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| After what seems like countless times of not being able to leave the house during the weekend, I finally stopped whining and got the hell out of Dodge. I really didn't want to spend a lot of money and I have long since found that the biggest issue about going anyplace is the drive down, so once I got to Charleston the bridge was where I decided to go. After that I hit the park at the base on the Mount Pleasant side. |
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| As the other three or four times before, I start from the Mount Pleasant side and walk to the middle then turn around. This is one of the rest areas heading back over to Mt Pleasant. It use to have nice, comfortable metal benches with back rests. Not sure what happened, maybe people were loitering too long and becoming a impediment to the walkers and bike riders. Still though, the breeze on the bridge and strong and cool, it felt good to be up there. I will say it again, as I have with my other posts about Charleston, given the "beautiful people" walking the bridge I am almost too ugly to be allowed in the city limits. No, I didn't take any pictures of the young and attractive types, especially all the babes, it would have definitely caused a scene. |
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| Charleston Harbor- I arrived in the area a little after nine o'clock that morning and the clouds repeatedly seemed to threaten rain only to go away and then come back again. |
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| Just a cool sailboat going under the bridge. I was overwhelmingly envious of the people on that boat. |
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| A small slowdown in the morning traffic. I actually have no idea why I included this picture. |
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| An overly formal plaque telling about the Pearman Tower. I guess I should be thankful to all the people involved in getting the two old and out of date bridges removed. They were both becoming dangerous and preventing modern ships from going up river. |
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| The entrance to Waterfront Park leading to the Mount Pleasant pier. I cannot say enough nice things about this park. It has become my personal retreat where I can find a bench and sit back and relax. There is simply nothing like it in the Columbia area. |
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| A view of the Patriot's Point Naval Museum. It looks like there are just three vessels left. Over the years others have been added only to be removed because the success of this attraction has always been marginal at best. I thought about touring the Yorktown yesterday since I hadn't been on it for close to ten years. Then I remembered that not only do you have to pay to get on the ship but parking as well. Management was sort of forced into that since a lot of people were parking there cars in the lot and then riding off with someone else to tour the area. While my wife and I were dating we park our cars there several times. |
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| Why did I drive down from Columbia only to sit on a bench? For several reasons and the view was one of them. I also rather enjoyed the solitude it offered because I didn't really have to worry about running across anyone I knew. Not only do the parks in the Columbia area fall far short, there have been a number of times I bumped into someone I knew with them deciding to give me an unwanted update on their lives. Yeah, I can be a dick at times but I can't help the fact I like to find places where I can organize my thoughts and decompress. |
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| "Old Sunken Hull"--Click on the picture and read the story. |
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| Confederate Jasmine growing around one of the memorial columns at the park. The scent was intoxicating. |
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| The Mount Pleasant Pier. A great place to fish or simply enjoy the breeze coming off the water. One word of warning, the Charleston area is quickly moving into both the summer and tourist seasons. Which mean it will get ungodly hot, humid and crowded. Frankly, there have been times I have visited Charleston during those months and thought it was far worse than visiting Disney World at the same time. |
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| Just for shits and giggles, here is a stock picture showing the new bridge under construction and the two old death traps beside it. |
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| Final picture--It's mine and as I was totally relaxing yesterday I came to the realization that no matter what just for the sake of my loosely wrapped sanity I'm going to be required to make more of these short but vital trips. |
6 comments:
Those are fantastic pictures! I've never been out there, but it looks like a great place to go in early October, maybe.
There's nothing like that in Houston, but if it were in Houston, I'd say early December. We have a couple weeks when it is under 80. Barely. Fortunately, we don't anything like the park you visited to make us want to go outside.
Great pictures! As I have a large family, I completely understand not wanting to spend a lot of money. It does look like a place where you can go and get re-centered on things.
As you know, I've checked off them item "walking the Arthur Ravenel Bridge" on my bucket list. I want to go back and do it again sometime - it is, as you said, a great place to organize your thoughts and to decompress. Plus, the bridge just seems like such an elegant work of engineering, almost a piece of art. Enjoyed all your photos! That sailboat going under the bridge looks so tiny and insignificant compared with the size and the grandness of the bridge.
Nasreen: Yes, Charleston is quite nice in early October. The breezes have returned then and the humidity has dropped off to decent levels. I fully understand what you mean about not having decent parks. Here in Columbia there are numerous parks but I have never found any of them to be well designed.
Deron: You would love the Mount Pleasant Waterfront Park. The kid's playground is top of the line and huge. In fact, I have to admit I wish my own kids were small again so I would have an excuse to play on it myself. It's real easy to spend a lot of money quickly in Charleston, nice restaurants and bars, plenty of historical attractions, and of course there are several beaches just minutes away.
The other reasons I didn't do much was because by the times I got to the bridge the idea of driving further just didn't sound fun. I'll probably do more around late September or October when most of the tourists have left for the summer.
Pixel: I really wished I lived a little closer to that bridge. The incline going up on the Mt. Pleasant side about kicked my butt. It would be a great workout if I could get down there on a regular basis.
Great photos--I will have to remember that you can walk across that bridge--I love walking bridges.
This makes me want to go walk across the Purple People Bridge in Cincinnati (over the Ohio river into Kentucky). The view isn't as spectacular, but it's the closest thing that's at all the same :)
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