"Leanne" wrote in :

Larry is Short Stay still in operation??

Leanne



With the departure of the Navy from Charleston, Short Stay was combined
into the Air Force's Lodge and is now a beautiful, well-maintained
recreation facility that encompasses the entire peninsula they used to
occupy. All the old rickety facilities are gone replaced by nice lakefront
cottages, a nice campground, a really nice small-boat marina and great
picnic and outdoor activity facilities. It's all been rebuilt.

"Billy" wrote in
oups.com:

Hi Larry,
We have been doing a river trip that includes Lake Moultrie and the
lower Cooper River for the last 8 years now but never knew we could go
over into Bushy Park Reservoir. Next time we do that trip we will
follow your directions to check it out. Most of our previous trips
started at Columbia on the Congaree and ended up in Charleston. Last
year we started on the Wateree in Camden, took the Wateree to the
Congaree, the Congaree to Lake Marion, Lake Marion to Lake Moultrie and
then on to Charleston via the Cooper. One year we even camped on the
same bluff you camped on on the upper Cooper River

Yes, as you come down the Cooper and pass under the railroad draw bridge
when the river makes a sweeping turn to the right at the bluff with camps
on top, the river turns left. Go straight down the canal and it comes out
into the Bushy Park Reservoir all in fresh water.

But, be warned no boats can make it under the road bridge by the canal's
launch ramp taller than a small bimini on a runabout. No large boats will
go past the bridge and must continue down the Cooper into the salt side of
the dam.

Also of interest if you dive, where the river turns off to the left at the
canal, a lot of divers dive that area in search of civil war artifacts and
old plantation stuff. I don't know why, but I've seen a lot of diving in
the Cooper just downstream from that junction, about even with the little
bluff to starboard going downriver.


Since we have done 7 trips down the same river system we decided we
might get adventurous and try some different rivers. This year we are
going to try the Pee Dee and maybe the Savannah next year. I live in
upstate SC but grew up in Charleston where many of the other river trip
participants still live so we and going to try to end up there on most
of our trips. Maybe after we run out of rivers in SC we will try some
in GA and NC.

There's 3200 miles of navigable waterways within 50 miles of my little
place on the Ashley River at Riverbend, across from historic Magnolia
Gardens Plantation. I doubt I'll live long enough to see 25% of it...(c;


Thanks again for the info on the Bushy Park Reservoir. Funny that we
passed the turn to it so many times and never knew it was there. The
upper Cooper really is a very beautiful river.

The upper T in the Cooper that separates the East Cooper from the tailrace
West Cooper is also another area to explore, as are many of the large tidal
creeks past old homes.

Navy had the river below Bushy Park closed for a long time after 9/11 past
the weapons station and training subs downriver from where Bushy Park's
salt water side intersects, but it has been re-opened, now. Goose Creek,
itself, is the largest creek just on the Charleston side of the Navy's
property and goes back into the area a LONG way past some beautifully kept
mansions the public barely knows about in Hanahan on a gulf course
community that dates back into the roaring 20's. It's also a great little
small boat trip down the tidal creek, as is the creek into Hanahan, itself,
where the long wharf ends upriver from the paper mill by the old Navy small
boat docks in that creek.

Bushy Park's ramp is a fantastic place to launch into the salt then play in
the river ending up back where you started by going around the
loop....already flushed and ready to trailer in the fresh water.....

Larry W4CSC wrote:

"Leanne" wrote in :

Larry is Short Stay still in operation??

With the departure of the Navy from Charleston, Short Stay was combined
into the Air Force's Lodge and is now a beautiful, well-maintained
recreation facility that encompasses the entire peninsula they used to
occupy. All the old rickety facilities are gone replaced by nice lakefront
cottages, a nice campground, a really nice small-boat marina and great
picnic and outdoor activity facilities. It's all been rebuilt.

There is still the Naval Hospital and according to my daughter some
other small but important Navy stuff in Charleston.

We stayed on the Charleston AFB for 5 days this month, and it was a
disaster. Not all of it was their fault, but some of it was

The room was on the second floor and there is no elevator. We had a
living room with a TV and a kitchenette, a bathroom with a shower
which passes through to the bedroom with another kitchenette (frig not
working) and TV. No utensils or plates.

