Walking the Arthur Ravenel Bridge

Since my Friday Flash Fiction story at this moment appears to have run aground on a small island called "Lost Plot Cay" I am posting a few pictures of my abortive trip down to the coast last weekend. Like most of my trips to the coast they are essentially unplanned excursions which tend to make them huge successes or total failures. At least this time I have a real reason why this one failed. With the passing of my dad-in-law back in late August Dragonwife has been spending most weekends with her mom in Manning, South Carolina leaving me to hold down the fort at home. Up until the very last minute it looked like last weekend was going to be another trip to her mom's to help organize things. When it fell through I had my chance to head down to the coast for a much needed session of rest and relaxation, especially since my usual travel companion my daughter Darth Wiggles wanted to stay home since she had invited a friend over.

It started out good with a rough idea of heading down to Charleston and finally visiting Fort Sumter, something I have never done in all my years of living in the Low Country of South Carolina. But like the saying Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance I did not check times and arrived at the Patriot's Point Naval Museum a couple of hours early. Making matters worse I do not have a cell phone and did not think about calling my cousin who lives in Charleston until I was strolling in the Patriot's Point gift shop. Compounding my mistakes I called his house rather early and left a message on his answering machine with no way for him to call me back. After so many mistakes what does one do? I started walking the Arthur Ravenel Bridge connecting Mount Pleasant, South Carolina with Charleston. Something I have wanted to do since the bridge was opened back in 2005.   

 

I know next to nothing about bridge architecture and design but have always loved how graceful some bridges can look. This one is in a class all by itself since I already have such an affinity for the Holy City. At first the day was glorious with a nice steady breeze and enough clouds in the sky to block the worst of the sun. It had already rained several times, something that would eventually ruin the trip, leaving a partial rainbow in the sky. Click on the first picture above to enlarge it so it can be seen.


Had to quickly learn the rules of the bridge because when I started up I noticed a dividing line which I took to mean the same rules of the road applied to those walking the bridge. As I was walking the right side of the walkway I noticed a guy on a bike heading straight for me. Figuring he was wrong I stood my ground forcing him to move, just a few yards later I see symbols painted on the cement below me showing that walkers go on the left side of the dividing line while bikers stay on the right. Oh well, I know now. The picture above was taken at a rest area about a third of a way across heading into Charleston. It is a remarkable location and if I was smart I would have just stayed there longer soaking up the view.  

A photo of the USS Yorktown, the center piece of the Patriot's Point Naval Museum. Patriot's Point did have a retired navy destroyer and Coast Guard cutter on display as well also but for reason I can only guess at the have been removed leaving only a very old diesel-electric submarine as the only other vessel on display. I have some vague knowledge that the Patriot's Point is having some funding issues which may have required the other ships to be sold. I know from a newspaper article hanging in the museum gift shop dated sometime in 2009 that the US Navy has told Charleston county the Yorktown herself needs massive and expensive restoration. On a side note the ominous clouds hanging over Charleston harbor are the main reason my trip was a bust.   

A view of Charleston Harbor overlooking a crab boat in the water and a nice portion of the city itself.

A shot of the "Easy Lady" using my camera's zoom feature. Now if there was a job I would lave to try it would be on that boat.

This a picture of an ACTIVE US Navy vessel docked on the other side of the harbor. I just thought it was cool and did my best to get a decent shot.    After walking about halfway across the bridge I returned to Patriot's Point with all intention of doing the trip over to Fort Sumter. What stopped me was an already very crowded boat loaded with families and groups. Since my daughter usually accompanies me on these trips a crowded boat would have been no issue but something just did not feel right about going with her not with me.


The back up plan I came up with would have had me traveling over to nearby Sullivan's Island and the Isle of Palms and just walking around on the beaches and seeing what trouble I could get into. Later I would have gone into Charleston, found a bar serving She-Crab soup, and called my cousin again. Just as I arrived on Sullivan's Island and got out of my car it started pouring rain. As luck would have it not two minutes after getting back in my car the rain utterly stopped and the sun came out. Oh well, I figured the I would drive over to the Isle of Palms and hang out there. Just as soon as I parked it started raining again and this time my frustration level was getting to the point that I considered calling off the whole thing and going home.  Long story short, while heading back into Charleston I developed a headache and it started raining again. By this time I figured it was best to abort the trip and head home since I had spent little of of my mad money slush fund. I figure I can come back down in a month or so, of course after making a real plan and calling my cousin first.