Magoolooping's Blog

April 4-9. We left the dock of Hazzard Marine, Georgetown, SC at 8am. We are exhausted and Artie is trying to get through the day without any painkillers, but we want to move on. There is rain coming in tonight so we want to get to Myrtle Beach, SC before its arrival. –

Visiting tigers at Myrtle Beach, Barefoot Landing

Boardwalk at Barefoot Landing

View across ICW of Barefoot Landing, Myrtle Beach, SC

We docked at Barefoot Landing Marina at 3pm. As soon as we got here, we explored the shops of Barefoot Landing for exercise and found out that there was a show at the Alabama Theatre. Since we enjoy shows so much, we bought two tickets for the evening. It was great!!   —  We plan to leave here tomorrow with our destination being Bald Head Island. Our friends, John and Kim, have a summer home there and we have made plans to meet them. — Yeahhhh, we are three more cruising days from home.

Shalotte Inlet

NC fishing fleet, a familiar sight in this area

There is no spiral staircase as found in most older lighthouses, but instead a series of ships ladders with a total of 131 steps to the lantern gallery level

At 9:30am (4/6/11) we crossed the North Carolina border at mm 340.9. The Capt’n and I sang soprano and did a little “jig” on the flybridge (on second thought, it was a “big” jig). It feels soooooooooooo good to be back in North Carolina again.

At 2pm we pulled into Baldhead Island’s marina. We met with John at 5 and went to dinner and we caught up with our events of the past year. The next morning it was off to the grocery store and we picked up a few supplies to get us through the next couple of cruising days. It was fun driving a golf cart to the store that John and Kim let us borrow while we are here on Baldhead Island. Later in the afternoon we biked the island which we enjoyed because no vehicles are allowed on Baldhead,  just golf carts and bikes. Having said that, we did find that the golf carts are going a bit faster than they did a few years ago. — In the evening we relaxed and had a wonderful home cooked dinner with Kim and John, gracious host and hostess for sure.

Captaining a golf cart on Baldhead Island

John, a fellow Power Squadron member, and the Captain

Peeking at "Magoo" docked at Bald Head Island

Bald Head beach

April 8. Left Baldhead Island at 8:30am. The current is with us going up the Cape Fear River and we are traveling at a good speed (for a trawler ). — It is a beautiful sunny day and we can feel the temperature warming up. It feels like North Carolina is happy to have us home and giving us a “warm” welcome; back where we belong!! — We arrived in Wrightsville Beach and docked at noon at the Wrightsville Beach Marina (it’s Azalea Festival Weekend–lots of people). We had a most wonderful surprise!! Two loopers came knocking on “Magoo”; Donna and Greg of “Lady in Red”. We traveled with them through Canada, Lake Michigan, Chicago and the first half of the river system. What a wonderful visit we had and look forward to more get togethers.

The last bridge on our trip (North Topsail)

April 9. Left Wrightsville Beach at 8am. The cruise was wonderfully familiar. It is difficult to believe that we are in our home waters where we have boated for years. Can we really be here after a year? Are we dreaming?? –
No, it was a trip of a lifetime.

As we went by our waterway house I could not contain myself — I started beeping the horn. I beeped it a lot!!  Some neighbors came out of their houses waving, shouting, to welcome us back. It was such a thrill; I found a tear or two on my cheek. Then we turned to port into New River and port again into Old Ferry Marina. And for the last time on this trip, we turned Magoo’s “trusty” engine off and heard  silence. We looked at each other and said “We did it!! We made it!!” We hugged,oh how we hugged!!  We gave each a hearty “high five”  and said yet again, “We did it!! — You and me a ‘Magoo’, we did it!! “

Neighbors along the ICW

More neighbors along the ICW

Entering Old Ferry Marina basin..............

"We Did It!! You, me, and Magoo"

Old Ferry Marina

Welcome Back -- Our first sunset at home!!

One of many Osprey nests along the Waccamaw River

Old, old boats

Hazzard (not Hazard) Marina, Georgetown, SC

April 2-3.  Left the docks of Charleston at 7am before the winds can make casting off more challenging.  There is no protection here and it’s prudent to be careful with the winds pushing at our dockage.  As usual the Capt’n makes it look easy with his “Lenny” method (bow forward into the dock making the stern move out). —  This run reminded us of the river system with the desolate area and muddy waters.  About two hours before we docked in Georgetown (3:45pm) the wind blew harder and harder (30 knots).  It’s  a good night not to anchor, but to be here at Hazzard Marina (with 2 z’s not 1), Georgetown, SC.  –  Well, it’s better to be here than we thought.  Artie has been coughing for a few days (caught another cold), but this time he did “the big cough” and ended up in the ER.  And what a great ER here in Georgetown.  Every medical person that helped Artie from the doctor, to the nurses, to the clinicians was professional, thorough, and empathetic.  We can’t say enough “good stuff” about our experience with this hospital and staff.  As it turns out the x-rays were sketchy, but it was either a torn muscle or a hairline cracked rib.  Ouch!!  The capt’n has some prescriptions that are helping him through the discomfort; isn’t the modern world of chemistry great??

