The Carolinas - SC and NC

This blog will be a picture show - loading the pics went really well this time!

Still a few pictures of Charleston, an amazing city!

Our little cruiser in the foreground - really dwarfed by the big ship passing by.  The sailboat  "Monday Morning" is right behind us.  We kept meeting and passing Tom all the way to Bogue Sound, NC! (Charleston Maritime Center)

Historic homes wherever you turn!  We were especially impressed by the side doors on the porches (The tour guide said that was done in the days before air conditioning, so the women could relax on the cool porches in their underwear without someone walking up on them and seeing them without their full dress.)

Our former IA/TN friends, Don & Dorothy Amis came to visit (they live near Columbus, SC).  It was a great time reminiscing and enjoying Charleston with this charming couple.

Don and I go back more years together than either of us can remember.  He was already working  as an engineer at AMF when I started in 1965.

 Sunset in our anchorage, just behind Butler Island on the Waccamaw River, SC.  There were 10 boats anchored there that night, so we weren't alone.

The captain pulling up the anchor the next morning and we're off...

Enjoying beautiful Myrtle Beach for the day - it is a really long strand of gorgeous beach.  Also did some shelling here and enjoyed a little of the touristy shops and restaurants at Barefoot Landing, where we stayed in the Marina.

                                        Met a ferry boat on the waterway in North Carolina.

Passed US Marine Corp training base, Camp Lejeune, just below Morehead City, NC.  The waterway had been closed daytime hours most of the week due to practice firing maneuvers, but all was clear when we passed by this Danger Zone on Saturday.  One chart stated, "Unexploded projectiles exist in the waterways east of the ICW".  Here is one of the bunkers used in the maneuvers.

And these US Army Landing boats are just across the harbor from where we are staying at the Morehead City Yacht Basin. (Nice marina, by the way - it's a "10"!)

Well, this morning we went to a "storefront church", One Harbor Church, about 5 blocks from here -WOW - another awesome service, but totally different from last week.  Here was a very lively Praise Band with tattoos and pony tails, a casual but very meaningful worship experience! 

Theresa's been promoted to co-captain.  We make a good team.  She follows our progress on the paper charts and watches the depth gauge while I steer and keep an eye on the electronic chart plotter.  Following the ICW can get interesting in Georgia  and the Carolina's.  In this area much of the ICW passes through marsh grass swamps, ocean inlets, bays, rivers and creeks with channels running in all different directions.  We have not gotten lost - yet.   Also the variation in water levels can be a concern.  The tides run from from 4ft to 9ft. and tidal currents are very strong in some areas.  db            Catch you later......