Update February 27- March 1, 2016

The day started out with a six pack of Krispy Kreme donuts compliments of the marina that were delivered before 7 am,  Yes, I shared 3 with Andy.  We took a bus into Savannah at 8 am and purchased ticked for the Old town trolley tour which had 16 stops   where you could get on and off and resume the tour ( this was much better than the trolley tour we had taken earlier in Key West)  Savannah is laid out in 24 squares/ green space/parks dating back to the 1700’s which are dedicated to important people like James Madison, the 4^th president of the U.S.A and had  historic monuments..   There were many historical buildings and great mansions as well as churches, including the bench used in the Forest Gump movie, where Tom Hanks sat with the box of  chocolates..  Many of the older building have been purchased by SCAD  (Savannah college of Art and Design)  restored to original , and re-purposed as part of the college.  Our original tour guide was very informative so we stayed with him until stop 14.  We then got off at the City Market where we tried Pralines as well as Byrd cookies.

  We resumed the tour at stop 2 and saw parts of the city again.   Because it was after lunch we got off at stop 10 and had lunch at the Pirates House,

which was originally a seaman’s tavern in the days of sailing ships and pirates.   Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island was said to be inspired by events that occurred here.  We were seated in the Herb house,

which is considered the oldest surviving home in Georgia, built in 1734.  Lunch was a buffet with many southern treats including, greens, okra, fried chicken, black eyed peas and roast pork.   We got back on the trolley and only went a couple stops to the riverfront, to do more shopping and take some pictures.  I remember hearing from Debbie Sobering how the convention centre had been across the river from her hotel a few years back when AACC was in Savannah.

  At the waterfront there was a place called the Echo Chamber, where you could whisper something and you can hear it echo.  We also saw the waving girl statue

and the Olympic cauldron from the water events of the 1996 Olympics.

We caught another trolley, which happened to have our original tour guide and finished the tour.  It was approaching 3:00 we opted to catch our bus back to the Thunderbolt marina.

On Sunday, after the Krispy Kreme  delivery, we left the marina.  It was only 40 F, but the water was like glass, not even a ripple–first time that this had happened on the trip

We took the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway which was comprised of  several rivers, creek, and cuts between them, including several Sounds.  We were soon out of the state of Georgia, and entered South Carolina. The scenery didn’t change much—more marsh or “low country” and wildlife preserves.  I keep thinking there must be something they can grow in the marshlands that would make them profitable– it seems such a waste.

I saw this guy paddle boarding early Sunday morning .

We went through Hilton  Head , and I took pictures of these two marinas

Saw this little beach house near Hilton Head too.

We went through  Beaufort, and  Parris Island, which is the Marine corps recruit training depot– couldn’t miss it- see the water tower!.

We ended up anchoring in Rock creek at mile 516.1—a 67 mile day.

Because it was such a calm day, I took a number of pictures of  the waves– I remember studying waves in Grade 11 physics- but don’t recall any more than that.;;;;;;

On Monday morning we left before 8 to continue on with our trek to Myrtle Beach.  We again went through a number of rivers, and sounds,  and passed though the busy port of Charleston at about 1330.

The wind began to pick up to about 10-15 miles per hour and caused some ugly waves in the harbour.    We had planned to anchor at Dewees Creek, but when we checked out the suggested spots, there was no protection from the wind so we decided to go 4 miles farther to Whiteside Creek, at mile 451.5, (so another 65 mile day).   It had a bunch of trees near one shore that gave us some shelter from the wind.  Once it became dark, the wind seemed to subside.

    On Tuesday, we were up early and left before 700,  we had decided that we could make Myrtle Beach, if the currents were favourable, as it was only about 67 miles.    We saw these two guys in this little boat-  I think they were trolling  or was he paddling like a gondolier?–not really sure.

We had only been traveling a couple of hours when we came to the rescue of a fellow boater.  A sailboat had gone aground outside of the channel and the  wake from the boat ahead of us had pushed him further towards the bank.  He threw us a line and we pulled him off the shoal.

The scenery was similar to the previous few days, but as we proceed north in South Carolina, there were more trees and bush, we even saw  what looked like a  fire tower  near the channel.

We also came across this sign- but didn’t see the bridge in operation.

At the Wacca Wache Marina, we saw this  multi mast sailboat tied up.

Also saw a few advertisements for our marina along the trip.

We arrived at Osprey Marina at 3:45,  the first slip that they had assigned to us was too narrow, so we are currently on an end dock.  The plan is to stay here for the entire month of  March, so Andy can get some golf in with his buddies, and I can re-charge (and do some shopping while Andy is golfing).