TIM PATTI RILEY BIG ADVENTURE

May 11, 2018

We left for Charleston City Marina on 4/30/18 At 8:35 AM to work the tides. It was a nice day & all went well. Except at one point we were attacked by some unknown flying bugs. We arrived at 3:35 which was our plan. I love it when a plan comes together. Slack tide to make docking easier/possible.

Charleston City Marina is know for it's Mega Dock. It is a 1/4 mile long & about 1/4 mile out from shore. We were of course near the end. Do the math, every time Riley needed to go out was almost a mile walk.

The first night was spent on the outside. When boats went by everyone was rocked hard. We told them if they did not move us inside, one night was all we would stay. They moved us inside.

This place is full of mega yachts. 100+ feet. They are all crewed. They have 20+ feet center counsels for dinghies. The boat docked in front of us the first night had to move their dinghy. It was rocked so hard, the dinghy was almost on their swim platform.

It was fun to watch the mega yachts come in. Once in, the crew set up the flowers on the back deck, served drinks & started cleaning! Tim can not understand why one would want a boat so big you couldn't run yourself. I, on the other hand, would not have a problem, sitting back, feet up, eating bonbons & drinking whatever....

We did spend a day wandering the city. Pretty city.

We left for Georgetown, SC on Thursday 5/3. Once again we chose to run out side to avoid shallow water & dealing with the tides. We had some swells, but no chop. From the inlet to our destination was a 15 mile run on the ICW. That was a little long, so we will not go back outside at this point. It would take 15 miles in the wrong direction.

Georgetown is a nice little city. Restaurants & Antebellum homes. Tim was able to find a barber that was able to cut a reasonable flat top. Riley & I will continue to look for a salon. The owner of the restaurant where we had breakfast, offered his car to us if we needed to go somewhere. While walking Riley we did have an incident with a very territorial bird. It buzzed Riley & I repeatedly. Followed us for a block & across the street for another block! I am happy to report, no injuries.😅

Went to Osprey on Saturday 5/5. It reminded me why I do not like to run on the weekend. There was heavy boat traffic which also included kayaks, canoes & jet skies. Remember, we are on the A-ICW which is narrow & skinny. Now add to that, we have to play dodge 'ems. Osprey was a very nice marina in the middle of no where, Saving grace....pizza delivery. Needless to say, it was a one night stay.

Arrived Myrtle Beach Yacht Club (MBYC) on Sunday 5/5. Not a bad run considering we had to go thru the dreaded "Rock Pile". We left early to avoid as much traffic as possible. Everyone says it is important to stay in the middle of the channel because depending on the tide, one may not be able to see the rocks. Great. We breathed a sigh of relief when we got thru unscathed.

It seems we are now in the land of bridges. Most are tall & no problem for us, but some do need to open. We needed 2 opened on this run.

We stayed very busy while at MBYC. We rented a car to get our list accomplished. Visited with my Aunt Beverly. Had a great time. Went shopping at Costco. YEA, said Tim. Riley & I both had grooming appointments. Sent Tim to the laundromat to wash dog beds (yes, he has 2) throw rugs & canvas seat covers.
Yes, they even had a pool. Unfortunately, the cool weather follows us. The pool was never used.
Not really a good place to walk. Once again, the marina was on a 4 lane highway without side walks.
There was a board walk, but it was not really long enough to give Riley a good work out.

As of Thursday 5/10 we are in Southport, NC. Staying for a few days to avoid the Saturday crowds. Nice town. Only walking for Riley is on residential streets. Houses are pretty & well kept. Of course the place is teeming with history. Many of the houses have plaques stating who owned it & the date it was built. We visited a Pre Revolutionary War Cemetary. They also seem to like their trees. Sidewalks & side streets accommodate the trees. Tim called them tree huggers. I say respect.
Now for the small world category. We met a couple docked 2 boats down from us. They were from Columbus, OH & docked at Catawba. Sold their house & lived on the boat for 3 years. They now live here in the summer & go on the boat to FL for the winter.
Tim had an unfortunate incident....He blew out a flip flop. Lucky for him there were no pop tops in the immediate vicinity. The flip flops have been replaced.