, staying in one place definitely makes blogging difficult...there just isn't anything exciting to report on. It would be like blogging from home...doing the same old things, like laundry, mowing the yard, going to the grocery store, shopping, reading, watching TV, going out to eat, exercising, visiting with friends, cooking...you get the idea. So the only thing we aren't doing here is mowing the grass! Life is about the same here on The Pearl when we are docked for a month as it would be at home, except for the views and lack of visits with our granddaughter!

OK...one more shot of our view to the east, reflecting the beautiful sunset we had this evening.

Red sky at night...sailor's delight. It should be a beautiful day tomorrow.

We're making an effort this year to take more pictures of ourselves together so we can send them to our granddaughter...so here you go. 

Feb. 26 - Charleston, SC

Ashley Marina

"When was the last time you spent a quiet moment just doing nothing—just sitting and looking at the sea, or watching the wind blowing the tree limbs, or waves rippling on a pond, a flickering candle or children playing in the park?"—Ralph Marston

What a difference a day can make...another cold front moved through today. Yesterday was close to record high temperatures and today was dreary, windy, wet and cold. It was a good day for me to hang out in the stateroom watching chick flicks, surfing the web and working Sudoku puzzles. Stan did our income tax return, read more technical info on the inverter so he can finish that job and caught up on a little reading. 

Since it was a cold day and I didn't want to be totally lazy, I put stew meat in the slow cooker and made brownies. Our day wasn't very exciting, but it was relaxing and we had a wonderful dinner. 

The view from our boat looking east...not quite as nice as yesterday's view.

Feb. 25 - Charleston, SC

Ashley Marina

“Living on a boat means having a front row seat to nature’s performance.”

We're enjoying our time in Charleston and the pleasant weather. Stan has been busy working on projects and has almost completed the installation of our new house batteries and inverter. But our life isn't all work, we've had time to sit on the flybridge, enjoy the view, visit with friends and realize how lucky we are to live on our boat. We've also been enjoying some great food and have to work hard to eat onboard now and then so we can eat a little healthier. We love Charleston, it's a beautiful city full of wonderful restaurants, shops, history and amazing people. We could get used to being here full time...except our family is too far away.  

Our view from the boat looking east

Our view looking north

Feb. 24 - Charleston, SC

Ashley Marina

"There's a sunrise and a sunset every single day, and they're absolutely free. Don't miss so many of them." ―Jo Walton 

Ashley River - Charleston, SC

Feb. 23 - Charleston, SC

“Once your feet have touched the warm, sun-drenched sand of the seashore, you will never be the same.” —Pablo Neruda

Lumaha'i Beach - Kauai

Feb. 22 - Charleston, SC

Ashley Marina

“Every day may not be good...but there's something good in every day”―Alice Morse Earle

One of our favorite activities to do in Charleston is eat. There are so many great restaurants, although we do seem to favor a few and just have to go back to them. We'll try in the next month to get to a few new ones. We've already enjoyed some wonderful food at some great places. Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of some in my haste to gobble them up.

We spent a beautiful Saturday wandering around Charleston, doing a little shopping, a little eating and a little people watching.

Salt & Pepper Fried Shrimp - sweet corn relish, mixed greens, peach Jezebel sauce. This was our appetizer at Magnolias...cooked to perfection.

Blue Crab Stuffed Rainbow Trout - roasted butternut squash, braised escarole, smoked bacon dressing, creamed leeks. We both had this for dinner the night we went to Magnolias, definitely our favorite meal at our favorite restaurant in Charleston. It looked better when they served it...this is what was left when I remembered to take a picture!

The New York Yankee at East Bay Deli - triple decker hot corned beef and pastrami with Swiss cheese piled high with lettuce and tomatoes on rye bread.

Banana-Nut Mousse Torte from Saffron Bakery...our dessert yesterday...we had to do a little extra walking to burn off these calories. 

Feb. 21 - Charleston, SC

Ashley Marina

“Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.”―John Lennon

Today was a little windy, cold and rainy...a good day to relax on the boat. Luckily the weather cleared by late afternoon, just in time for us to go to happy hour. Friday is Pearlz Day for our friends and us. Pearlz is a great place to hang out and visit with old friends and meet new ones. It's known for their oysters and the ones being served for happy hour today came from San Antonio Bay in Texas...very close to where we live. We always have a great time...the food was good, the atmosphere is always friendly and the company was wonderful. 

