Again, Walking the Arthur Ravenel Bridge

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.

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.  

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. 

Just a cool sailboat going under the bridge. I was overwhelmingly envious of the people on that boat.

A small slowdown in the morning traffic. I actually have no idea why I included this picture.

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 I guess I should be thankful to all the people involved in getting the two old and out of date bridges removed.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.

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.

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.   

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. 

"Old Sunken Hull"--Click on the picture and read the story.

Confederate Jasmine growing around one of the memorial columns at the park. The scent was intoxicating.

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.

Just for shits and giggles, here is a stock picture showing the new bridge under construction and the two old death traps beside it.

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.