Day 40 Charleston, SC

The day we sailed into Charleston we braved our last storm of the trip.  We were so close when the clouds came rumbling in.  Our last bridge was in view and yet we couldn't go forward.  In the beginning of this trip that might have been difficult to swallow but after 5 weeks of unpredictable living, it was simply an inconvenience.

We found a shallow, but slightly protected inlet and threw in both anchors. After an anchor dug in we taped our leaks, grabbed our safety gear, and waited. We counted seconds between the flash of light and the rumble of thunder. At first, the storm was fierce but she quickly got bored with tossing us about and flitted away leaving us a little soggy but otherwise intact.

We pulled the anchors back in, reset all that she had upset, and dried off as much as we could. With fingers crossed we made it out of the inlet without getting stuck on the sandbars lining either side.  We passed a sailboat that was not quite as lucky.  Her captain and first mate waved a hello as we passed.  They were stuck in the mud, waiting for the tide to lift them back to freedom.

It felt like sailing towards freedom during our last few hours as we sailed into Charleston, SC. We have had one heck of an adventure but I looked forward to consistent a/c, solid ground, clean showers, real coffee and ICE! You have ideas about what struggles you may have before an adventure like this, living so small and moving every day, but there is no way to really know how it will play out.

I definitely cherish things that I took for granted before I left.  Dinner at Helen’s, dropping by at K&T’s bar, cooking with Emma, game nights, drum nights, having family nearby all the time, playing games with our nieces and nephews, snuggling with our vast number of beasts, riding bikes, cooking big meals, unlimited fresh fruits and vegetables, and endless ice cubes.

This past week we have started to adjust to living on the docks, living small in a big city and stretching our limbs as we explore.  I am not a city person at all, but I appreciate the access to everything within a short bike ride.  We also have found pickle ball courts, our gym, the best happy hour spots, plenty of live music, and biking trails.

Yesterday, we watched storms roll in from the protected patio of a resort. Irish Eyes floated peacefully a few miles away tied to her protected slip. There were no anchors to throw nor windows to tape. No one counted between the lightning strikes and thunder rolls to determine the distance of the storm. We just relaxed on the lounges by the patio’s edge deciding where we might go to happy hour. The smallest part of me missing the excitement of another storm at sea.