Pearlz...one of our favorite hang outs in Charleston 

Stan, George, Pam, Susie, Maryann, Linda, Mike, Ann, Donny and Richard 

Feb. 20 - Charleston, SC

Ashley Marina

"A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it." —Robert Orben

I don't think we're on vacation yet, because today was a workday. My friend Pam goes to the gym every few days to do Zumba and yoga, today I went as her guest. I'm not a fan of dance/aerobic type exercise so I used the machines while she went to that class. We had about an hour to kill before the yoga class so we had breakfast at Chick-fil-A...we had to have some way to reward ourselves. The yoga class was fun and it was nice to have the room to stretch out. Exercising on our boat is a little cramped.

By the time I returned to the boat Stan was replacing the inverter and pulling out our old house batteries. The whole saloon was torn about. The current inverter sits under our settee so that was completely taken apart and our engine room is under the floor in the saloon, so the floor was up. There was definitely a lot of work going on and it was very difficult to move around the boat. Although it can be helpful to have someone hand you things while you're stuffed into the engine room...I was more in the way than helpful. So it was a good day for me to go back to Osprey Marina and get our car. It was a spur of the moment decision and Pam and I were literally on the road to Osprey in ten minutes. We have friends who live close to Osprey Marina on Pawley’s Island, so we met them for dinner and a quick visit. It was fun to catch up with Joe and Flo. By the time I returned the boat was looking more like home…even though there is still a lot of work to do.

Feb. 19 - Charleston, SC

Ashley Marina

“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

Our first full day in Charleston was beautiful. Spring has arrived...if only for the week! Stan worked on boat projects most of the day...although he did have a little time to enjoy the weather. I enjoy being back in Charleston, because Pam and I sit on the deck and have coffee together on nice days. A lazy start to the morning, but fun. This afternoon I rode my bike all over town soaking in all the great sites of Charleston. This evening we celebrated being back in town and the beginning of our cruising season by having dinner at Magnolia's. Still one of our favorite places to eat in Charleston and we weren't disappointed. The food was amazing. 

The Market is steeped in history and charm, and is a popular destination for all who visit Charleston and I never get tired of watching people there.

Waterfront Park off of East Bay offers beautiful views of the water, Mt. Pleasant and the Ravenel Bridge 

Pineapple Fountain in Waterfront Park 

The Battery Park that overlooks Charleston Harbor 

One of the many historic homes in Charleston

Feb. 18 - Charleston, SC

Ashley Marina

“Being on a boat that's moving through the water, it's so clear. Everything falls into place in terms of what's important and what's not." —James Taylor

We woke to another beautiful day, but what a difference a day can make. Yesterday we were bundled up with scarfs, gloves, long johns and hats and even drove from the lower helm in the afternoon when the wind picked up. It felt so nice when we pulled into the marina yesterday and turned on the heater. But spring arrived today and by afternoon it was even warm enough on the water for me to wear shorts and go barefooted. It felt amazing to be able to soak in the warmth of the sun, even though we know winter will return next week. Before long summer will arrive and we'll be longing for a cool breeze. 

It felt like coming home as we crossed Charleston Harbor and headed up the Ashley River to the Ashley Marina. Charleston is such a pretty city and seeing it from the water never seems to get old, especially on such a calm beautiful day. We were greeted at the dock by friends and spent the evening catching up with old friends and meeting a few new ones.

Our morning views in McClellanville

The pelicans were enjoying the beautiful day too. 

I never get tired of this view...coming into Charleston is wonderful.

The dolphins were having a great time today playing in our wake and I was having a great time watching them.

Feb. 17 - McClellanville, SC

Leland Oil Company

“Without new experiences, something inside of us sleeps. The sleeper must awaken.” ―Frank Herbert

Our 2014 cruising season has begun. It was a crisp clear beautiful morning, with a thin layer of frost on the dock...just enough to make it glisten in the sunlight and be a little slippery on our way to the office for coffee. By the time we had settled our bill, filled our coffee cups and said our goodbyes the sun had melted the pretty crystals and we were left with an amazing morning. A perfect day to be back on the water. 

It seems a little funny to think that Osprey Marina in Myrtle Beach may be the furthest point north we get to this season. We have no definite plans this summer, except to be available to our kids and grandchildren. Staying in Florida and closer to I10 will make that a lot easier, since we plan to be in Texas part of June, July and August. That isn't the best time to be in Texas or Florida, but what can you do when that's the time of year the grand babies arrive! It's been a long time since we've been in the south during the summer...we'll have to readjust. 

By the time we arrived at the dock in McClellanville our pretty day had gotten a little windy, cloudy and considerably colder. We had decided last night that we'd take a slip instead of anchoring tonight so we could run the heater. We really didn't like the idea of waking up to cabin temperatures in the 40s in the morning. In fact it felt very nice to get plugged in this afternoon and turn on the heater. We're looking forward to the next 3-4 day with temperatures in the 70s, maybe spring is on it's way...at least in the south. 

A little frosty this morning

A beautiful day on the water 

The Leland dock in McClellanville