South Carolina

Port Royal-Beaufort – This was a quick stop on our way to Charleston (to beat the weather). This wasn’t a great stop as we were docked on the outside of the floating dock and it was a really long walk to the marina office/bathhouse. We did find a really good Mexican restaurant (Agave) recommended by a local. Best Mexican dish we have ever had the pleasure of eating (yes we do eat out a lot….trying the local entrees). Enjoyed the meal with the crew of Boundless & Pony. We left the dock at 7 sharp the next day..

Charleston–It was Friday afternoon when we arrived in Charleston (Safe Harbor Charleston City Marina). The crazies were out already on the water….center counsels, jet skies and lots of people who think they’re the only ones on the water. Reminder: don’t travel Friday afternoon-Sunday….just asking for trouble.

Anyway, we arrived safely and were docked on the inside of the megadock and beside a big cement wall. Thankful for the protection from the coming rain/wind storm coming our way. We hunkered down for Saturday and part of Sunday until the storm moved on. Again thankful we were protected and tied up in a marina. Monday the day was sunny so we took a water taxi to the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown. We did the self guided tour of the ship. We climbed up and down ladders (we both hit our head a few times). It is amazing to see the inner workings of this ship. I wonder what it was like to be on board the Yorktown as crew… We also toured the USS Laffey (destroyer) and learned about its history. It is known as “the ship that would not die” as it suffered numerous attacks but was never sunk. After returning to the mainland via water taxi we ate at Fleetwood Landing (recommended by the crew of the water taxi). I didn’t think the food was that good. After the late lunch, Tim & I split up. Tim walked to Battery Park and I walked the Charleston Market. After meeting up again we walked all the way back to the marina.

Tuesday we took the ferry to see Fort Sumter. So much history that we had never known–especially about the 4 other surrounding forts that help with the defeat of Fort Sumter and the good friends who lead opposing armies. After returning to Charleston, we found a small Greek restaurant for lunch. Then we toured part of historic Charleston by a horse drawn carriage. Again so much history to assimilate. This part of the US has so much to see/learn in the struggles of our country. So many forts were built to protect different cities by the British, French, Confederates and the Union and many still stand today.

Georgetown–we continued our journey to the small town of Georgetown. We tied up at Georgetown Landing Marina. Docking went well in spite of the strong current of the river. That is until Tim asked for hat so we could go register at the office. Score one for the river which now has possession of Tim’s wallet. I think that’s 3 or 4 things we have lost off the boat.

Besides the “drama” of loosing the wallet, the time in this town was really interesting. We learned about the rice plantations in the area and the subsequent slave trade which thrived here because if it. We toured the rice museum and learned that this area of our country supplied 75% of the rice to the world in its heyday. The use of fresh water from the rivers in the rice fields even when surrounded by salt water was no small feat, but accomplished.

We also toured the maritime museum and continued our education of the slave trade in this area. We enjoyed eating at Soco (means southern comfort food) many times while we visited this small town. There were many historical homes in the area. We had dinner with the crews of Boundless & Boomerang.

We left Georgetown in the early morning fog and headed to Myrtle Beach Yacht Club, on the way to Southport, NC.

Myrtle Beach–We forgot that traveling on Friday afternoon through the weekend the waters are crazy busy. The trip today was uneventful until we reached Myrtle Beach–lots of boaters who don’t care about their wake and numerous jet skiers everywhere. We both were on high alert watching the jet skiers as most of them were rental customers. We arrived at Myrtle Beach Yacht Club where again our boat was one of the smaller boats, but everyone was very friendly. It was nice to get off the ICW for the night. We enjoyed a dinner at the yacht club restaurant….not one I would recommend.

One thing I didn’t mention was the Rock Pile we had to traverse while on the ICW. There was a lot of “noise” about this area and it was strongly recommended to stay in the middle of the channel. We went thru this area close to low tide, so the rocks were very apparent and we did as we were told. No issues thankfully!!!!

Southport–Deep Point Marina. We chose this marina for our extended stay while we go to Marion for an important occasion. The location is outside of town, so we rode our bikes in to town for the looper gathering on the Creech’s porch. The Creech’s are harbor hosts and enjoy sharing their porch with all the loopers who pass by their house by boat. They are very hospitable. We enjoyed some down time before Brianna came for a visit. Before she arrived we prepared the boat for our 2 week absence. We were able to introduce Bri to some of our traveling buddies over dinner at a local restaurant (nice to have a car to drive into town). Tuesday morning, with drove with Brianna to TVR where we picked up Tim’s truck. Wednesday morning we headed to Marion where our sweet grand daughter (2.5 months old) resides. The next morning Tim headed to Grand Rapids to run lots of errands and buy a new water pump for the boat while I stayed with Kailey/Brady and enjoyed being with Maya. The 24th was the big date we came for–the official adoption day in court. She is officially our grand daughter and Kailey/Brady’s daughter forever (according to the judge). We are heading back to TVR with an air-stream camper we purchased while Tim was in Grand Rapids.