11/3 - 11/10/2015
I took time off the blog to write picture letters to all six grandchildren and am now seriously behind. The short story is that we stayed at Mile Hammock Bay an extra rainy day and motored on under dismal skies to Wrightsville Beach Anchorage the third day. Rafting up with Bay Breezin', we discussed possibilities and decided to push on the following day. The weather decided for us as we woke to thick fog. It cleared by mid morning and we had decided to dingy over for a stroll on the beach by then, it being only a couple blocks away. After a lovely stroll we checked out The Wrightsville Pier and had serious fishing discussion with the attendant. Leaving there we walked inland in search of food. Happening on King Neptunes we happily attacked their Neptunes Hibachi, a giant bowl with seafood of choice nestled on a bed of noodles and grilled vegetables. Yum! A stop at the famous Robert's Grocery store for quick provisioning and back to the boats. The next morning we motored just 6 1/2 hours to South Harbor Village Marina where we tied up for pump out, fuel, water, trash, laundry and showers. That included our short stint stuck on a shoal at Lockwoods Folly Inlet, gee I wonder where the folly comes in, lol. We were gawking at the shore birds and fishermen and the inlet sucked us in. The ICW took a jog to the right and could have used another marker or two. The congenial Towboat US captain had us off just a tad bit earlier than we probably could have floated off on our own with a rising tide. It was a wonderful place to spend a lazy hour, with all the activity going on all around us, especially the cast net demonstrations! Love these short days! We landed in Calabash Creek rafted up with Bay Breezin' the following day with just 6 1/2 hours more hours under our keels, plenty of time to climb in the dingy for a tour of Calabash, Seafood Capital of North Carolina. We had a late lunch at the famous Coleman's Original Calabash Seafood Restaurant overlooking the creek. The birds on the deck were a problem until I ran them off banging fork and knife for over five minutes. Guess they decided it wasn't worth it. Navigating our way up the back stairs on Nemo was tricky as our dingy was still hanging useless with a leak in one of the pontoons. Bay Breezin' is trying out their new anchor, the creek being a bit tight for rafting up. Interestingly enough, we are anchored in South Carolina. We motor sailed to Bucksport Marina along the Wacamaw River the following day. The .75/ft price at Bucksport kept us there another day. Jeffrey obligingly took us the half hour or so to Walmart for shopping. Bucksport is trying to build clientele after the marina had sat dormant for a number of years. Hence the low price. Jeff says he lives on site and is willing to open up for late arrivals or for fuel ups past normal operating hours. Seaweeds Restaurant and Bar is on site and during the season they have live music in the huge covered deck with attached tiki bar. The marina is run in combination with a campground. We had a surprisingly quiet couple nights sleep considering we were tied up parallel to the ICW. Another motor sail and here we are, rafted up on the Sampit River opposite Georgetown, South Carolina with plenty of time to stroll the streets and stop in our favorite bakery, the Kudzu. I mailed out the grand kids letters and we had a lovely late lunch on the deck overlooking the river at The Big Tuna, where all the locals eat. Melissa and I did a bit of window shopping and stopped in to the Kaminski House Museum gift shop where I picked up some kids games half price. Strolling the bricked garden paths we stopped by to admire the sea shell fountain. Last year it was under repair and shut down. Meeting up with the guys we decided to end the day with home made ice cream from the shop just off the town docks. Good choice. We ate it by the flag festooned courtyard, set up for Veterans Day, listening to a local play the clarinet. Lovely evening.