Waccamaw River

Back in the Day, if you were a guest in a Southern home such as this, it was a common practice for the host to place a pineapple on the mantle as an expression of welcome. -- If one day you do not see the pineapple on the mantle anymore, that is "the subtle message" that it is time to leave.

"Skinniest" house in Charleston. -- A kind resident let a family build a house in their driveway because they loved this area of Charleston.

St. Philips Church

St. Philips Graveyard (not cemetery-- a graveyard is on church property and a cemetery is not).

March 31-April 1.  Weather is questionable, but we’re heading out — t’storms chances are minimal and should not hit until after we dock in Charleston.  If we’re not lucky, there is a plan B.  –  At 3pm docked in Charleston at the municipal marina and all is well.  We dodged the rain, but it is windy.  This marina is huge with giganteus boats, oops, I mean ships.  We have about a half mile of docks to walk to get to the marina office or to shore.  Charleston’s downtown is not a walkable distance, there really is very little convenient to the marina but there is a van that will take us into downtown Charleston which we will do tomorrow (April 1).  –  We met some Heritage East owners at this marina; Shangri-la, Eileen and E. Don Smith from Connecticut.  They are considering doing the loop, too; and we feel they have a great boat for it (it’s “Magoo’s” twin).

Charleston.  It is the second largest city in the state (largest is the state capital, Columbia).  Originally named Charles Towne (1670) after King Charles II of England.  It adopted its present name of Charleston in 1783.  Charleston is known as the Holy City with the prominence of churches and many steeples dot the city’s skyline.  We took a horse and carriage ride to get the flavor of the historic district and did our own walking tour of some of the older homes on Church Street and Meeting Street.

Low Tide

The black bolts on these houses are "earthquake bolts". They were installed to hold the houses together after the earthquake of August 31, 1886.

The stones used to make Charlestons cobblestone streets are not native to this area. They used the ballast of ships to make these beautiful and long-lasting cobblestone streets. "Waste Not Want Not" --

Waterfront Park - this gazebo is a popular setting for weddings in Charleston.

Waterfront Park, Charleston

Our last view of Charlestons skyline as we continue our cruise North.

Saxton House (1845) -- During the Civil War the Union soldiers occupied this house. -- The stairs on the left are to be used by only women, and the stairs on the right are to be used by only men. The reason is that men were not allowed to look at women's ankles!! It was considered a crime!!!

"The Hanging Tree" -- Our tour guide didn't say it has stopped being used!!??

Secession House (1810)

Thomas Rhett House (1820) is now a Bed and Breakfast

Filmmakers have discovered the photogenic Low Country and every year several major films are shot in communities along South Carolina’s Waterway.   The state has been called a movie star.  Some of these movies include:  ”The Patriot” with Mel Gibson (Georgetown), “Cold Mountain” with Nicole Kidman (Charleston),  ”G.I. Jane” with Demi Moore (Beaufort),  ”Something to Talk About”  with Julia Roberts (Beaufort), and “Forrest Gump” with Tom Hanks (Beaufort).

March 29-30.  We’re off again, alone (you, me and Magoo) leaving the dock at 8:30am.  It’s cloudy and we’re looking at a rainy week, so progress is questionable.  There’s some stretches without marinas; we’ll just take it one day at a time.  Today our destination is Beaufort, SC, a place we have not been before.  So if we are rained in there, it will give us more of an opportunity to explore the area.  –  As we move along we pass the famous Parris Island Marine base, built in 1861.
Beaufort, SC is the second-oldest city in South Carolina (chartered in 1711).  It is noted for maintaining its historic character with its antebellum architecture.  This city has been featured in the New York Times, named “Best Small Southern Town”.  –  The military’s presence (U.S. Naval Hospital, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, and Parris Island close by) is a significant part of Beaufort.
The capt’n and I took a horse and buggy ride to get the highlights of the town and sampled a few restaurants cuisines.  The town has a beautiful waterfront park with lots of shops, restaurants, and beautiful old buildings.  –  We learned something interesting.  We knew that Beaufort, NC and Beaufort, SC had a different pronunciation, but often got it confused.  Our tour guide told us a way to remember the difference.  Beaufort, SC is BEAUtiful, and that is exactly how your pronounce BEAUfort, SC.   Beaufort, NC is pronounced a different way, BOWfort, NC.

Bay and marsh grass next to Beaufort's marina

Tabernacle Baptist Church (1840) -- During the Civil War the tombstones in the graveyard were used for surgical tables.