Bud and Rick got to Charleston in the late afternoon after doing over 60 statute miles. Their arrival has been a bit disappointing.

The last opening bridge before Charleston is closed to boats from 4 PM to 6:30 PM for rush hour car traffic. Bud couldn't be sure that they would make it by 4 so he thought they might have to spend the night this side of the bridge.

They again made good time and made it through the bridge. Once they did, Bud called the two promising marinas near the city. After some waits and call backs he found that both were full for the night! That's a change from what we had been encountering all along further north. Up this way, if marinas were still open they were half full with one or two transient boats at the most.

They ended up calling and staying at the Charleston Harbor Marina. It's one of the most expensive marinas, and it is across the harbor from the city. There was no grocery store and more importantly, no place to buy beer! The guys were forced to go out to a bar and grill for food and drink.

Bud is totally tired, and I think somewhat discouraged. Checking the resources we have, we can't find a promising anchorage. The Charleston Harbor is pretty open and has strong currents. We don't have mooring fields listed, so we don't know if that is an alternative. Saturday, he and Rick will have to start checking around for a reasonable place to move the boat. Rick is flying out Sunday, and needs to find a good way to get to the airport, which is in North Charleston.

I've decided to stay with Jamie until she takes her test. It is really hard for her to find the time to study. Adler is a doll, but he is very high energy and doesn't sleep much. If I wasn't here to help she would only be able to snatch a few minutes some evenings to study, and that just isn't enough.

Unfortunately, that means Bud will be alone in Charleston (with Fuzzy) for a couple of weeks. I know that doesn't thrill him. Neither does the prospect of figuring out what to do about the engine. If he finds a decent place to keep the boat it will help a lot. Something should open up.