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| Darrell & Lisa (WHY KNOT) & Jim & Dale (SWEET PEA), with Captain Awesome & me |
But wait!! I'm getting way ahead of myself, as we went to Charleston, Georgetown, North Myrtle Beach, Cape Fear/Carolina Beach, Swansboro, Oriental, and Belhaven before we ever even heard of Coinjock.
So let's go back to Charleston, the Holy City, and begin our tale of historic sites, beauty, Jasmine, fried chicken, and surprise birthday visitors.
It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep secret from Ross, his son Joseph's plan to come with his brother Ross Jr. to see their Dad for his birthday. After the 18th time I asked Ross semi-suspiciously where he thought we might land around his birthday, and got the "I'm not sure" answer, I encouraged Joseph to spill the beans so we didn't miss out on their visit and have them chase us down like bounty hunters. Needless to say, Ross was thrilled they were driving all the way from NY to be with him for his 57th birthday (It's my Blog, I can say whatever I want.) We booked our stay for a week at Charleston City MegaDock. And Mega it was indeed! It was about a half mile from our slip to the marina office. We got there a few days early and had some time to tour Charleston and scope out some good restaurants before the Perrone Invasion.
We took our bikes downtown and explored this enchanting city! The first thing that struck me was the smell of jasmine that permeates the air. It's intoxicating! It's also much, much more pleasant than the sewage stink that wafted it's way to the marina from time to time, but I digress..
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| The first of many, many churches we saw |
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| The architecture.. |
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| We had a fabulous lunch at Blossom's |
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| The famous Gullah baskets made from sweetgrass |
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| We snuck a peak at one of Charleston's amazing private gardens |
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| A Magnolia, of course! |
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| Part of the "natural", English-style gardens |
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| Splendor in the grass |
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| Cypress knees |
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| Mmmm.. |
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| Happy Birthday, Baby!! |
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| Am I happy too or what?!? |
please...):
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| It's Nicholas, AKA Nick P., grandson extraordinaire, hidden in the trunk! |
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| Nick P & Popeye on TheZone |
We met Ross Jr. & Joseph in the parking lot of the marina. Joey says, "hey Pop, can you grab something from the trunk?" All of a sudden Nick popped up, Ross jumped back and made one of those scared girlie sounds, and was then laughing and crying at the same time. Ross & Nick P. are like two peas in a pod and he couldn't have been happier!
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| Perrone Studs |
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| This dish is called, "Big Nasty Biscuit w/Fried Chicken & Gravy |
We had some amazing meals, explored some historic sites including Fort Sumter and the Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum home to USS Yorktown and USS Laffey, laughed tons, played cards, watched movies, ate more....
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| Their motto is,"Grits Are Good For You" |
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| USS Yorktown |
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| Yup, that's fried okra by that homemade coleslaw think Ross had mac 'n cheese on the side for 10 consecutive meals! Onto Georgetown! The morning they left, we left as well and headed to our next adventure! The more we practice, the better we get at docking and we've both begun to gain confidence. Maybe too much! We cockily decided not to wear our headsets upon arriving at the Harborwalk Marina. We were told we would be pulling in on our starboard side and I went to the bow to prepare to throw the appropriate lines. All of a sudden I see we are going in stern first (unusual for my Captain), and we are docking on the port side. Unbeknownst to me, the starboard engine had stalled, and Ross was therefore unable to maneuver the boat as planned. Luckily, we didn't crash the dock or another boat and all's swell that ended swell. The engine idle needed to be adjusted. so that's that. Meanwhile, we learned our lesson and wear our headsets, aka Marriage Savers, so that we can always communicate, even though we look silly, like this::  Still in SC, Georgetown proved to be another sweet spot. It is South Carolina's third oldest city and has some beautiful historic homes on those tree lined streets named, as in the other cities, Water, or Church or Meeting, Main, or Front. We ended up spending a second night there due to weather conditions. This meant I got a pedicure, he got a haircut and we really did relax a bit. We also met some more Loopers! Ginny & Craig (BROWN EYED GIRL) and Mary & John (PASSPORT) invited us for our first "docktails". They have been Looping for about 6 months each and regaled us with their stories and offered helpful hints. They knew Carrie & John and other Loopers we'd met and told us we'd enjoy the Spring Rendezvous. We needed to make up some time after our long stops in St. Augustine and Charleston, and we plugged along from marina to marina heading north our usual 50 miles a day. Ross and I have been through some interesting moments together, not always seeing each other at our best, though always making the best of even those moments. I feel closer to him than ever before, and can't help but thank my lucky stars for having him in my life, and leading the life we are leading. As we arrived at Barefoot Marina in North Myrtle Beach, NC we were greeted by waves from our new pals from BROWN EYED GIRL and PASSPORT. How wonderful that felt! We have been meeting more and more Loopers at every stop. Some who have completed their journey, others who are even newer than us. Always, it's a comfort to see one another.   We next docked in Swansboro at Casper's Marina owned and run by this sweet couple and their grandson. Talk about Southern hospitality! They offered to drive us to the Piggly Wiggly themselves. (I just LOVE saying Piggly Wiggly. Piggly Wiggly Piggly Wiggly Piggly Wiggly!) Swansboro, along with the next few stops along North Carolina's Waterway including Oriental, Belhaven, Alligator River and Coinjock, are small towns that depend on marine tourism and the cruising community. We were treated to extremely helpful and friendly folks.   Breakfast with some friends in Oriental, NC  Belhaven below. And that's all I have to say about that!  The odd weather, ranging from 46 degrees to 90 degrees, including a hail storm after a 90 degree day of sun...has kept us busy with opening and closing doors, hatches and windows. It's practically an Olympic sport to run up and down three flights, climb, twist and bend in time so that not a single droplet spills inside. Before I left my job at The Estee Lauder Companies I stocked up on my creams and perfumes and such. The only fragrance I use regularly now contains DEET. Bugs and bug bites are just part of life on the water, at least in the south, and we are managing better than expected. We always ask the locals what they use, and oddly, they recommend Skin So Soft more than anything else, besides just staying indoors.  At Alligator River Marina, we met the couples pictured at the top of the page.These folks are awesome and that place was a hoot. The marina is mostly just a fuel dock and gas station. They also serve dinner in the back room nightly from 5-6:30PM. We basically ate dinner at a gas station for $28, and that included two fly swatters, two scoops of Butter Pecan ice cream and a Slim Jim. WHY KNOT & SWEET PEA buddy-boated with us to Coinjock and we enjoyed a truly fabulous meal and lots of laughs.  Buddy Boats above and the famous 32 oz prime rib at the Coinjock Marina & Restaurant below  Tomorrow we leave bright and early for Norfolk and the Looper Rendezvous. We will experience our very first of many locks (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lock_(water_transport))...  |
