A New Stop Along The Way

Awendaw Creek to Georgetown  |  4 Hours  |  29 Miles  

Watching the sun rise over the horizon never gets old for me. The daily anticipation builds as gray sky lightens before taking on the color of the day. This morning as I watched from Crossroads, Glenda was watching from aboard Paradigm Shift and caught the shot of us. The orange glow lasted for several more minutes and the glitter formed across the water.     

The pelicans were out searching for breakfast. Everyone was up early and preparing for departure. I brought the anchor up and expected a muddy mess, but was pleasantly surprised to find only a few clumps of sea grass. We were soon back in the ICW and heading north on a high tide. We saw no mudflats today and enjoyed an extra five feet of water beneath us. There were not too many sights along the way. A bald eagle watched our passage from a waterside tree. The floating swing bridge is unique, but thankfully, we were not delayed by its use. The Sampit River took us up to Georgetown and Harborwalk Marina. Paradigm Shift stopped for fuel while we backed into our spot along the inside of the floating dock. Soon, Paradigm Shift claimed the spot in front of us. Georgetown is a new destination for us. I spent a few minutes studying the local map to get a sense of the lay of the land.

After lunch, we joined Glenda, Greg, Jaxon, and Cooper on a quick walk through this charming town. Flower boxes lined the shops and restaurants along Front Street. We stopped in a few, but today was mainly a scouting expedition in advance of tomorrow's extended visit. We turned at the fountain toward the waterfront boardwalk known as Harborwalk. The lively atmosphere of the deck at Buzz's Roost lured us in and we all enjoyed beverages and appetizers before making our way back to the marina.

I cannot remember who spotted it first, but we all went to the railing to watch the alligator in the water. It was moving slowly through the water as turtles and fish swam too close for comfort. The pink sorrel that grew beneath the trees provided a nice splash of color. One stop remained for our afternoon outing: pick up some fresh seafood. We continued down the road one block, turned at the sign, and walked to the dock. There we found fresh-off-the boat shrimp. Two pounds were scooped and put on ice for our walk to the boat.

A rooster crossing the road reminded me of its noisy Bahamian relatives that seem to be a distant memory. The large live oak trees lining the road provided a tease of what we'll see tomorrow on a much longer walk. After peeling and deveining the shrimp, I threw together a pretty tasty dinner. Although tonight's view was more obstructed, I nevertheless ended the day on the flybridge to watch as the sun turned in for the night.