Taking Care of Business in Georgetown

Thursday, November 13th: Price Creek, SC

Our early arrival in Georgetown on Tuesday worked well. At 10:00 in the morning it was easy to find a good spot among the boats sitting in the harbour. Once anchored, we loaded the dinghy with our laundry, back packs, and our new fold up dolly from Home Depot. Since we were sitting close to the town dock, we didn't bother putting the engine on the dinghy and Bob rowed us the short distance ashore.

Once into town, we walked the 12 blocks to the laundromat and library (across the street from one another) and did the the laundry, blogging and email. Walking back, we stopped at the Kudzu bakery and bought a walnut banana loaf and a half dutch apple pie. We dropped our clean laundry and our baked goodies at the boat and then went back to town to look around. The looking around involved buying more food - at a specialty food store (for a change of pace - a slice of lasagna, salmon cakes and some chicken salad for sandwiches) and then best of all, fresh shrimp from Independent Seafoods - not a store really - just a warehouse type building with big bins of shrimps, and a shelf with bins of fish on ice. The shrimp boats were docked outside.

We were beginning to weary of all the walking; nevertheless we set out on a 20 minute walk (each way) to the hardware store. The lock Bob uses to secure the dinghy, motor and life jackets had begun to stick - and just that morning, the key dropped off the fob and went missing, so we were using the spare. It was time to replace the lock and as my mother would say, "There's no time like the present". The walk took us down a street of lovely historic homes - many with plaques beside the door listing the year built and name of original owners.
Once back on the boat, we showered before dinner. When showering on board, we shower at atypical times. It's a bit of a process - maneuvering yourself around in the small space and then wiping up after.

We had a luscious dinner. Bob peeled the shrimp and stir fried them. I cooked wild rice and broccoli and made a salad - and of course we had dutch apple pie for dessert. Bob tends to easily hold his weight when we're on the boat, but I know I'm eating more than usual and since I wear mostly very "comfortable" clothes, I can't tell if I'm putting on pounds.

We had done all we wanted to do and seen enough of Georgetown so we decided to move on the following day. Perhaps if we return, we'll spend some time playing tourist and go to the little museum or tour the historic home on Front Street.

Today, not far from Georgetown, we missed a turn and started down another channel. At some of the junctions it's easy to head for a marker not on your route if you aren't continually checking and comparing paper and electronic charts. The clue may be that suddenly you are keeping red navigation aids to port instead of starboard or the aids are missing the small yellow squares or triangles that indicate they are on the ICW route.

As we moved along the land got flat and marshy. Bob had picked out a couple of anchorages that we would get to near dusk. When we moved into Price Creek there was a strong current and crab pots along the edges. We dropped the anchor to one side of centre and I breathed a sigh of relief. Bob often claims not to have been worried about success but I'm always on edge until I know that we're rooted to the bottom.

As we were sitting contemplating the surroundings, we saw Whim, a sailboat that we've seen in almost every anchorage since we left the town of Oriental where they were docked beside us. Every time we anchor, we look around and there's Whim. This time, I saw Whim moving along the ICW, go past the entrance to Price Creek and then double back. We all laughed as they passed us to find a spot. We'll likely not see them again as Carolyn and Keith told us that they are leaving their boat in Charleston and flying home for a visit with their children - but then again, you never know.

Although Price Creek couldn't be called picturesque, I did see a "flock?" of pelicans sitting in the reeds and then watched as they took flight and flew off behind the stern of the boat. They are big birds with a substantial wing span. I have been looking in our bird book to identify other birds we are seeing. It's not so easy. For sure we are seeing various kinds of egrets: water birds with long slender necks.

Soon after the pelicans flew by, we saw the backs of a couple of dolphins as they rounded out of the water and then back down. We have been seeing dolphins almost everyday since we left the Chesapeake.

Tomorrow we are going to Charleston and have booked a spot at the Charleston City Marina for 3 nights. We regret that the Woolseys will not be with us to tour this historic city. They were held up in the Chesapeake much longer than they had planned while repairs and improvements were done on their boat. They were finally back on their boat yesterday and will meet with us whenever they catch up.


High tide as we leave our anchorage in Price Creek.
The tides have been unusually high these last couple of days - there's a full moon. In the morning we couldn't see much land - just water almost touching the triangles and squares of navigation aids. It was kind of spooky! Thank God for the GPS charts and their map of the dredged channel to follow as we are moving through the surrounding water.