Charleston Bridge Walk - Friday - October 21, 2011

The weather was going to be perfect today and Nancy was off from work at Home Depot. We also knew that we had a house showing today (as it turns out we had two showings) so it was a great day to leave and go to Charleston for the day. We planned to drive down to Charleston to accomplish several things.

First, we needed to go to Fort Moultrie to get Nancy a senior national park pass. I have one, but we wanted a backup just in case we misplace it.  For the inexpensive price of $10, we figured it was a good insurance plan!! We only spent about an hour at Fort Moultrie as we have been there several times in the past, so we took some photos and then went to the second planned adventure for the day, walking over the Cooper River (Ravenal) Bridge.

Nancy here:  This post is out of sequence and should have appeared before the previous post about the house showings.  However, I am again behind on photos and blogging, so just pretend it is where it should be ;o))  Also, because I am behind and because there are so many photos, I will post our Fort Moultrie visit in a separate blog in reverse order also….after the blog about the bridge walk.  Now that you and I are totally confused…  hope you enjoy the photos and the beautiful day :o))

We left Fort Moultrie and drove to the base of the bridge
where they have a welcome center, a beautiful park and a fishing pier.

12 - Approaching the Bridge
Approaching the Bridge

13 - Arthur_Ravenel_Bridge- from Wikipedia (from_water)
Photo from Wikipedia taken from Charlestown Harbor 
 
The Ravenal Bridge, its official name, is a 2.4 mile suspension bridge
over the Cooper River connecting Mt. Pleasant to Charleston.
Every year they have the “Cooper River Bridge Run”
with over 30,000 participants.
We thought it would be a fun thing to do, just not running and
not with 30,000 of our closest friends ;o))


13 - Parking under the Bridge
View from our parking spot under the bridge


13a - Waterfront Park under the Bridge
Waterfront Park under the bridge


13a2- Waterfront Park Pier under the Bridge
Fishing Pier built on the supports of the old Cooper River Bridge.
The new bridge opened on July, 2005.


After putting our quarters in the parking meters,
we enjoyed our packed lunch and then
headed out to walk the bridge.


13b -  Sidewalk to Bridge Walk
Sidewalk to start of the bridge walkway


13c - Start of Bridge Walk
View from the Start of the Bridge Walkway

On the east side of the bridge there is a 12 foot lane,
designated for foot traffic and bicycles,
which is separated from the auto traffic by large cement barriers.
It’s a great idea and well thought out.

13d - Getting higher on the Bridge Walk
Heading UP and South on the Bridge Walkway


We stopped many times to take pictures and
use binoculars to enjoy the fantastic views.
We kept looking at each other and
commenting about the spectacular sights we were seeing. 

We’ll let the photos tell the story!!


13e - Cruise Ship in Charleston
Our first view of Charleston. 

There was a large cruise shipped docked at the port. 
To the right of the ship, you can see the steeple of 
St. Mathews Lutheran Church. 
That is the tallest building in Charleston.


13f - USS Yorktown at Patriots Point
USS Yorktown, part of the maritime museum
at Patriots Point.


13g - I526 Loop Bridge around Charleston
As we continued up, we could see another bridge off to our right (west). 
That is I-526 which loops around Charleston.


13h - Approaching the First Tower

We are approaching the first tower!!  WOW, is it high!!

13h1 - Top of the  Tower



13i - View from First Tower to Second Tower
The bridge walkway juts out around the towers
which gave us this view from Tower One to Tower Two.


13j - Cyclist crossing the bridge
First cyclist we saw crossing the bridge.
He looks so tiny compared to the bridge!!


13k - Halfway across
The Halfway Point


13l - View from Tower 2 to Charleston
View from Tower Two to the Charleston end of the Bridge


13m - View of Citadel in Distance
Our son attended The Citadel and
we were able to locate the Citadel Clock Tower
from the Tower Two Platform.


13n - Freighter being unloaded
We saw this large freighter heading to port
when we were at Fort Moultrie early this morning. 
Now, here it is at the shipyard being unloaded.


