Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Charleston Harbor Tour

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As we lounged around on Saturday morning, watching the news and enjoying a leisurely start to the day, we heard that the Spirit of Carolina tour boat was offering a free cruise around Charleston Harbor to anybody who brought a toy for their Toys for Tots collection.

Tom was intrigued, so we quickly woke the boys and everybody got ready to go.  On the way to Charleston, we made a quick stop for some toys, and arrived just in time for boarding at 10:45.

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The boat was full, but not overly crowded, and since it was a beautiful morning, we grabbed a spot along the upper deck railing where we could watch for pelicans and dolphins as we waited to leave.

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There were pelicans all around us, diving for fish in the water,

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and we kept catching glimpses of dolphins around the boat and along the docks.

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It was a beautiful day, with bright sunshine and temperatures in the 60s, and there were many sailboats around the harbor, enjoying the great day.

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Finally, it was time to get underway, and we cruised around the peninsula as a recorded narration played over the speakers.  We saw the historic homes on East Bay,

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and the steeples of several historic churches.  From there, we cruised past St. James Island, where there were several nice large homes,

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and headed out towards Fort Sumter.

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Across from Fort Sumter was the National Monument, Fort Moultrie,

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and Sullivan’s Island, where there are some really cute modern homes on the beach.

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As we cruised back up towards the port, we we going into the wind and moving a lot faster, so it was quite a bit cooler.  We went inside the boat for awhile and listened to the Christmas music playing in the lower lounge.

As we passed by Patriots Point, we could see the Yorktown from the water,

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and got a close-up view of the Ravenal Bridge from underneath.

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We spent the final part of the trip on the lower deck in the front of the boat, and were treated to the view of a dolphin leading the boat back into the harbor!

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It was a really nice cruise on a beautiful day, and we enjoyed it very much – it was definitely worth the price of admission!

3 comments:

  1. Just saw your blog and realized you had finally hit the road. We love Charleston...try a walk up the Ravenel Bridge...spectacular view!! Boy have the boys grown...
    Safe Travels and Happy Trails....

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    1. We saw people walking and biking across it, but I think I would be paralyzed with fear up that high!! although somebody did tell us that the railings are really high . . . We had a great time in Charleston (and Myrtle Beach and Columbia, and Maggie Valley . . . etc!!) -- we just missed your CC gathering! and are now near Savannah, making our way into Florida for the winter. Yep, it's great to finally be on the road!

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  2. Oh I love it! I so desperately want to see a whale or dolphin like this!

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