We went down and looked at a friend's boat that she left at the
Maritime Center while they went home for Xmas, and phoned her to tell
her that it was OK (no water inside), but the electricity isn't on at
their boat. There is still storm damage in the marina - some of the
finger piers are at funny angles. I took some pictures of the boat
and sent them to her.

As soon as we got back to the AFB, Bob got cold symptoms and didn't
feel very well. He didn't sleep well, and this morning he explained
to me that all the water sounds that I've been hearing is because
there is a leak in the toilet and it flushes every 6 minutes (so I
KNOW he wasn't sleeping in order to time that!!). He looked at it and
said the flapper was new but it had been replaced with one that was
too small. We reported it by phone and in writing but nothing was
done. (If we keep the bathroom door shut, it isn't as noisy)

Feb 27th - Sunday

We drove out to our son's in Summerville for dinner, They gave
Bob his birthday presents (nuts - pistachio and almond).

Since the room has no utensils or plates, I stopped by KFC to get food
that I thought would last us a couple of days and perhaps provide a
cereal bowl for breakfast for the morning (we have the cereal and milk
in the car). Bob was miserable all night and did not get much sleep.

Feb 28th - Monday

The Mercedes was hard to start this morning. We went to the Inn and
asked for two more nights (we can only get 3 nights at a time as
retirees). Then we went to the pharmacy, but they don't stock my
prescription. (I'm about 10 days short - it is blood pressure
medicine.)

While Bob was in the Exchange, I looked up the Navy Hospital on the
map, so we drove down there. Security there is really tight - they
not only wanted to see Bob's ID, but mine too. They don't carry my
prescription either. They suggested I go to a civilian pharmacy. So
I did. But the civilian pharmacy said there was a SC law against
importing prescriptions from another state, and I'd have to get our
doctor to call them. I know he's not in the office on Monday, plus I
have no confidence in his office calling anyone since they once faxes
a prescription to the wrong fax number 3 times in a row.. He said he
could give me one pill but it would be about $1.25

March 1 - Tuesday

Bob is still miserable. Plus he tried to start the MB and it would
not start. The battery is getting run down from trying to start. I
called the desk and they said I could not get a tow truck unless we
could get to the gate (about 2 miles) and escort them in. She gave me
the number for security.

Security told me that they were prohibited from jump starting a
vehicle with any AF vehicles. He could hear Bob coughing in the
background, so he said that he'd allow a tow truck through the gate if
I could get one to come and called him Our son would not be allowed
through the gate either unless we could come and escort him in.

Bob thinks that a new battery will solve the problem but we have no
way to get one. He also thinks that the cold weather may have
something to do with it and we have no extension cord to plug in the
block heater. We walked 2 blocks to Burger King for dinner, and he is
worse than ever after that. Plus I've started coughing too like I was
in Key West. I wonder if there is something in this building making
us both sick. Our daughter says Bob must have pneumonia (or maybe
bronchitis) and to get him to a doctor.

March 2- Wednesday.

We got a bit more sleep last night and feel better. Bob has had an
idea - there is an Enterprise rental car place on the base. We will
rent a car and go get a battery. So I call. They say they will be
here by 10:30. Bob goes out to try to get the battery out of the MB
and discovers that he is missing a socket wrench and can't get it out.
(Actually he had it, but he was feeling so miserable that he didn't
find it where it was in the bottom of the toolbox)

After we get the car, we go to the exchange and they don't have
any batteries or tools. Then we go to Walmart, but they don't have
the right size of battery. Finally we stop at Advance Auto Parts.
He's also gotten a jump start thing that you plug into the
wall to charge the battery on IT and then unplug and take it out to
the car and jump the car battery with your charger.

Then we go to our son's and they give us lunch. Bob and our son go to
install the new battery in the car. While our DIL and I go to get our
grandson at school - he has to ride two buses plus the school has no
lockers so he has to carry one or two musical instruments and all his
books around with him. I think his backpack is heavier than he is.
But he rode the bus, so we go back and pick him up at the bus stop.

