Southern Hospitality
What do Canadians think of Southerners? That was one of many questions that our new friends Drew and Melanie asked us during dinner last evening. I’m typically not one to buy into stereotypes so I didn’t have too much of a response. The only thing I could really think of was the phrase “southern hospitality.” Well, our early introduction to South Carolina, with Drew and Melanie being great ambassadors, has proven that at least that one stereotype is true.
The other day we received a comment on this blog from a couple asking us if we wanted to meet when we got to their area. After some follow up emails, they suggested that they could take us to dinner, drive us around to do any necessary shopping or even take us to their home so that we could have a hot shower. Fortunately our planned anchorage was nearby to their location and we were able to hook up. Drew and Melanie are in the early stages of planning their escape to go cruising and we were happy to share with them what little bit of experience we have so far gained. They treated us to a fantastic dinner (I had some great fried chicken and Rebecca chose the shrimp and grits. MMMmmm) and then took us to the Piggly Wiggly so that we could re-provision a bit. Thanks so much you two… we had a great evening and were very happy to meet you. Hopefully you make it down to Georgetown this evening so that we can hang out some more.
Yesterday’s travels took us from Calabash in North Carolina to our current anchorage in Cow House Creek off the Waccamaw River, SC. During this leg of the trip we had to transit the infamous “Rock Pile,” a narrow section of the ICW which reportedly has large rocks on the sides just out of the channel. As luck would have it, the only place where we were really concerned about going out of the channel had the most debris in the channel, including about a 20′ long log that we had to dodge. The journey was pretty uneventful though and we were able to anchor behind a little island shared with only one other boat. Fog has delayed our departure a bit this morning but we’ll have a short day of traveling today to get to our planned stopping place of Georgetown, SC.
PS: It was about 40 degrees F inside our boat this morning!!!
Just a bunch of miscellaneous pics…
Our friends on s/v Motu sent us this pic of our boat in the Alligator River. The Schooner beside us is s/v Shanty.
Touring the very cool cemetery in Beaufort, NC.
Gondolas over the ICW near Myrtle Beach.
An early-morning lighthouse pic.
Cow House Creek, where we anchored last night.
Hopefully this wasn’t Karma for waking too many innocent sailboats.
The prettiest bridge so far.
Rebecca with our friend Ana from the m/v Knot Tide Down.
The warning sign when entering the Rockpile.
Hanging with friends on s/v Sabbaticus.
A very pretty section of the ICW — the Waccamaw River.
We decided that it would only be courteous to let this tug and barge go through the bridge first.
Just being silly.
The fog that we woke up to this morning. Beautiful!
The caption for the sunken cabin cruiser is priceless! Good show!
🙂
It breaks my heart a little every time I see a gorgeous boat like that one under water. What a shame!!! I couldn’t believe how many abandoned boats there were in the Florida Keys. And when I think of how many people I know who would love to own one but can’t spare the initial outlay. Such a waste!!
You’ll probably be seeing more and more of that the farther south you travel. They keep clearing them (to who knows where) but more show up in their places. Very sad.
Worse are the ones just left on a mooring ball or a dock to decay. There looks to be one beside us now.
Cher and Cher
Cruising is all about the people……A great loyal community…..
How true.
That’s why cruisers end up down here in the South, we always hear “you people are all so nice! And the weather isn’t bad either.”
Not quite warm enough sadly.
The usual lovely photos. WHERE were Ana and Rebecca going all dressed up?!!! That doesn’t look like the ordinary sailing wear! 🙂
I agree about the sunken boats. However, I note that there don’t seem to be any cats among them, at least not so far. My son is restoring a sunken Ericson, taking his time and sailing his other boat in the meantime. It’s looking really good, but he’s having trouble finding the right mast for it.
You’re right, I have yet to see a cat.
Not sure what you mean about dressing up though… they always look like that. 😉
The first and thee last pictures are spectacular!
bob
Thanks Bob. Fog is nice to photograph but not so good to travel in!
Nice pictures! Unfortunately, we still see quite a few sunken boats due to Hurricane Katrina. Makes us wonder about the story behind each boat, you know what adventures they experienced before the storm.
Yes, I bet there are some interesting ones.
Having lived in South Carolina, I am glad that your first experience was positive.
Southern Hospitality is what has kept me here so long. It is only surpassed by the sailing/cruising community.
Ken
Having lived in South Carolina for the last 27 years, I am glad that your first experience was positive.
Southern Hospitality is what has kept me here so long. It is only surpassed by the sailing/cruising community.
Ken
Yes, it’s a close race.