Tuesday 11/14 - Georgetown SC

We got up early since we had a full schedule of things to do before returning to the Marina.  First was a drive up and down the three or four blocks that parallel the waterfront, looking at old homes.  Georgetown is the third oldest town in South Carolina (behind Charleston and Beaufort).  Many of the houses date back to the 1700s.  It was sunny but pretty cool out so we decided to drive vs. walk.  Then, at 10am, we went on a one our drive around guided tour that provided lots of the town's history.  Then we toured the county historical society museum.  And last, but not least, the Rice Museum.  It was surprising to me that rice was such an important crop in the area.  What made it do so well was the 5 fresh water rivers that flow into the flatlands near the mouth of the Winyah River.  What made it so profitable was that 90 percent of the people in the area were slaves that were first used to clear the land, build the fields with systems of dikes, and then farm the land.  When the slaves were freed, the industry in the area died. 

We left Georgetown around 1pm and drove about 20 miles north to the Brookstone Gardens.  This is a sculpture garden with hundreds of stone and bronze sculptures - all by American artists.  We went on a guided tour and then walked around a lot on our own.  This place is huge - about the size of Longwood Gardens near home.  It was definitely worth the time and the entrance fee.  There are not many flower gardens but many many shrubs and beautiful live oak and other trees. 

We returned to the marina around 6pm and then went out for my final grocery shopping.

Monday  11/13, 2017 -  Day trip to Georgetown SC

After spending much of the morning going to various stores around the marina, Joan and I left for Georgetown.  It was about a 45 minute drive.  We did several touristy things and had a real nice day.   Georgetown has a really nice board walk along the riverfront.  At the north end is a beautiful home that we toured.  

Sunday 11/12 - Backtrack to Southport and Carolina Beach

This morning, Joan and I had an unrushed departure from our hotel in Southport.  Our goal was to catch the 10am ferry from Southport to Fort Fisher (south of Carolina Beach).  From where you exit the ferry it is about a mile to the Fort Fisher Memorial.  Fort Fisher was important to the South during the Civil War since it was used to protect the Cape Fear river from blockades that the Union was using to prevent the Confederates from moving supplies up the river to Wilmington. 

There are some pretty ocean side beaches there but it was cool and windy so we didn't spend too much time out of the car.  We drove up through several miles of beach communities to the more developed city of Carolina Beach.  We went to the Carolina Beach Marina where I had kept the boat 2 weeks before at the State Park Marina.  We hiked on some trails in the park that were supposed to have venus flytraps.  As hard as I tried, I never did see one.  It reminded me of the exiting times I had with my grandson Jaylen watching many youtube videos of the flytraps catching bugs (when he was 4). 

Then we went over to Michaels Seafood (restaurant) just outside the park.  It was the place I had gone to watch a Penn State game and had the owner of the restaurant take me to a friends house to watch the game.   Unfortunately, she was not there so we missed thanking her again.

We caught the 1pm ferry and did a little more walking around Southport before leaving to return to the boat.

Saturday 11/11/2017 Backtrack to Southport (by car)

Joan arrived today.  She took an earlier flight through Philly and got here around 10 am.  By the time she got a rental car, and drove to the marina, it was 11.  I was sure glad to see her.  We ate the last two donuts in the marina lounge, gulped down a cup of coffee and were on our way north to Southport.  Southport is near the mouth of the Cape Fear River and is a really neat little historic town and fishing village.  We spent the afternoon doing touristy things (Maritime Museum, Visitors Center, River walk, and the self guided historic district walk.  We also went quickly through a couple antique shops.  It was cool and breezy out but was nice and sunny.  We had a nice dinner at the Fishy Fishy Café and then drove over to the Southport Marina where Hank Palmeranz gave a great lecture on what to watch for when heading south on the ICW.  He gives the lecture every night at 6 pm for boats headed south in the fall and again for boats headed north in the spring.  He had a great, detailed, handout and many, many great tips.  Of course, I ignored the first 10 minutes since I had already traveled through that 60 mile area.

Friday 11/10/2017 - Osprey Marina Layover

Of course, I knew today was my 70th birthday but it was nice that my phone reminded me when I first woke up around 5:30 this morning.  I was looking forward to Joan's arrival today but her flight got cancelled so we will have to (hopefully) wait till tomorrow.  It was a cool but beautiful day with lots of sun.  I did a little boat work - some minor sail repair and finished getting my new Mantus anchor all rigged up.

Having been here at Osprey for over a week, I'm beginning to feel like I'm on a merry go round.  People are coming and going all the time.  It's been fun because I've been able to meet a number of really nice cruisers.  Today, one of the cruisers staying here agreed to show several of us their slide show of the circumnavigation they did 40 years ago.  It was fascinating and very interesting.  In fact, it was the highlight of my day!  Of course, they were around 30 at that time.  Then, 18 years later, they made essentially the same trip (but on a newer boat - a Vallient 40 which they now have) with their two boys (age 9 and 11).  Kitty told me all about how the school system sent them books so they could home school for the 4 years between 1987 and 1991.  Below is a short video of Scott, Kitty to my right, and the "audience".   Meeting people like this is what makes a trip like this so meaningful - to me.

Thursday 11/9/2017 Osprey Marina Layover

Now this was an eventful day!  It rained most of the day and is raining right now (7pm). It was also cold (for this area).  I think the high was 53.  Fortunately, I have a small space heater that is able keep things pretty comfortable inside.  I spent  several hours this morning in the Marina Lounge.  I was working on planning my remaining trip south to Florida and also my trip home and back over Christmas.  With the rain, there were a number of cruisers in the lounge and I had some nice conversations with several.  Some of these people have LOTS more experience at this than me and I'm getting all kinds of good tips.  I do expect I'll see some of them again between now and next May.

Wednesday 11/8/2017

It's now Thursday and I can't even remember what I did yesterday.  It was obviously not a very productive or meaningful day.  Of course, I was still at Osprey Marina.  Oh - I DID go with a new friend to Sam's club to use my membership card so he could buy a new Group 31 battery for his boat.  The remainder of the day must have been just squandered away??