The MB still won't start with a fresh battery. So we will have to try
the charger to jump it tomorrow. We all had dinner at McAlister's.

March 3

Bob got us up pretty early so that we could try the new jump start
device and jump the car. It still would not start. So....

I started phoning, while Bob stuffed everything possible into the
little compact rental car (coughing as he did so).

First I phoned the local Mercedes dealer and explained the problem.
Wonder of wonders, the guy I spoke to was very helpful and said he
could send someone out to give it a jump, but I explained why I didn't
think that would help. So he said he could take it today (!!!) and to
give him a call when I got someone to bring it in.

Second I called base Security. They said yes that a tow truck could
come in - I'd have to tell them what gate to go to (the main gate is
completely torn up with construction) and I'd have to call back and
tell them when he was coming and what towing company it was.

Third I called AAA. They said they would send a tow truck and it
would probably be Jenkins, and they'd call when they were 10 minutes
away.

Fourth I called base security again to tell them who was coming.

Meanwhile Bob went to the front desk to check out, and then he was
going to get the rental car extended.

The towing company called and said I would have to meet them at the
gate and they'd be there in 15 minutes. She absolutely refused to
believe that the base would let the driver on unless we met them at
the gate.

I called security again and they said that they absolutely WOULD let
him on the base.

So I called Enterprise, but Bob hadn't been there yet. I called the
Inns of Charleston and they said he hadn't checked out. Then after
some conversation, the goofball there changed her mind and said he had
checked out. (As a side note - they said they'd charge me $1/day for
internet access, but they did not.)

So I called Enterprise again, and got the girl just as Bob walked in
the door. She let me talk to him, and he said he'd go to the gate. .

Then AAA called me back. She asked if the driver had got there yet,
and I said no that Bob was somewhere en route to the gate and so was
the driver. So she called the towing company and had them page the
driver, while I was on the phone, and she came back to me and said
that Bob and the tow truck were both at the gate.

Actually, the base DID let the driver onto the base, BUT he had no
idea where anything was on the base, and of course security wouldn't
tell him. So in order for him to find us, Bob had to lead him in.

We followed the tow truck drive to the Mercedes place,
and left the car - the repair guy said he'd call when the problem was
diagnosed. We had a reservation farther along the road, so we started
out for there. The MB place said we needed all the glow plugs
replaced (they were all 'open' they said). So we checked in at the
next place, took all the stuff out of the rental car, and then drove
back the next day to turn in the rental car and pick up the MB.

As soon as we left the AFB, Bob started to get better.


grandma Rosalie

Rosalie B. wrote in
:

Bob is still miserable.

Hmm...If I had known you were here, some 2 blocks from me to the main gate,
I COULD have helped, especially with the Mercedes. Make a note for next
time.....Star Motor Service, 843-571-1628....the Mercedes experts. I've
been buying their service for over 20 years. They have a palatial shop you
can eat from the floor, full body shop, every Mercedes test instrument ever
made. They restored my 1973 220D completely. It's my favorite all-time
car.

If I had to live in the Air Force squalor you met, and I have no idea
what's on the base as they only let me through the gate to fix organs,
electronic pianos and the occasional DJ job, I believe I'd have ended up at
one of our fine hotels, or at least motels, if I couldn't stay with the
son. We have thousands of fine rooms and rates around Summerville are more
reasonable. Hell, Motel 6 is only $32 and their toilets work! When is
"cheap", too cheap?

I recommend Red Roof Inn near the Ashley-Phosphate Rd exit of I-26.

Bob probably caught one of our exotic virii, brought into Charleston by
ship crews from squalid 3rd world countries, or by our Mexican and Central
American large immigrant population that is simply exploding because we are
too stupid to stop it. You can now catch Meningitis in Elementary School,
here.....it's like surviving in India's slums. Our latest is a severe
stomach virus that has kept my neighbors in bed for 8 days, so far. God
knows where it came from.....

Sorry you had so much trouble with a simple visit to the port city.....

Larry W4CSC wrote:
Rosalie B. wrote in
:

Bob is still miserable.

