Moving on: Georgetown SC, Myrtle Beach, and Bald Head NC

Charleston is beautiful on land and in the water. We left on Tuesday morning following Memorial Day. Martha is joining us for the week. It is SOOO nice to have friends and family on board.

It was quiet on the water as we passed close by Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie, famous for their roles in the start of the Civil War.

It is funny how the ICW looks like any river we have traveled on this trip. Houses every so often sometimes grouped together and sometimes not; sometimes big sometimes small. Bugs. Always those stupid flies that are about 1 inch long with ugly green heads. So far no biting that we can tell. The flies leave that for the no-see-ums. The vista is marshes, flat land, a few hills, scrub trees and crab pots.

We eat lunch while the boat is traveling. I work and relieve Kermit for potty breaks. Kermit drives and chats on the radio with Jim’s Joy and One September. That is our day on the water! Work, work, work.

The sun is getting stronger as the summer sets in. That means sunscreen and bug spray mixing with sweat and deodorant for a fragrant perfume that must be washed off before bed time or we can’t sleep for the stench and the sweat. Lovely.

Tuesday evening we arrived in Georgetown at about3pm. We were tired but this is a cute little town so we went for a walk. Unfortunately we got going just as the museums were closing so we missed the Rice Museum and the house tours. All we could do was walk around. And have ice cream of course! This little town has TWO shops with homemade ice cream. These people really know how to live. 

 

The community works hard to keep Georgetown nice and to display the history. Evidently Sherman knew he did his job by the time he reached the coast so he didn’t destroy these coastal towns. Georgetown, Beaufort SC, and Charleston came through the Civil War pretty much untouched so all these towns have buildings dating from the 1700s.

The marina is really nice, tucked into a little corner at the end of the river walk. We met a fellow on a sailboat across from us from Dayton. He used to dock at Sandusky Harbor Marina at the other end of Sandusky Bay! When he was ready to retire he took a ruler and measured the shortest distance to the ocean from Dayton. That brought him to the area between NC and SC. He keeps his boat at the shore and returns home periodically. It is a 13 hour drive. I think that is a great model. We might return to that idea for our future.

Joy and Jim

Judy and Mike

Katherine and Kermit -
what is with that hair?

Georgetown has an early synagogue and church dating from the 1700s as well as shops and homes from that period. It is fascinating that South Carolina was one of the only original states founded on religious freedom. Jews were encouraged to come as the Inquisition wound down in Europe. They could own land in South Carolina and become full-fledged members of the community. So even a small town like Georgetown has a synagogue dating from the early 1800s. It is one of the best parts of South Carolina and a surprise.

 

We pumped out at Georgetown. This is the first time since we left Sandusky that gas has been less expensive than diesel and also both fuels are under $4 per gallon. YEAH!!! 

We saw a bunch of eagles and
osprey feeding their kids

This crazy guy skiied passed our boat and slapped the side

As we approached Myrtle Beach things got crazy. We no longer had the beautiful trees and quiet water. We had crazy stuff along the side (like these old animals) and crazy boaters.

This fellow on the skis was flitting in and out of the boats. As he passed our boat he slapped the side!! Kermit was livid!! He passed us and did the same thing to One September.

Then he did the same thing to One September

Then he fell in the water and we passed him again - CRAZY

We tried to stop for gas at a little hole cut in the underbrush but after sitting in the narrow river for about 30 minutes, we decided to move on. Jim’s Joy took on fuel. They were at least 30 minutes behind us when they pulled into Barefoot with an unbelievable story of elephants in the ICW. That is right. ELEPHANTS. 

No way. Not possible. You must be crazy. Then she brought out the camera. Sure enough, there is a big elephant in the river. We must have been about 30 minutes early so we missed the little fellow. But Joy did not. We googled "elephants in the ICW" and sure enough our buddies Why Knot saw him too when they passed last year. Joy graciously agreed to share her picture with you all. 

A fox!!

The ICW between Georgetown and Myrtle Beach is the Waccamaw River and it beautiful with trees along the sides and over the water and some nice houses. I would come back here in a minute. It is so much better than the swamps; I mean marshes, in the Georgia and South Carolina low country. I don't need that experience again. In fact, aside from the few nice towns, there is not much to return to in GA and SC. I don't need the bugs. 

Judy and Mike crossed their wake!!

One September closed their loop at Myrtle Beach!! We had a bottle of Champaign while they changed their flag. Then dinner and a walk around Barefoot. 

