Coast to Coast

We have now officially driven coast to coast across the USA. Yesterday we made it to Charleston and in doing so have driven nearly 7,000 miles from the coast of the Pacific in California to the shores of the Atlantic in South Carolina. Early on our trip we took a boat out across the San Francisco Bay to visit Alcatraz and yesterday we took another boat into the Atlantic. Only this boat was a little quicker than the tour boat to Alcatraz, it’s called ‘The Thriller’ and is a 43 passenger power catamaran with engines totalling 1,000 HP. It’s the fastest tour boat in Charleston Harbour and took us out to sights that normally take an hour in under 15 minutes. It’s not a tour for the history buff as you whizz past everything so quickly you don’t get too long to take everything in but if you want a thrilling boat ride and an excellent way to cool down in the heat then it’s the trip for you! We both loved it, I got very wet sitting near the back on the edge as the spray flies across the boat when you turn so I couldn’t get any photos until we slowed down but we did see some cool stuff. Such as the Morris Island Lighthouse which sits alone in the ocean but was once attached to land by a now sunken peninsula.

That morning we parked on Market Street and wandered under shaded awnings as we explored the local weekend market in downtown Charleston. It was a good way to get out of the heat and Jenny picked up some knock off Pandora charms which are actually nicer then some of the official jewellery. Today we thought we’d sample one of Charleston’s many beaches and decided on the ‘Isle of Palms’. A beach that is a favourite with the locals and is situated in an affluent area of the city with palm tree lined boulevards and multi-million dollar beach houses lining the shore. The weather had been consistently hot over the last few days but a bit hit and miss sun wise. Luckily it was bright and sunny on the beach all day and the water was clean and warm. It was the perfect beach...we even stood and watched in awe as dolphins splashed around only 100ft off shore. This beautiful sight only served to alert Jenny to the fact that it was possible sharks also lived in the seas and therefore she spent most of her day out of the water and her skin has suffered the consequences. As this was our first complete day of sun bathing and what with the UV rays also bleaching her hair; picture spaghetti slopped over a tomato and you have a good image of how she looked at the end of the day. Although saying that, the sun was very strong and I am also a lovely shade of burgundy.

We are in Savannah, Georgia, this evening which has even more beautiful beaches so tonight is all about taking it easy and lots of after sun!