Hmm...If I had known you were here, some 2 blocks from me to the main gate,
I COULD have helped, especially with the Mercedes. Make a note for next
time.....Star Motor Service, 843-571-1628....the Mercedes experts. I've
been buying their service for over 20 years. They have a palatial shop you
can eat from the floor, full body shop, every Mercedes test instrument ever
made. They restored my 1973 220D completely. It's my favorite all-time
car.
That's good to know - we have a 1985 300D (Bob's) and a 1982 300D
(mine)

If I had to live in the Air Force squalor you met, and I have no idea
what's on the base as they only let me through the gate to fix organs,
electronic pianos and the occasional DJ job, I believe I'd have ended up at
one of our fine hotels, or at least motels, if I couldn't stay with the

Could have stayed with our son, but Bob doesn't like to 'impose'.
With our daughter in Miami, she always gives him some job to do (like
this time we house sat for them when they were away at Xmas, helped
out with the kids when she had an operation, and Bob put up a wall for
them), but he still gets antsy if he has to stay with someone more
than 3 days. (We stayed with her twice - once for 10 days, and once
for 3 days).

son. We have thousands of fine rooms and rates around Summerville are more
reasonable. Hell, Motel 6 is only $32 and their toilets work! When is
"cheap", too cheap?

I have stayed in the Sleep Inn in Summerville, but the cheapest I
could find on the web was the EconoLodge at Goose Creek The Inns at
Charleston were $36.50/night which was cheaper. The toilet worked - a
bit too well. After we knew to keep the bathroom door closed it
didn't bother me anymore, or I got used to it. I can sleep through
about everything.

I recommend Red Roof Inn near the Ashley-Phosphate Rd exit of I-26.

Bob probably caught one of our exotic virii, brought into Charleston by
ship crews from squalid 3rd world countries, or by our Mexican and Central
American large immigrant population that is simply exploding because we are
too stupid to stop it. You can now catch Meningitis in Elementary School,
here.....it's like surviving in India's slums. Our latest is a severe
stomach virus that has kept my neighbors in bed for 8 days, so far. God
knows where it came from.....

Sorry you had so much trouble with a simple visit to the port city.....

I don't think it was a virus - I think it was mold or something like
that. I had something like that in Feb. when we were staying in a
trailer in Key West on the base - Bob complained that I kept him awake
by coughing. He made me take cough medicine so he could sleep. (My
sister used to complain that my wheezing from asthma kept her awake
too.)

Or maybe it WAS pneumonia. The only time he's been like that that I
can remember was when he was taking his PADI OW course in Cozumel, and
at that time he thought he breathed in some water into his lungs.

Anyway, all other visits to Charleston I've had a really good time.
We've been by car once or twice before (to visit our son), and by boat
6 times. Stayed at http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/47af4/#TL
Mt. Pleasant 3 times, http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/4a9c6/d3230/
Charleston Maritime Center once,
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/45efa/#TL Buzzards Point once,
and http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/3024a/ Isle of Palms. Our
mast is too tall to go up the Ashley, and I'm not interested in
anchoring in that area with all those currents etc.

We usually stay in Charleston a week when we are there by boat, and we
take at least 2 days to transit from north of Charleston to south of
Charleston because it is too hard to get from Georgetown to Charleston
unless we stop at Isle of Palms. Last year (fall 2003), we went
offshore on the way down to the St. Mary's River, and then in the
spring of 2004 came up the same route (arriving in a dense fog)
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/51083/#TL (St. Mary's to
Charleston), and then again going north from Charleston to the Cape
Fear River. http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/520d2/#TL

We've visited Ft. Sumter, the Aquarium, the Audubon reserve, Ft.
Moultrie, Sullivan's Island, Charleston Museum, and of course
Patriot's Point. I wanted to go up to the locks this time, but Bob
was too sick.