Barefoot is code word for Myrtle Beach. The marina is a wall alongside a shopping center which is code word for a huge accumulation of t-shirt shops. At least it was quiet. Rusty liked it because people petted him wherever he walked. 

While I was walking Rusty passed Greg Norman's restaurant, The Australian, we ran into a cat blocking the path. Nice kitty! As usual Rusty was trailing pretty far behind me so the kitty didn't see Rusty I peeked over the railing and saw that the kitty was guarding four of the cutest kittens I have ever seen. Big blue eyes, fluffy fur, the whole package. Then the nice kitty noticed Rusty and all hell broke out. The kittens didn't care but mama cat was not amused. We turned around and ran away with our tails between our legs. We ran into the kitties again with Judy later in the evening. Same reaction.  

We continued our journey on Thursday morning to Bald Head NC. 

This place is wonderful! When Judy and Mike visited a few years ago there were a few nice houses, a nice marina, and only golf carts. The island has grown since then. The marina is still great but there are lots more houses along the ocean, the marshes, and in the woods. It is so beautiful. I could just stay.

Bald Head is right at the junction of the ICW and the ocean near Southport NC. Three ferries service the island.

We rented a golf cart to tour the island, stopping at the private club at the Cape Fear end of the island so we could walk on the beach. Nice.

Judy inside the lighthouse

On Friday Judy, Mike, Kermit and I climbed Old Baldy, the big lighthouse at the tip of Cape Fear, just around the corner from the marina. Kermit really hates heights but he was a big sport and climbed to the very top then immediately climbed back down!!

Kermit hates this!!

Mike going down

Then we went swimming. I really enjoyed the beach. It was exactly what we needed!!

Mike and Kermit getting squashed by a wave!

Friday morning I had the privilege of being the guest of the Loopers radio show at 10am weekly. They asked me to talk about working while taking the loop. It was lots of fun!! Thanks for Steve and Janice Kromer for asking. I really enjoyed the talk.

Here is a link to the radio segment in case you want to listen!!

After the radio show I got a note from Tanya Baldwin, a lady I have been corresponding with about working on the loop. Turns out she lives in Southport!! So she came over to join us for dinner on Good Karma. Chicken parmesan, squash lasagna, and great conversation!!

Martha left on Friday evening too, taking the ferry to Southport where her friend picked her up to drive her back home to Greenville NC. Martha was going to stay on until Sunday in Beaufort where we were going to dive with Blue Region Scuba. But she got an interview for a great job in Boston on Tuesday. She needed the weekend to get ready for the interview. I am all in favor of anything “interview” especially for Martha so off she went.

Martha will be putting up a guest blog shortly with her perspective on what it is like to be a loopers and what life on Good Karma is really like. I can’t wait to hear!! Or at least I think I can’t wait…

Our schedule does not permit more than 2 days in Bald Head. We took off early in the morning. Our target was an anchorage at Top Sail but the wind was high, the water was skinny and the boaters were CRAZY. Dozens of little boats going as fast as they can create massive wakes in the relatively narrow and very skinny channels.
 

 On the way to TopSail, we passed Camp Lejuene, our second marine facility. This one has a firing range on the east side of the river with real tanks and boxes used for target practice. No marines today although Kermit had some fun on the radio pointing out imaginary snipers. 

Guy digging for clams on the sandbar

It was hotter than heck and the water looked amazing. But we pulled into a marina without a swimming pool and no access to swimmable water. We could have dropped the dinghy and headed out to the sandbar just opposite the marina but no one had the energy. So we took naps and I worked on the book some more. Great vegetable based dinner on One September with a bunch of laughs then early to bed.

on the way to Beaufort - it is starting to be a vacation destination

Today we are headed to Beaufort NC. We are a day late for our diving appointment so we won’t be diving. 

Jim's Joy pulling into Beaufort on a really windy day
It took a bunch of people to catch us when we pulled in

We need to be in Washington DC 6/15 through 6/18 with Marissa. We want to fit in visits with Matt and Kelly Penn this week in the Outer Banks and Bill Vellucci and his entourage in the Outer Banks before 6/23. I think we can make this happen. It is so nice to introduce new and old friends. After DC we will return to the southern end of the Chesapeake to visit with One September in their natural habitat and travel with them to Annapolis. We might be with Jim’s Joy during this time too, depending on their schedule.

In the meantime, happy June!