ONWARD!

Before I resume my blog and fill you in on the continuation of the trip I must digress to the holidays...

First of all cheers to all!  Janet and I hoist a glass and toast to you and hope you had a great holiday and enjoy a wonderful year ahead...

I left the boat in Hilton Head SC and headed home to enjoy the holidays with family.  It was a great tine seeing everyone and enjoying good food and good company...  The highlight of the holiday was not just meeting the newest member of the family -  Chris and Chris' son John Tyler...  but even better was watching mom get a chance to meet him and hold him!!!  After what mom went through a few weeks ago it is a miracle that this moment came to be...

Mom and JT!!!

Anyways - after all the holiday hub-bub settled down I returned to the boat in Hilton Head and got going again.

But first I had to have Dobbs go up the mast and fix one of my navigation lights...  Thanks Dobbs!!

The stretch of the waterway that I have been in for the past few weeks includes North and South Carolina and Georgia.  I have really enjoyed experiencing this part of the country.  The south has so many interesting things including the beautiful scenery along the waterway but also lots of interesting architecture and amazing history.  I have been soaking in all of this.

Here's a glimpse of the beaches at Hilton Head SC

The beaches here are unique in that the sand is so hard you can actually ride your bike along the waters edge.  You might also note in this picture people wearing shorts and bating suits - yes the return of warmer weather is most welcome...

I even got in a round of golf while on Hilton Head...

FORE!!!


After Hilton Head I went to  Charleston SC.  Charleston is home to an amazing historic district.  They had the foresight years ago to establish a historic district where they preserve the homes and the architecture and it is quite a site to see.  While in Charleston I visited the Charleston history museum where I really began to further explore and try to better understand the history of Colonial America.  Charleston is one of the early colonial settlements (circa 1670) and is named after King Charles of England.  I assumed that cotton was the main thing in this area but soon learned that rice was an even bigger commodity in this region.  Interestingly - indigo - was also an important commodity in this area in the early years of the settlement.   I also learned about the slave trade and how the slave labor was the driving force in the economy of colonial America in this region.

After Charleston I moved on to Savannah GA.  Another amazing town.  And so full of history and historic significance.  Janet met me in Savannah and I know she enjoyed it too.  While there, aside from some excellent eating (fried green tomatoes, southern fried chicken and grits)  and drinking (mint Julep) we really dug deep in to the history of the early south.  Savannah was the last of the original 13 colonies.  So, they tried to 'experiment' as they termed it and do things a bit differently.  The original charter for Savannah did two things differently...  1) They banned alcohol, and 2) They outlawed slavery.  Both of these experiments failed and it didn't take long before the settlers ignored the ban on alcohol and amended their charter to legalize slavery.  We learned that they could not compete economically with the neighboring colonies without employing slave labor.

We also visited a historic site known as the Pirate House. It's a restaurant today but back then Pirates used the house to smuggle rum and shang-hai sailors. Sailors were in high demand and short supply.  Sailors would drink at the Pirate House till they passed out. They were then shang-hai'd and woke up as captive on a ship headed out to sea.  The pirate house was complete with a dungeon, trap doors, and a tunnel for rum running from the city to the river. BLY-ME!

While in Savannah, Janet and I visited the well preserved home of one of the founders of Savannah.  The homeowner was a slave owner and we learned of the daily trials and tribulations of life as a slave in the early days of the south...  We also toured a plantation site and learned about the goings on on a plantation in those times.  Again, on the plantation slave ownership was common practice.  As Janet and I absorbed all this we could not help but think what an awful stain on our history the practice of slavery was.

There is tremendous history all around in the South. History dating back to colonial times,  the Revolutionary War,  the Spanish American War, and of course the Civil War.  I think I've written enough to give you an idea.

I was quite moved one afternoon  - while riding my bike I stumbled on this National Cemetery, located in Beaufort, SC...

Read the inscription...

Veterans from the Revolutionary War up to and including the Gulf Wars, and Afghanistan War are entombed and commemorated here...

Here's some photos from Savannah.

Sunrise over Savannah

While I talked about the historical significance of this area - today it is obviously a thriving tourist area.  We took the ferry across the river to town...

The ferry boat captain was careful not to be run down by the many freighters that frequent this - the second busiest cargo port on the East Coast...

Janet enjoyed some quiet reading time in the warmth on the dock...

And she took a bike ride down this Spanish Moss Tree Canopy covered drive...

Which was made famous by the movie Forrest Gump.  This is where Forrest was running when he ran and ran and ran...  'Run Forrest Run'...  You can almost see Tom Hanks...

And finally I'll conclude this post with a glimpse of some of the company I have enjoyed along the way with me on the Intra Coastal Waterway.  There's so much natural beauty - it continues to amaze me each and every day...

Pelicans along side in the anchorage...

Look close...  This is a fox swimming across the marsh from one side to the other...

BIG DADDY Alligator along side a pond on Hilton Head Island...

And Big Daddy and his Little Brother...

As I write this post I am sitting quietly at anchor on the Waterway in Southern Georgia.  In the next couple days I'll cross the border in to Florida and then will be in the final phase of this part of the trip on my way to Key Biscayne,  FL...

ONWARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!