LAT: N 32° 46.6'
LON: W 79° 57.1'
SLOW TIMES 60s, mostly sunny
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The Bus Has Stopped But This Field Trip Ain't Over!

Captain's Log

Our first week in Charleston went something like this: 0900 - Woke up with sunlight streaming into the room.
1000 - Walked to marina facilities, washed dishes, checked email.
1100 - Ate breakfast of Grapenuts or eggs.
1400 - After sitting in front of the computer emailing potential employers, we continued to sit and wondered about what Charleston will hold for us.
1500 - Took off towards downtown, walking down charming residential streets and often stopping for pizza.
1900 - Walked back to the boat to make dinner and check email again.
2100 - Watched movie, played scrabble or read.
2230 - Fell asleep.

Arggg me maties, aye'll scrub yer poop deck fer a doubloon.

Shop Slowly


Come on down to the Slowly Shop where the latest items have just arrived! Now everyone can have a piece of Slowly style. An apron for slowly cooking those special meals, a sweatshirt to sport on your slow morning jogs, or maybe a lunchbox, just because...And just in time for Christmas! Walk on into click here and let the shopping spree begin!

The map of downtown Charleston, usually kept in Tim's back pocket.

Slowly Attempts Dangerous Crossing Into the Real World


Kids Don't Try This At Home


Our Fantasy Employer - Guest Editor

We knew we would miss cruising down quiet and lusciously lined rivers, spotting dolphins and wood ducks, listening to some favorite tunes (often The Handsome Family or Lucinda Williams), and nibbling on salami and aged gouda. Who knew we'd also have website withdrawal? It became an important part of our trip to share our boating experiences and personal eating habits with friends and strangers, and have daily deadlines that we inflicted upon ourselves. This noted, we are determined to keep snacking and listening to good music and also to keep updating the website when we work on the boat or go on short cruises as well as long. Today's page will cover what we've been up to, including our trip from Savannah back to Charleston, where we have decided to land for the next year with dreams and schemes of employment. [So how does $100 an hour sound to be Charleston's judge for the best smelling flowers? -Ed.]

Soon after we arrived in Savannah we found ourselves on a plane, flying back to where the boat trip had begun. We looked out the window and suddenly recognized rivers and harbors that we had traveled to on the water. Having a fresh idea of the shape of the east coast, we felt a personal connection with the map that was displayed below us. As we mentally penned in a red dotted line of our voyage we eventually saw Peddock's Island. We had stayed there our first night of the trip and we spotted it just a minute before we touched ground. Both views of the coast, from the plane and from Slowly, were new and thrilling perspectives of the land. We were engaged with it without having to put a foot on it.

The holidays at home were fun and fleeting. Landing in a snowy white Boston we were finally convinced that it was December. Traveling south one loses a sense of time, having to guess both the day and season. We enjoyed the comforts of home, of electricity and big kitchens, but knew we would soon be on the hunt for work.

Savannah is a deeply beautiful city, but it was not accessible enough. Even if we could get around the law against live-aboards, the marinas were still too far from the downtown or any prospective jobs. Commuting via car is something we are generally opposed to, though we may forced to submit in the future. Spending money to get to work, sitting in traffic, and parking are things we are trying to find a way around. Unfortunately, a bicycle commute would have been exhausting and perplexing. We wanted to be in an attractive city that was big enough to have a variety of job openings and activities we could get to on foot. At some point we will travel further south, but this time we decided on Charleston.

Our first visit had proved Charleston worthy of a lengthy stay. There are enough quiet streets lined with restored old houses complete with their clinging porches and entwining vegetation to enchant one every day. The people are friendly, one can stroll to the other side of town and have enough energy to walk back. There is a great pizza place as well as a variety of enticing restaurants.

