South Carolina

Arriving in South Carolina. A week in South Carolina. We spent our week seeing the vegetation change, golf courses galore and meeting old friends. After our week travelling in Georgia, we arrived in South Carolina. Our first stop Hilton Head. We stopped at Hilton Harbour Marina. This small marina and RV park has a beautiful unheated pool overlooking the Waterway. The beach is all shells, not the nice crushed ones either. Yvon found out when his hat flew off the deck. He had to jump the fence and climb down to retrieve it before the nine feet tide swallows it.

Later, we called Uber to go out for dinner. He picked us up in a 2008 Jaguar. Not too shabby. Turns out the restaurant had burnt down, and our driver recommended another restaurant. It was a great meal.

We started the next day with a short twenty miles to Beaufort. It is the second largest city in South Carolina. It has a beautiful historic center and the city marina is minutes from it. They offer a free shuttle to see it. After the tour, we walked to the Chocolate Tree. We bought a box of chocolate from the same place that Forest Gump had in the movie. After, we walked to the bridge where he stopped running. We stopped running before we reached the bridge. For your information, there is a 10 miles run every year across the bridge should you wish to relive that moment.It also has an annual Water Festival since 1956.

Beaufort is were we celebrated eight months on the Great Loop.

We moved on the Charleston, the largest city in South Carolina. The marina has a courtesy van to take to the historic district. We took advantage of it three times. It is such a beautiful old city. The buildings are impressive. They have an old market that is still open but they don't sell fish, fruits and vegetables anymore. It has been replaced with handcrafted goods, pastries and souvenirs. We had lunch at Hyman. It is a fifth generation restaurant. I sat at the same table as Anthony Hopkins, just not on the same day. We also ate at the Kicking Chicken. Wish we had more time to spend here.

We are off to Georgetown. It is the third largest city in South Carolina. It felt like a town though. Unfortunately, all the museums were closed. We walked around and saw those old mansions and we had dinner with our friends. The city has a Harborwalk on the waterfront and we took it to return to the boat. It's a place worth visiting again.

Our last stop in South Carolina was North Myrtle Beach. We have visited it before but the changes were surprising. Miles and miles of condos and luxury homes line the ICW.

We spent time there with Loopers from Idaho. We originally met them in Joliet and have continued seeing them here and there. We followed them out of South Carolina but we continued a few hours further. When we arrived in North Carolina we met other Loopers that we had lost touch with. It looks like this will happen again and again. Well here is our journey so far. It's starting to look like a loop.

Next best thing to flying is boating.. even birds hitch rides.

Georgia Hospitality and Turbulent Times

This is our view during the storm. When we left Florida in Fernandina, we quickly crossed Georgia's State line. Our first stop was on Jekyll Island. We had a minor boat problem when we arrived and we asked the dock hand for the nearest boat supplies store and he gave us directions and loaned his truck. It was true southern hospitality. We drove the fifteen miles to West Marine, got some provisions and returned. We even stopped on the side of the road to smell the wild roses. We drove on Highway 17 North to get there. It feels like home.

Jekyll Island was once the playground of the rich and famous. It was a private, members only club. In 1942, during the second world war, the Jekyll Island Club was closed and went bankrupt. There were eighteen winter homes there and other buildings Sixteen of these homes remain standing as well as the hotel, condo and play areas.

There is a lot of history there. The first transatlantic telephone call was made on the island, when Rockefeller called Alexander Graham Bell. The first condo in America was built there. The island is seven miles long and the Atlantic side is all beach. Sixty-five percent of the island is green space. Lots of beaches and many bike trail. The historic district is beautiful of grand homes. As Well, the Grand Hotel, the Wharf Club,the nondenominational chapel and the infirmary.

We met up with friends Don and Pam. They were coming to visit their friends. It was great that our paths crossed. They were returning from Florida and stopping on their way to Ontario. We met for a nice dinner at The Corsair. Pam and I took the Trolley Tour, while the men played cards.

We returned to the boat once I got a tornado alert on my phone. We added fenders and more lines. It was a bit scary but it missed us. We got a thunderstorm, torrential rain and strong winds. The boys weren't too worried.

The next day we planned on leaving but the winds were still strong so we stayed an extra night. We had record low water. Some boats in the marina were sitting in mud at low tide, we were spared that nightmare. I took some pictures, but a professional photographer approached us to possibly post a picture of our boat in a boating magazine. He has one hundred photos in the Waterway Guide that we are using. Hope our boat makes the cut.

We left on Tuesday, after waiting for the winds to calm down. It was calm, but we were waked by two disrespectful powerboaters. Everthing that wasn't closed or tied went flying. We aren't used to that kind of boating. No big mess but frustrating. We spent the night under the stars at Cattle Creek with three other boats. The sunset was beautiful as it set in The Savannahs of Georgia. Miles and miles of marshland. Later the sky was full of stars.

Our last stop in Georgia was on Isle of Hope at the marina. We did some reprovisioning and had a great meal at Castaway. We chose it because it was packed of locals. We weren't disappointed.

Well now we left Georgia for South Carolina. More adventures to follow. I've changed the map format and hope this shows well.

Spring is the Season to Think Boating' GR

Oldest City and Out of Florida

Well we on our way to exit Florida but first a stop in the oldest city in the USA and the first city in Florida.

Leaving St. Augustine in the rain.

St. Augustine is the oldest city in the USA. It was built by the Spaniards in 1555. The Castillo de San Marcos is a 17th century Spanish stone fortress built to protect them from invaders.  It was never defeated.

We watched a reenactment of a battle while there. They wore period costumes and fired a canon with military precisions.

Fort from the water.

This city is a great place to visit.  Lots to see and do. Just walking around to see the architecture and cobblestone streets is enough for me.  We spent the day there and ended it with a lovely dinner at The Columbia. It has been operating one hundred years.

Our marina is a nice walk to the Old Town. We spend several days walking the streets and reading historical plaques. Taking in the sights and enjoying local cuisine.

We stayed longer then planned because our buddy boat needed a new fuel line. They ordered it and they received the wrong one, not once but three times.  It's not a bad place to be stranded in.

We had our Sunday lunch at the Metro diner. What a busy place! The food was delicious and affordable.  We also met other loopers and we enjoyed docktails at our marina.

Well on our sixth day they asked us to move our boat. It was pouring rain with thunder. We decided that because the older docks are more difficult to enter, we rolled our lines and departed.  We left Sylvie and Luc but will meet up soon.

Bridge of Lions

When we left, it was raining but at least  the early thunderstorms had stopped.  We were keeping a close watch on the weather radar with a plan to anchor if the storm neared us.  We found a safe anchorage at Pine Island.  There were some boats already anchored. Lots of room for everyone.  By nightfall, we were ten boats.

Our last stop in Florida was Fernandina. It the most northerly city in Florida. It is an historical and industrial city. This city has flown seven flags over its time.  There is a papermill on one side and a port for ocean ships on the other side. They are linked by a railway line on the waterfront.  At the north end there is a fort.

Shrinking Boats

There are several museum there and we visited the History Museum. It was great to see the rich history of the now extinct native population before the arrival of the Spaniards.  Several other displays showing the rich history of the building and the local economy.

Of course we ate out, and our favorite was the Amelia Tavern.  What a great place to try the locally caught shrimp and the peanut pie.

We are leaving the Sunny Florida for the State of Georgia. More adventures await. This was our last sunset for a while in Florida. We were entertained by a pod of dolphins frolicking in the water just before the sunset.

Here is our journey so far.  Not sure that map was a good choice. Still fun to document it.

http://www.scribblemaps.com/maps/view/Wt4h2Q71PF