Be Grateful and Give Thanks

Charleston 

After breakfast and a few Thanksgiving texts with family and friends, we left for a nice long walk. My goal was to do at least a 10k (6.2 miles) at a nice, leisurely pace before we settled down for our Thanksgiving supper. We only got about 100 yards when we stopped to visit with Jim and Darlene on Sabbatical, a 48-foot Selene out of Washington, DC. While Barry and Jim jumped right in to systems comparisons and boat similarities, Darlene and I covered a much wider range of topics, including our husbands' knowledge of and passion for our homes on the water. Meeting super-nice folks along the way is one of the best parts of cruising. Morning passed and we returned to Crossroads for lunch before setting out once more on our trek across the peninsula via Broad Street. It was good to see a few Thanksgiving decorations and messages along the way. The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist soared into a deep blue sky. Beautiful white houses with bright red doors glowed in the afternoon sun.

St. Michael's Episcopal Church was open and we went in for a look. The large stained glass window initially grabbed our attention, but the high-sided pew boxes, and shiny organ pipes also stood out. We are familiar with Charleston's history with natural disasters and usually think of hurricanes. Turns out the city is on an active fault line and the original church vestibule was destroyed in the Quake of 1886. We continued on to Waterfront Park, located at the end of Broad Street and along the Cooper River. This park is home to the Pineapple Fountain, the most photographed spot in Charleston. We waited in line for our turn, took a few shots, and then moved on. The red wax mallow caught my eye outside of a playground bustling with kids on this warm afternoon.

We criss-crossed East Bay Street lined with palmetto palms and large homes with gas lights. Concord Street was lined with highly contorted oaks. Picturesque alleyways connected the two main roads. We worked our way back to Rainbow Row, a stretch of 13 colorful historic Georgian row houses along the waterfront. This spot is on every must-see list, but as the multiple passing carriage tour guides stated, it is also the most overrated spot in the city.

Several houses are already decorated for Christmas with garland, wreathes, and poinsettias. Looping back to the marina, we passed the same sign board with a different message on the reverse side. "Be grateful and give thanks" pretty much sums up the day. Onboard, we had our little dinner of turkey, potato, Uncle Bennett's canned green beans, and cranberry sauce. Snoopy even fixed us some popcorn.

We have a few more boat projects on the list for tomorrow before heading out for dinner and the Sound of Charleston performance tomorrow evening. The weather will deteriorate for our departure on Saturday, but we are very grateful to have had beautiful days during our stay.