Georgetown, Myrtle Beach and Southport, N.C.

May 8 - 10, 2002 - Georgetown, Myrtle Beach and Southport, N.C.

We left Charlestown at 8:00 a.m. on another hot, steamy day for Georgetown, 70 miles away. We had a little trouble finding our way through the channel back onto the ICW. The markers were so confusing. Gosh, there seems to be some sort of challenge every day. Once we were settled on the ICW, we were fine but it was very slow going as there were so many no wake spots. Homes, docks, marinas and fishermen - all of which made us slow down. There were also tons of crab pots to dodge. The dolphins were feeding all along in the shallow waters, and it is always exciting to see them. It was SO HOT, and the black flies were almost unbearable. We felt real grimmey. We arrived around 3:00 and walked to town. It was real quiet at that time of day, so we ate dinner and called a cab to take us back to the marina, as it was a long walk. I really messed up on our choice of marina this time, as ours was out of town, and there was one right in town, so I was frustrated. Wonder if I'll get fired from my job???? Sure, could I get that lucky???

Well, we waited an hour and the cab was a no show, so we were forced to walk all the way back and it was 8:00 at night. James was in his stroller, so he was quite content and went right to bed when we got back. Guess what?? James sleeps in grandma and grandpa's room in his pack and play. He goes right to bed and doesn't make a peep until 8:00 am. Amazing. Sometimes he wakes up earlier and plays with his truck, and then falls back to sleep.

Georgetown looked like a nice town, but we felt we had to move on the next day. It is the 3rd oldest municipality in South Carolina. It is also one of the 3 port cities in the state and is a great fishing spot and resort and has 100 churches, with an average temperature of 64.8 degrees. Wish we could have spent a day to take the historic tours and see more of the city.

The trip from Georgetown to North Myrtle Beach and Dock Holidays Marina was 55 miles. The scenery was much prettier today, and the weather was better. There was a little breeze, which kept us cooler. The tide was very high in the morning and we were in fresh water. We passed a big sailboat from, where else - Boulder Colorado - odd, isn't it???? We passed many pretty, small marinas and boat launches along the way. There were lots of beautiful little inlets and cuts, where boats were anchored. Many turtles sunned themselves in logs along the shore. We passed by a section of the waterway where a sand dyke had broken a few days before, which had shut down the ICW near Myrtle Beach for a couple of days but it was open by the time we passed through. It was a pleasant cruising day with the wind on our faces winding through narrow passages and the many golf courses. One had a cable car going across the ICW caring golf clubs. That sure looked funny. James gave us 1 million kisses all around, which we didn't complain about. He has made a little fort under Grandpa's helm seat and plays there.

The trip to South Port on Friday was only about 40 miles, but it took much longer as we had to wait for a pontoon bridge to open and they only opened on the hour, SO, we waited along with all the other boats. We finally arrived in South Port around 3:00, and had quite a time getting docked, and the wind had picked up and a storm was threatening. We finally got in the slip with the help of the VILLAGE. We walked around town and had dinner and it started to rain just as we stepped back on the boat…lucky! It was a heavy, fast rain…but it didn't last long. On to Sneads Ferry tomorrow which will be a long day. Sunday we go to Beaufort, North Carolina where we will stay for a day or so to see everything.