Leg #23, April 30, 2022, Georgetown to Myrtle Beach, SC. OUR BEST DAY YET!

Water was like glass! Wind? What wind? Sunny morning and deep water. Well, if you consider 15+ deep water. We did an early exit from Winyah Bay onto the Waccamaw River, East, North, Northeast and so on and so forth all day. What a beautiful River. There wasn’t a part that we didn’t enjoy. It was lined with cedar and cypress trees adorned with Spanish moss. It had some amazing anchorage opportunities and a couple of small marinas we would like to try out in the future.

Travel between Georgetown and Myrtle Beach:

Here's a few for my father-in-law:

We saw our first floating swing bridge, Miss Ellie:

The Waccamaw River brought us all the way up to North Myrtle Beach where we are staying at The Barefoot Marina for two nights. We were assigned an inside slip with our stern to the river and activity across the river. We arrived about 2:00 p.m. and settled in to relax for two nights. We didn’t originally plan for two nights but after 4 days of one night stays we decided we needed a break. Glen does a good job taking note of my need to relax and will usually suggest a layover before I do. So, Saturday we walked the girls and checked out the surroundings. There’s not a lot on the marina’s side of the river but the marina will shuttle anyone across the bridge when asked. On our side was a very nice restaurant, the “Marina Bar and Grill”. Wonder who came up with that name. It works because I remembered the name of it. It had entertainment on the patio, as well as, on the inside. A community of row

house type living block homes in an array of colors. It’s really cute and reminds me of my great-grandson’s city blocks for his street/city play rug. There was also 4 high rise condo buildings and a large pool with shallow islands.

Saturday, we relaxed and stayed onboard for drinks and dinner and watched the boat across from us party it up, listened to music from across the river and watched boats pass by. It was a nice evening.

Sunday, we tried to sleep in, but the girls are always ready to go no later than 7:00 a.m.

Lainie will jump on the bed and stare at you and sometimes stomp her feet until we are up. Shelby would stay in bed all day to be honest. She gets up because of Lainie. After our morning walk, we came back and had bacon, eggs and toast and committed to relaxing. Although we did do a few things in the morning the rest of the day was laid-back. We hung out on the top deck for a bit before going to the pool for a couple of hours. Fantastic pool, but cold. Glen even got in the hot-tub and found common ground in conversation with others in there. I laid in the sun! Back to the boat, dinner and a walk for the girls then it was time to go to dinner at the “Marina Bar and Grill”. I originally wanted to eat on the outside patio and listen to music but when we went inside to the hostess desk and heard the entertainment in there, I wanted to stay. We found a couple of seats available at the bar, close to the music and settled in. What a delightful evening, great music, food, people and Glen even asked me for a slow dance. Mission accomplished! We felt relaxed.

Monday we would leave early and enter a new state. Southport, North Carolina. I’ve got our itinerary worked out for the week, thanks to a new friend, Sheena from Higher Ground. When I shared my itinerary with her, she found a big problem. I had us at a town 30 miles down an adjacent river. I just saw the mile marker and didn’t realize that it was 30 miles past that marker. I immediately cancelled that marina and booked one that she suggested, and it is their home port in Oriental, NC. Knowing the area, she also made a recommendation of where not to stay and I switched that one up as well. I wish she could handle the rest of our dockage for the trip home. I could use a travel agent.

It’s going to be a long week of harbor hoping and Tuesday will be an 80 miler. A bad storm with high winds, a “Nor’easter” is coming in on Saturday which has created a bit of anxiety. It will be coming in just as we will be preparing to cross the Albemarle Sound which is about 25 miles of open water and is known to be rather rough in windy, stormy conditions. It is noted to wait for good weather before crossing this Sound. And we will.

For anyone visiting Myrtle Beach by boat, we highly recommend the Barefoot Marina, North Myrtle Beach, SC.