Xmas Events in Charleston
Seaduced
John & Jane Craven
Sun 2 Dec 2012 23:36
| December again - where does the year go? Time seems to be flying by and we are still in America. We are not the only ones who are not as far south as planned, the marina here is packed with people, and there is a constant stream of boats arriving and leaving. Hurricane Sandy has delayed the transient season for most sailors by about 2 weeks. Xmas is a big deal here in Charleston, there are loads of events all starting on December 1st, so we can get our fill of Xmas spirit. The big excitement today was opening the first door on our boat advent calendar, kindly provided by my mum, sadly no chocolates inside, but last time we had a chocolate one, it had to stay in the fridge which defeats the object a little I think! Saturday is also Farmers Market day here, so off we went on our bikes to have a look around. The market is the 5th best market in the US and, although probably a bit smaller now as it is December, it was well worth a visit. There were lots of stalls selling nice Xmas gifts and wreaths. The big town Xmas tree was in the park near the market, but it isn't really a tree - just a cone of lights, no doubt still pretty though, we haven't seen it lit up yet, but will take a wander down one night. There are however rows of Xmas tress in the park which have been decorated by local school children. These look a little incongruous mixed in between the real trees which are still shedding their autumn foliage, also the weather was warm enough to sit on the grass picnicking and sunbathing whilst listening to the band singing Xmas songs - it all seems a little out of sync somehow! The boat parade took place last night with lots of boat sailing up and down the Ashley River all decked out in Xmas lights - we had a great vantage point from a roof top bar, and then headed out to dinner at McCrady's, a small but very historic restaurant tucked down a small alleyway. As well as fabulous food, the bar is also famous as the watering hole for George Washington during his campaign in 1791. Sunday was Christmas Parade Day. This is a huge event here in Charleston with the parade taking nearly one and a half hours to go past! The weather again was in the 70's and in the park there was a strange mix of Christmas music and people sunbathing! It was definitely a fun afternoon, watching the festivities and eating ice cream to stay cool! We now have a definitive plan for the Bahamas and aim to leave on Wednesday morning to head straight down to the Exumas, the trip will be about 4 days in total, so a bit of boat prep is needed and a lot of provisioning as well. We have been warned that food shopping is tricky in the islands as most of them are uninhabited so we need to plan ahead for this a bit. That said, people do live on some of the islands so there must be some food supplies there...... Island life, Bahamian style, will be a huge shock to the system as we have now spent nearly the last two months in marinas in American towns and cities, and the pace of life we are heading to will be somewhat slower. It may take a little getting used to but I am sure we will manage to acclimatise very quickly - just watch this space! |