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ECCKF Trip: Day One

Today is the first day of my trip down to Charleston, SC for the East Coast Canoe and Kayak Festival. I have decided to go down a day early so I can sightsee in Charleston for a day. I've never been there before so I'm excited about going.

I got on the road after getting the boys off to school this morning and spending some time how to cram all my stuff into the car. I wanted to try to fit everything in the luggage compartment so nothing would be a tempting theft target (the two kayaks on the roof are bad enough). That proved impossible, so I put my grocery bags in the back seat. I hope that no one is hungry enough to break in to steal my Power Bars and matzo.

My first entertainment, as I was heading Southbound, was to see how far I would get before I saw a pickup truck with a Confederate flag. Unfortunately, that game was over less than 100 miles south of home, so for the rest of the trip I entertained myself with music, podcasts, and enjoying the bland scenery of I95. It's a long trip (8.5 hours) but an easy one.

Finding the hotel was a cinch, and along the way I got to get a cool view of the harbor (including the remains of Fort Sumter) from the Arthur Ravenel Jr. bridge. These first couple of nights I'm staying at a hotel - I'll camp during the festival. My hotel is in what one of the guidebooks calls "chic Mt. Pleasant." I'm not sure how chic the place is. It seems a little like Arlington - a "just across the river" urban suburb that has, because of its proximity to the city, become ever more affluent.

I got a restaurant recommendation from the woman at the front desk, and it was great! The place is called the Boulevard Diner. It looks like a hole in the wall inside an out. Like the neighborhood, though, it's gone upscale. the cooking is upscale Southern diner. I had a fried grouper sandwich with yellow squash and onions. mmmm! The restaurant seems to be a neighborhood hangout - a lot of the clientèle seemed to know both one another and the restaurant staff.

Now I'm back at the hotel.

Pictures from the day:
ECCKF Charleston

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