Day 175 - April 6, 2013: Arriving in Charleston

We moved north, passing through the grasslands, and knew we were getting close to Charleston when we began to see homes and docks again. Just in one day's travel, the mix of trees is changing with fewer oaks and the lack of Spanish moss hanging from their limbs. You have to be a committed boater here to have a dock, as they are the longest we have seen on the trip. Some docks approach 100 yards just to get to waist-deep water, and there were dozens of them all along the shore!

A long walk to get to your boat

We traversed Elliott Cut, which is a man-made shortcut from the Wadmalaw River across Jones Island to Charleston. It is short and narrow and during tide reversals can be quite dangerous. I was advised to time our transit to go through with the current, and at times we gained up to 5 1/2 mph through the swirling waters!

The entrance to Elliott Cut

Coming out of the cut, we entered the Ashley River at the junction of the Cooper River. These rivers, which flow one on each side of Charleston, are named after a British nobleman named Anthony Ashley Cooper, who in the late 1600s was the Lord's Proprietor over the newly established Province of Carolina. It is said that early inhabitants believed these two rivers came together here to form the Atlantic Ocean.

As we rounded the southern tip of Charleston where the oldest part of the city resides, we could quickly see many of the churches and large antebellum homes stretching along the shore. It whet our appetite to see this famous city, which is central to so much of our country's history.

Charleston's antebellum homes from the southeast

Our first stop, as has become our custom, was the visitors' center so we could plan our time here. One absolute must was to watch Michigan play Syracuse in the Final Four Basketball Tournament tonight. We ate on board and after a lot of cheering and ups and downs in momentum, the Wolverines prevailed. We are now in the championship game against Louisville!