The first time we came down, we stopped in McClellandville,
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/4a9c6/d38e3/ and we have a scar on
the stern to show for it, where a shrimp boat going out at 4:30 a.m.
swung his stern into us when he left the dock. But I understand that
old man Leland died, and the marina has been upgraded, and also the
channel in has been dredged - because the shrimp boats couldn't get
out.
..

grandma Rosalie

S/V RosalieAnn, Leonardtown, MD
CSY 44 WO #156
http://home.mindspring.com/~gmbeasley/id1.html

Rosalie B. wrote in
:

That's good to know - we have a 1985 300D (Bob's) and a 1982 300D
(mine)


Mine are the restored 1973 220D sedan, creme top with burgundy bottom and
my "fishin' car", a 1983 300TD station wagon lugaround. (I've got to get
those two chairs from the thrift shop out of the station wagon,
today...(c Star Motor Service keeps them both running like new. I'd
much rather hand Star money for working for me than the county gummit for
taxing me. Old cars tax really cheap in SC. New cars have 14 payments a
year, two for the county...yecch.

Larry W4CSC wrote:
Rosalie B. wrote in
:

That's good to know - we have a 1985 300D (Bob's) and a 1982 300D
(mine)

Mine are the restored 1973 220D sedan, creme top with burgundy bottom and
my "fishin' car", a 1983 300TD station wagon lugaround. (I've got to get
those two chairs from the thrift shop out of the station wagon,
today...(c Star Motor Service keeps them both running like new. I'd
much rather hand Star money for working for me than the county gummit for
taxing me. Old cars tax really cheap in SC. New cars have 14 payments a
year, two for the county...yecch.

Maryland doesn't have personal property tax but we haven't had a new
car since 1971. We do have several other diesels - a 1984 Lynx, a 1985
Escort, and another 1984 Escort that Bob has converted to electric.

There isn't anyone in the county who can work on the MBs though, and
we have to drive up to Glen Burnie. He's often booked so we have to
make arrangements to go up there (both of us driving - it's about 85
miles from us) several weeks in advance. We usually go to the dentist
at the same time (our dentist is up there too) and also visit my mom.

The MB dealer in Annapolis (Benson) doesn't want to deal with any
older cars. My husband's friend has a 1976 240D and even though he
lives right up there near Annapolis (we drive up and park at his house
and he gives us a ride to the boat show), he has to take his car to a
private mechanic.

We thought we had a big problem this winter and I tried to get the car
in to the Mercedes place in Melbourne but they were very snooty and
wouldn't take us for 4 days. So we rented a car, and eventually
figured out it was the tires and not anything MB at all and canceled
the appointment. That's why I was surprised that the MB place could
take us right away. They charged us $340 for changing the glow plugs,
and also washed and waxed the car and vacuumed it out which impressed
Bob.

But they also jammed the cruise control full on, and when Bob tried to
use it, it wouldn't disengage. He had to pull off the road and shut
off the engine to get it to stop. Fortunately we were in the middle
of the Francis Marion NF so plenty of room and not much traffic.

grandma Rosalie

S/V RosalieAnn, Leonardtown, MD
CSY 44 WO #156
http://home.mindspring.com/~gmbeasley/id1.html

Rosalie B. wrote in
:

They charged us $340 for changing the glow plugs

Man, they ripped YOU off! You never have to change glow plugs unless they
become open circuit, but only the defective one. What a rip! 3 of the 4
glowplugs in the old '73 are still original!...(c;

Larry W4CSC wrote:

Rosalie B. wrote in
:

They charged us $340 for changing the glow plugs

Man, they ripped YOU off! You never have to change glow plugs unless they
become open circuit, but only the defective one. What a rip! 3 of the 4
glowplugs in the old '73 are still original!...(c;

I think your 73 must have been more gently used than ours have been.
Both of them were 2nd hand, and Bobs was a leased car with 235K miles
on it when he bought it.

One of the glow plugs was open when we started on the trip. They said
all of them were open. Bob didn't want to change the one that was
open before we started because it was so hard to get to.

One of the things that Bob didn't like about traveling by car vs
traveling by boat was that he didn't have tools with him.

grandma Rosalie

Rosalie B. wrote in
:

One of the things that Bob didn't like about traveling by car vs
traveling by boat was that he didn't have tools with him.



Hmm....Bob sounds like a candidate to get a STEPVAN! All my tools are in
there....(c;