Nearing the end of the ICW

Saturday, April 20

When you travel north too early in the year you have to face some
colder weather. Perhaps that is why we haven't had to fight for a
dock space or an anchoring spot so far as we have progressed on
our return trip. Anchoring in Georgia and South Carolina we had
the places to ourselves, which was special in its own way. It's great
to meet people but it's also nice to be immersed in the wilderness
experience sometimes.

Guess what? We got to experience another grounding, this time in
South Carolina. It was a period of extra low tides, making for very
shallow passageways. Boat US is not going to be happy with us but
the tow boat operator was extremely busy that day running from one
grounded boat to the next, fielding calls the whole time. He gets paid
handsomely for his time though. He stays busy policing a short stretch
of the Waterway. The lack of dredging has been good for his business.
This time while we waited for higher tides to refloat us we laid way over
on our side precariously due to him trying to pull us to the side initially.
Most everything on the boat shifted to the low side while we leaned
over for a couple of hours waiting. At least we provided entertainment
to all the passing boats as they stopped to gawk and take pictures of
our exposed bottom (we had no decency).

Our next stop was Southport, a charming town that was the
site of a movie made last summer and has an interesting free museum we
enjoyed. We stayed at Indigo Plantation Marina and had a nice two mile
bile ride into town. We found out we could have stayed at the Provisioning
Company dock overnight with the purchase of dinner but we had been
warned ahead of time by a local that it being the first nice Saturday of the
year the dock spaces (2) would be already taken. We ate at the restaurant
anyways. It was good and reasonably priced too. The boaters were out in
force with the nice weather that day and the next at Wrightsville Beach,
where we stayed at the Dockside Restaurant dock, which wasn't free with
the purchase of a meal but was handy.

Heading out the next day we traveled through a thirty mile stretch with
bridges with restricted opening schedules that kept us bunched up with
five other boats, The last bridge of the group was experiencing mechanical
difficulties and we were forced to anchor for two hours waiting for the
repair crew to get it working. Thankfully they were successful and we
were able to continue on. That was the first time that has happened to us
on this trip and we've gone through lots of opening bridges.

We are presently at Coinjock, NC, mile marker 50 of the ICW. This
place is famous for its prime rib dinner at the marina restaurant. It was
a 32 ounce prime rib that was wonderful. I think Carol was more thrilled
with the baked potato, which she loves but has not had for ages. Afterward
we enjoyed a really good local band at the restaurant at our marina over
on the opposite side of the canal. We are staying at the Midway Marina
but most boats stay at the Coinjock Marina.

We are staying at many different places from the ones we visited on the
way down, meeting new people and enjoying the new adventures.
We will be in the Chesapeake Bay this next week and are aiming to be
in Annapolis next weekend if the weather cooperates. We hope to visit
with some family while there and also some friends we've met.

Sitting on the high side so we don't slide off 

while the boat lays on its side in the mud.

 

We shared this prime rib and still had leftovers.

 

Enjoying a Protracted Spring

April 10,2013

Spring is such a beautiful time of year. What if you could stretch it out
and make it last for two or three months? We hope to see azaleas in bloom
for several months as we head north. They were blooming two weeks ago
in Georgia, were gorgeous in Savannah and on up through South Carolina.
The native azaleas were beautiful along the Waccamaw River of South
Carolina today as we traveled what we consider one of the prettiest stretches
of the whole Intracoastal Waterway.
Today started with a misty sunrise at our anchorage in the wilderness marsh
area of Minim Creek in SC. Shortly after we raised the anchor and headed
down the river we were joined by lots of dolphins, which continue to thrill
us even though we see them most days. Along the river today we were
seldom out of sight of an osprey nest as they are ubiquitous here. Some
nests had small heads showing above the edge as their families grow. We
also had some eagle sightings today. The Waccamaw River winds through
cypress swamps, a change from the salt marsh grass of Georgia and
southern SC.

Osprey Marina, along the Waccamaw River.

We've gained a little more experience dealing with running aground the last
couple of weeks as we've had a few long days which cause us to go through
some shallow areas at low tide. Basically what is required is to wait for the
tide to rise and lift us off, which helps develop patience.

We were in Savannah for a week while Heather and Tim were visiting. We
had a great time catching up with them and sightseeing in Savannah, a great
city.We enjoyed good eating at Paula Deen's restaurant and her brother's
restaurant, too. The marina we stayed at was part of The Landings, a private
island of 4500 homes, lots of bike paths, beautiful homes and golf courses,
and all at a better price than the other marinas we've stayed at. We loved it
there. It feels just like Hilton Head only without the tourists.

Experiencing Savannah with Heather and Tim.

 

Three great cooks in one picture.

 

Coming north we've been anchoring more than when coming down as the
weather has been better. We have been trying to stay at different places
than last fall to get new experiences. Traveling north we stage things
differently some days due to restricted lift bridges and shallow stretches
of the ICW.

Cumberland Island is a special place we passed by in the fall but spent two
days enjoying as we crossed into Georgia from Florida. It is a 14 mile long
island originally owned almost entirely by one of the Carnegies but is now
a National Park. It contains the ruins of some mansions and some restored
buildings but mostly is a park with beautiful forests of live oaks and pine.
It also has many miles of ocean beach, mostly deserted and wild, with
beautiful dunes and feral horses and lots of birds.

Biking the dirt road on Cumberland Island

under the live oaks hanging with Spanish moss.

 

Ruins of a Carnegie mansion on the island.

 

 

Since the weather forecast is pretty favorable we'll be pushing on tomorrow
to Southport, NC.

Enjoying my new hammock while anchored

in Birthday Creek on my birthday.