13o - Shipyard with Cruise Ship in background
Here is a picture of the shipyard for the Port of Charleston. 
Lots of cars…not sure if they are coming or going. 
 My guess is COMING!! 
You can see another view of the Cruise Ship in the background.


13p - End of the line - Time to turn around
This is the view at the end of our walk across. 
Now we turn around an head back. 
Yes Sherry, things do look different walking the same path
in the opposite direction ;o))


13q - USS Yorktown and Fort Sumter Ferry from across the harbor
Another view of the USS Yorktown
with the Fort Sumter Ferry Boat passing in front of it.


13R - Many Boats in the Harbor
All types and sizes of boats in the harbor!!


13s - Big Nuts and Bolts
This is one BIG erector set ;o))


13t - View from tower 2 toward mt. pleasant
View from Tower Two (north) towards Mt. Pleasant


13u - Water Taxi
Water Taxi crossing under the bridge


We stopped in the middle of the bridge
so Nancy could take two photos of the harbor…13v1 - View at Middle of Bridge toward Patriots Point
View to the Northeast – Mt. Pleasant and Patriots Point


13v2 - View at Middle of Bridge toward Charleston
View to the Southeast  -  The City of Charleston


13w - Down towards Mt. Pleasant Hard to Cycle up
As we approached our starting point,
we saw this cyclist was just starting UP… it is a long, hard climb!!


13x - One more view of USS Yorktown
One last view of the USS Yorktown!


13y - Poleing in Salt Marsh
This guy was deliberately poling his boat into the grasses. 
Not sure what he was after?!?!


13z - Tahoe almost home
We were almost back to the start.
There’s our car parked under the bridge.


The walk was fantastic!
We’re going to have to bike this bridge some time.
However, we need to do some hill training first ;o))

The 5 mile walk can now be crossed off our “bucket” list.

Would we do it again?

ABSOLUTELY  --  Can't Wait!!


Before we headed back to Murrells Inlet,
we stopped at The Whole Foods Store in Mt. Pleasant.
We needed to pick up some groceries
that we can’t get here in Murrells Inlet
and the surrounding grocery stores.
Don’t ask me what they were!
I just know that Nancy said we needed them ;o))


All in All... It was a WONDERFUL Day!!

10 comments:

  1. Sounds like a great time. Also a great chance to take pictures.

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  2. Wow! What a day you had!! And a 2nd park pass too. You certainly got "your monies worth". Love to see you out having a great time like this. Full time in no time that's the motto!!

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  3. Wow, your post brought back many memories. My daughter and SIL, were stationed at the Navy Base and my son was stationed on the Coast Guard Cutter Oak, homeported in Charleston, at the same time. They lived a block apart, so it was a two-fer when we visited.

    When I recieved my commision, I was sworn into the officer corps at Patriot Point aboard the WWII Coast Guard Cutter Ingham (which used to be there but has since been sold and now is in Key West) by my SIL who was a Navy officer. My son was there and rendered to me my first salute. As naval tradition required, he got a silver dollar from me.

    Love that bridge, we've driven over it bunches of times. We had many great times in Charleston.

    Glad to hear of the double showing. It's your turn now, I hope we've broken the house sale stalemate.

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  4. Great walk! Will have to try that ourselves.

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  5. As I was reading your post, I couldn't help but think of Sherry. I know she would have to drive there, but that would be the right distance for her run (when her ankle is fully healed). I'm sure that she would enjoy the views too. Something different.
    Syl

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  6. Glad you're having fun. I have to experience these GREAT pictures through your eyes - my fear of heights will not let me take this walk in person. THANKS!

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  7. I would have LOVED to be able to walk over that beautiful bridge! Thanks for sharing!

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  8. I want to do that! What a fabulous bridge! How thoughtful that a protected walkway was incorporated into the design. Most places are too dangerous to cross on foot.

    I'm looking forward to my first senior national parks pass. Only a short time left to wait :)

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  9. What spectacular views! Charleston is on our list!

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  10. Very Cool. Good idea for some exercise when in Charleston. Lots of good food in that town.

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