May 8, 2022
A sunset is the sun's fiery kiss to the night
Charleston fun day
Happy Mother's Day y'all!
It's our last day in Charleston and we were both busy as we steadily worked on packing up our camp. But it was an overcast day which didn't bode well for our evening plans - a sunset dinner cruise on Charleston Harbor. I crossed my fingers that the clouds would clear so I could get some nice pictures.
Things were moving along well and as I was just sitting down to my lunch I heard a weird gurgling sound coming from the bathroom. I went back to see what was going on and O.....M.....G!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Water was cascading out over the toilet, and running down the hall and onto the bedroom floor where it was already an inch deep. That was the low spot as the trailer wasn't perfectly level.
I ran to the door and screamed at Don to help me and stop what he was doing. He had been flushing out the black water tank with fresh water after dumping it. So at least it was clean water.
I started grabbing towels and spent the next hour or so on my hands and knees mopping up the water. What a mess!!!!! Not only had the water been in the middle of the floor, but it had also flowed into one storage cubbie beneath Don's bed.
There were 2 soft sided storage bins there that were wet on the bottom so I had to pull both out so they could dry. One container held our extra rice and grits bags, but only one of the bags was a little wet on the outside of it. Fortunately the contents were still dry.
I checked all of the other cubbies, and found that everything else was dry. So that was a good thing.
We kept mopping and wringing, and mopping some more before finally getting it all dried. Don went outside where he found that water had dripped into the front storage areas for the trailer. So he had to pull everything out and get those areas dried.
I was NOT a happy camper but we managed to get everything taken care of so we could finally eat our lunch. Whew! I told Don we both learned an important lesson today about this. Anytime he does the dump out and flush/fill/cleaning of the black water tank, that we BOTH need to keep an eye on things and not get side tracked.
The rest of the remaining afternoon was normal as we continued our usual packing up process. At least the sun had come out and it looked to be a nice evening on the boat.
At about 5 pm, we drove over to the cruise line's pier which was on the other side of the bay next to the Yorktown aircraft carrier. Then at 6:30 we all got in line to board. I wasn't too keen on standing so close to everyone, but at least it was outside and we stayed toward the end of the line.
By 7, we were all on board at our assigned tables. We'd paid extra for a private table next to the window which was nice. Otherwise we would have had to share a table with someone else.
With a rumble of engines, our ship took off as it slowly went under the bow of the neighboring carrier and out into the bay. At first we went by Charleston where we had views of the city. Lots of different boats were out on the water.
I went to the top deck so I could take better pictures and was really glad I'd brought my Gortex jacket! Our server mentioned that she saw a number of people that didn't bring jackets on these cruises with some women dressing pretty skimpily. There was a cold north wind blowing and quite chilly but I was ok.
After taking a bunch of shots, I went downstairs to see if they were serving yet. Our meal consisted of 3 or 4 courses - appetizer, salad and entree with dessert at an extra cost (we passed).
The appetizer was a bowl of she-crab soup which we'd been wanting to try as it's a Charleston specialty. It was very good, a little spicy but also rich as one of the ingredients is heavy cream. I had a few spoonfuls just to taste it, then let Don finish the bowl as I returned topside to catch the sun setting.
It was an absolutely beautiful sunset! I was really happy that we'd splurged on this cruise.
Once the sun had dipped below the horizon to eat the next courses - a green salad followed by the entree. We'd chosen braised beef in a cabernet reduction with veggies and whipped potatoes. The other options were a chicken or vegetarian dish. Don also bought a bottle of wine which maybe wasn't the best thing considering when you walked around you could feel a little rocking onboard. But overall, even with the wind, the boat remained steady.
The beef was good and we both liked the meal. I stayed inside for the rest of the cruise as it got darker. There was a guy playing a guitar near us. We considered dancing in the open area between the tables (our server said it was ok) but the floor was carpeted and a bit uneven. So we passed and just listened to the music.
After one last pass under the Ravenel Bridge, the boat finally made its way back to the dock. It had been a GREAT night which was welcome after such a stressful day!! But eating so late at night, drinking a full bottle of wine and then not getting back home until after 10 made for a long day.
But this had been a wonderful way to end our stay in Charleston!
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