M/V Sea Eagle: Georgetown, SC 7/24-8/24/2012

We arrived in Georgetown on July 24th and docked at a small but newly refurbished marina called Harborwalk Marina. We were put in a very nice slip that put us about 25ft from the ramp off the dock. It is really nice to have such a short walk for a change. Paula claimed she was too tired to cook so I offered to call Pizza Hut and we settled into our new temporary home.

Over the next several days we walked all over town and made a trip to Piggly Wiggly for supplies. (3 mile round trip). The town, one of the oldest in the south, is remarkably well kept. There are houses with history back to the 1700's. Most of the houses have a plaque on the front telling what year it was built. We spotted several houses that were in the process of being rebuilt or repaired, a sign that the city fathers want all of the houses to look good. On Saturdays there is a nice little Farmer's Market about 1/2 mile from the marina. They always have a nice selection of locally grown fruits and vegetables.

Look closely and you can see an anchor in the center pane.

We visited the local museums and houses; one of the things that surprised us was the fact that this area was home to hundreds of rice plantations and that Georgetown was at one time the largest shipper of rice in the world. That came to an end at the end of the Civil War because growing rice is extremely labor intensive. There are however two rice plantations that are still going today with the South Carolina special rice.

During our stay in Georgetown we rented a car on two different weekends and made five trips to Charleston, visiting the oldest museum in the United States, (we could have spent two days in there). We toured homes from the 17 and 1800's, as well as Fort Sumter where the first shots of the Civil War were fired. We also visited the Citadel where our friend, Ben, went to school. There are still places in Charleston we would like to visit so we are planning a stop there on our way back south in the fall.

Fort Sumter
One of the best things that we did while in Georgetown was go on the Low Country River Tour with Cap'n Rod, who also happened to be our dock neighbor. We got to see several old plantations, seven Bald Eagles, and the wreckage of the Harvest Moon, (a paddle wheeler that was sunk during the Civil War). The smokestack still sticks out of the water at low tide. Cap'n Rod was born and raised in the area and is extremely knowledgeable about the history of the area and knows pretty much all of the old families that still live and work here.

Can you believe the detail in this iron work?

We love Caladiums

This is the SC State Flag. You will find it every
where in South Carolina

Civil War Memorial in Georgetown

Markers for CSA soldiers who served during
the Civil War

This is just down the street from our marina

I'll buy the drinks for anyone who can identify this

Amazing!

More amazing iron work

Notice the cantilevered stairway

Martin houses are every where

Eagle spotted on the river cruise

Sunset from our dock

These 2 guys visited us several times a day to get
a handout from Paula. They would even come in
the middle of a rain storm and patiently wait
for her!