September 21, 2010 - Flying to Charleston & Kiawah
Island, South Carolina |
| This week's RV adventure
was a visit down to Kiawah Island -- just south of Charleston, South
Carolina -- to visit Jimmy and Cindi, old friends from college days. |
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| The weather was
perfect all the way down. We climbed up high where the air was
smooth and zoomed. |
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Approaching Kiawah from the north, we
crossed the entrance to Charleston Harbor. That's Fort Sumter
off
the right. I don't need to tell you that's where the American Civil
War started. Do I? |
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Approaching Charleston Executive Airport (KJZI), we descended below 2000 feet and it
got a little hot and bumpy. Lynnette was very happy to have the
air travel portion of the trip be over with and say hi to Cindi on the
ground! |
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The next day I took Jimmy for a ride
in the RV. |
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We did the aerial tour of Charleston Harbor and the Cooper River.
That's the World War II aircraft carrier USS Yorktown
(CV-10) which is a
floating museum now. |
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A big container ship port facility on
the north side of the Cooper river. |
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| 22 years
ago, I was stationed at the Charleston Naval Base when I was on the
staff of Destroyer Squadron 20. When Hurricane Hugo came
through, our staff took all the Navy ships in Charleston out to sea.
The Naval Base closed some years ago; I don't think DESRON20 is around
anymore either. Things change. |
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| There are a bunch
of ships at the docks so I guess the old Naval Base is used for commercial
purposes these days. |
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| Approaching the
famous Charleston "Battery" from the west. |
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The Battery. The most scenic
part of Charleston. |
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The Citadel military academy. |
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| Looking west at
the Battery. |
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| We continued south
along the shore towards Kiawah. |
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| The north end of
Kiawah Island. |
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Kiawah's golf course is alongside the
beach. |
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| The golf club
house is just left of center. |
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| Further down, we
circled over Lynnette and Cindi
on the
beach. |
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Kiawah's marina is at the south end
of the island. |
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| Approaching Jimmy
and Cindi's house. |
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| And there it
is. |
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| Charleston
Executive was five minutes away -- by air via
RV, that is -- from Kiawah Island. |
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| Charleston
Executive has a nice, big runway. |
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| The RV grin. |
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| Bruce had this
vinyl decal made for my RV. |
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| Rainbow Road in
historic Charleston. |
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I can remember our daughter Lucy swimming in this
fountain when she was little and I had just returned from a long deployment
at sea. |
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| We had a fantastic
breakfast at this marina restaurant. Shrimp & grits:
highly recommended! |
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Lynnette and
I bicycled around Kiawah.
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| I would describe
Kiawah as a manicured jungle. |
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Yes, it's true,
there are
alligators! Well, at
least one. |
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| A better look at
the golf clubhouse
on the beach. |
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South Carolina dunes. |
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| The beach was very
wide and firm. I could land the RV on this beach, no problem. |
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| We went to
the beach one afternoon. The beachhouse features an upscale restaurant and
two pools. |
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| Lynnette harassing
the birds. |
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Jimmy took Lynnette and I out on his
boat. |
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| It was a perfect
time to be on the water. |
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In a questionable move, Jimmy lets Lynnette have
the Conn, and then grabs a beer! |
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| Dolphins like to
hang at at one part of the river and sure enough, they were all over the
place. |
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| After the boat
ride, we enjoyed dinner and drinks at the marina restaurant. |
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Enjoying the beach.
The water temperature was great -- you could just walk right on in.
Not like Ocean City, Maryland, where it takes me ten minutes to sum up
the courage to enter the icy waters .... |
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| All too soon it
was time to say goodbye to Jimmy & Cindi and fly back north. |
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| We made one last
pass over the island. |
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Shrimp boats off shore. |
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| The weather was
even better than the day
we arrived. As usually, we quickly climbed up to altitude and enjoyed a nice
smooth ride. |
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I never tire of looking
outside. Lynnette prefers reading a book or playing Suduko. To her its just
transporation. But she does like nice destinations made possible by
the RV. |
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