We left at the right time to catch the 9:30 bridge just below Charleston, which worked
out alright since we didn't have a very long day ahead of us. We spent the day in the
Stono River which is very curvy but fairly wide. Most homes along here are set back
from the river, with long boardwalks over the salt marsh to the river's edge. We had a
couple of dolphin sightings and by early afternoon had found our way a couple of
miles up Tom Point Creek and set our anchor in a quiet secluded spot with no one in
sight. We saw pied - billed grebes around the marsh grass and pelicans and heard owls
at night.
Right after dark a small fishing boat came to fish for a while near us but aother than that
it was just us out in the salt marsh. Overnight it started raining and was dreary so we
decided to stay put another day. We had high tides and strong currents in the creek but
the anchor held good. The second afternoon a pair of dolphins came over to the boat,
their blowing catching my attention as I was reading in the cockpit. They were noiseless
as they approached except for their breathing.
Marker at the entrance to a fixed bridge that indicates
the vertical clearance at that time (we need 60'). It
changes throughout the day, according to the tides.
29 miles
Wednesday, Nov.7
We left our anchorage at low tide in order to arrive at the shallow spots in the rivers
when they were at high tide. It was 41 degrees in the cabin this morning and this day
proved to be the coldest day in the cockpit yet. We had all our winter gear on, including
clothes we purchased during our trip since we had not planned on this much cold
weather. Previous blogsites we have followed all said the one mistake they made was
in bringing too many warm clothes on the trip. Well, we certainly weren't going to make
that mistake. I'm chalking it up to this fall being colder than normal. Seems like the
farther south we travel the colder it gets. Perhaps our compass is off and we've been
going the wrong direction.
When we arrived at Ladys Island Marina at Beaufort we were pleased to learn there
was a place within a half mile where we could get our propane tank refilled. Our first
tank had emptied only the day before after two months of use, amazingly, and it can
be difficult to find places to fill them. We were able to strap it to the carrier on our bike,
once again amusing the locals.
Beaufort has a nice downtown area and many historic beautiful homes which we enjoyed
seeing from our bikes.
44 miles
Thursday, Nov. 8
Today we had a short trip to Hilton Head Island, an area we've enjoyed visiting for
many years as Carol's brother and family have lived here. It was fun to view things
from the water aspect since this is an island and it gives a different perspective. We
approached the island at Dolphin Head Point and right on cue a dolphin swam over
to greet us. We've seen quite a few dolphins but they still excite us when we see them.
We are staying at Skull Creek Marina, right in Hilton Head Plantation where the
Caldwells still have a house and enjoyed riding our bikes around the places we know.
Skull Creek Marina, Hilton Head Island
Lowcountry sunset, taken from Windows on the Waterway
20 miles
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