At the end of the month when we flew back to Slowly we only spent one night aboard before taking a rental car off to Atlanta. Though we are fond of road trips it was odd to be traveling via automobile. They move with a very different rhythm from boats. We wanted to explore more of the state we were about to leave and we were on our way to see Tim's musician uncle, Randall Bramblett, sit in with "Widespread Panic". Though neither of us had heard of the band we always enjoy hearing Randall play. He is an outstanding musician and writer and has a new CD coming out in February that tops his other fantastic recordings (including No More Mr. Lucky). In Atlanta, we got to stay with him at the Four Seasons, a treat neither of us had experienced before (we are now salt water pools fans all the way, forget chlorine!). The first of 2004 we visited Stone Mountain (Georgia's own Mt. Rushmore) and then headed to Athens where Randall and his wife Lenore live. We had a delightful stay heightened by the warm welcome of our hosts.

Having fallen into a healthy habit of lounging and relaxing we still returned the rental car on time and felt happy to be back aboard Slowly. It was the 6th of January and we were going to waste no time getting back out on the water. A cold front was passing through and temperatures were below freezing at night in Savannah. On the 7th we did our engine room check and jump-started the starboard engine (the only thing that battery could be good for now is as a door stop for a very large door). We wanted to get into position for a quick getaway the following morning so we carefully backed Slowly out of her spot at the Isle of Hope marina. Tim did a perfect job and we didn't get too near any of the boats only a few feet away (Hannah had been prepared with extra bumpers in hand). Feeling triumphant over the simple pleasure of not hitting anyone we slipped up to the face dock for one last night of ample electric heat before we headed north.

The morning of the 8th Hannah spun the boat around and we retraced our steps back up to Beaufort. It felt good to be familiar with the waterway, recalling where the turns and bridges were and, on the third day, where we had run aground. It was cold and rainy and relatively uneventful, perhaps because we had cruised there before. We backtracked days 43-47 of our trip down, though this time we did not stop at Herb Creek (day 46). The dolphins were still there every day, and Luther's of Beaufort still proved a good choice when we tried the wings there. They have an excellent hickory dry rub that satisfied both our loves of spice and salt.

Coming in to Charleston it felt good to know we would be in our very own slip soon with all the amenities one could want. Despite the fears of impending employment it will be fun to stick around and keep working on Slowly. There are many adventures to be had on land as well as water. Diving into these possibilities is a bit more difficult, with the firmness of land and all, yet living aboard Slowly is a nice way of breaking ourselves in to a new location. Looking for work in a city where we know no one is a challenge. There have already been too many days waiting for responses from eager emails but with patience and confidence we hope to land some work soon and start scheduling weekend visits to neighboring islands and hunts for more excellent wings. Slowly remains a part of our daily life and we are looking forward to writing of interior renovation and newly caulked decks!

Feel free to email anytime. It is a pleasure to hear from visitors to the site and keeps us thinking of future travels and encounters with other cruisers.

Fun Facts!
Top ten reasons why it's nice to be at a slip: 1. Unlimited electricity 2. Long showers 3. No anchoring anxiety 4. No fear of running aground 5. The weather is a pleasant surprise 6. There are more options for dinner 7. Can receive care packages 8. Can leave precarious stacks without risk of falling 9. Can work on the boat more 10. Can go on walks longer than 36' feet

Animal of the Day
The city pigeon, the rock dove, the flying rat, Columba livia is a bird we are all familiar with. Originally from Europe, one can now find pigeons all over the world. The natives live in wild rocky areas but most of their relatives have found the easy life in urban smorgasbords. Pigeons and doves are in the family Columbidae. The rock dove is actually a pigeon, not to be confused with its authentic dove relations which are the smaller species. As you know, they bob their heads when they walk, make a cooing sound which is pleasant when it is not coming from your window sill and are Bert's favorite bird. Pigeon's plumages can have a variety of colors but are usually a complex mix of greys.

Grub Report
Tonight we spiced it up with Carolina Natural Long Grain Brown Rice mixed with Goya Butter Beans, Allens Cut Okra, white onion, garlic, Sazo'n Tropical spices and Salt Lick Dry Rub.

Wine Review: Bully Hill Vineyards, Love My Goat Red Wine. A sweet and fruity red. Cherry flavor, a bit cough syrupy but not bad. We give it three propellers.


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