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Over Memorial Day
2006 weekend, Rob, Margaret, Jax, Connor, Donald, and Kristen decided on the
spur of the moment to take a trip to Sullivan's Island. The Town of
Sullivan's Island is a barrier island north of Charleston (SC) Harbor.
The town, incorporated in 1817 as Moultrieville, did not allow lean-tos or
shacks then as now. At that time, lots were required to have a minimum of ½
acre and the same is true today. Sullivan’s Island is unique in that the
beachfront lands which have accreted over the years, are owned by the Town
and held in a perpetual easement by the Lowcountry Open Land Trust
protecting the natural environment along the Atlantic Ocean. This island has a long military history of protecting the harbor from invaders and there are many wonderful histories which capture those stories. Remnants of the military are abundant in now privately held military housing; even former fortifications are now single family residences. Many of these historic homes have withstood the test of time and ravaging weather. |
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Scuba Man Connor ready for adventure!!!
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Has anybody seen Robbie???!!!!! |
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Shall we dance? Cha Cha Cha!!! |
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A very happy couple!! |
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Cooper River Bridge One of the highlights of their trip was crossing the new Cooper River Bridge (official name is the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge). The bridge, which opened July 2005, replaced two old, worn out, and obsolete bridges that connected Charleston and Mount Pleasant along Highway 17--Grace Memorial Bridge (opened in 1929) and Pearman Bridge (opened in 1966). What makes this new bridge so unique is its signature diamond-tower design with eight lanes of north and south-bound traffic, plus a shared pedestrian/bicycle lane overlooking Charleston Harbor. The cable stay span hangs from two diamond towers at each end of the 1546 foot span, the longest span in North America. Now a signature icon for the Charleston region, these towers reach over 575 feet into the air and support a road deck almost 200 feet above the median high tide mark.
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The key to a cable stay bridge is the strength of its cables. The Cooper River Bridge's 1546 foot main span is suspended by 128 individual cables between the support piers. Cables are anchored on the deck level and inside of the diamond towers. Each cable can hold over one million pounds or 500 tons. A single cable is composed of many seven-wire strands twisted together. Some of the strongest cables on this bridge are formed by 90 seven-wire strands. The cables are enclosed in a high density plastic pipe to protect them from the changing weather . You can read more about the bridge, its history, design, construction, and view real-time bridge traffic via 13 bridge cameras at its website http://www.cooperriverbridge.org
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