On Monday we visited the Charles Town Landing Site, where the first settlement in the area was established for 10 years. After that they decided to move across the river where current Charleston is in order to have better access to large ships for trading. There was a 3-mile walking path going through the grounds, surrounded again by live oaks and Spanish moss. There were many interpretive signs and reconstructed buildings, all pretty interesting. Also there was a large replica of a ship that was used by the first settlers, about 60 feet in length, which was staffed with a very good re-enactor. It turns out that this ship was actually sailed from the factory on the north east coast to its current location. Louise was able to join us for all of this too, and learned a little more about how squirrels can get away from her up trees. It was kind of rainy all day, and humid. Back at home we threw some stuff in the InstantPot for chicken Alfredo, had a Caesar salad, and watched SuperTroopers.
Tuesday morning we received the purchase agreement from our broker for signing. So we signed it and sent it away; very exciting! We started looking in earnest for a campsite for the next few days as it was time to leave the KOA in Charleston. We had checked around a little the day before but didn't have any easy answers. We had visited the campground on James Island the day before and really liked it but they had no immediate availability. When we called again to check availability they didn't have much for this week but we were able to get booked for a stay starting on Sunday the 11th for four nights. Now we just had to figure out Tuesday night until Sunday! We hadn't spent any time in the Savannah area yet so called the campground out on Tybee Island and they were able to fit us in after shuffling some other campers around so that we could stay in the same site for the whole time. We packed up and hit the road.
We set up on Tybee Island in the early afternoon. It was sort of hot and very humid (was 79, felt like 85). We went for a walk with Louise as it was just too hot in the camper. The visitors center recommended a restaurant that was closed, so we walked some more to Huc-A-Poos which turned out to be a great choice. They had very cold $2 beers, Aaron had $5 nachos that were twice what he could eat (soooo good), and Anna had a $4 "slice" of pizza which was actually about 1/3 of an extra large pizza (and sliced into 3 slices). Louise was able to hang out on the patio with us and made friends with a Lab/Shar Pei mix named Stella.
When we got back to the camper it was still hot and humid, and all the cushions and beds and everything just felt wet. Towels seemed to get wetter when we hung them to dry. It was forecasted to cool down a little bit but would still be just as humid. We decided that a portable air conditioner with a built in dehumidifier would greatly improve our situation so we went to Savannah and picked one up. Much better!
Wednesday morning Aaron went on a walk along the beach on the north end of the island, from the Polk Street entrance around to the entrance just south of the North Street Boardwalk. We received a call from John telling us the sellers had countered our offer so we countered back with one of our own. About 15 minutes later we received another call from John with the seller's “bottom line price”. We agreed on this price and John sent us the final purchase agreement which we signed and sent off to be signed by the sellers. Next we talked to a recommended sailboat surveyor and decided he sounded like a smart competent dude so we have him scheduled for Tuesday the 13th. Hopefully we will have his written report in hand by Monday the 19th. If everything goes well we should have keys in hand before Thanksgiving!
We had a late breakfast that morning consisting of potatoes and company again, then headed out to investigate a marina near Savannah. Isle of Hope Marina ended up probably not being the place where we will live for our estimated month or so of repairs/modifications, but we got some really good info from the manager there. Then we spent the afternoon in Savannah checking out the touristy historical district and river walk. We had lunch at Crystal Beer Parlor where Anna had an amazing Caesar salad and Aaron had homemade onion rings. Right as we walked down the road to the river there was a huge container ship passing (possible highlight of Aaron's day). We stopped in a hat shop along the river walk and decided to get some hats. Upon returning home we dumped out a full bucket of water from the dehumidifier and took Louise on a walk to the dog park. We lounged around and relaxed for the rest of the night. Around 11pm it started to rain which progressed into a full blown thunderstorm with lightning, thunder, and pouring rain.