May 3-13, 2018
We had heard from other loopers how beautiful Beaufort was, and we weren’t disappointed! Have you ever heard of First Fridays? Neither had we, but they are amazing, and Beaufort does them right! All of the shops in town stay open late on the first Friday of each month AND they all put out some snacks, and have FREE wine! You heard me right, free wine! We strolled through the adorable downtown, and stopped to eat and drink at each store. And as a bonus, we arrived in time to catch the Taste of Beaufort event that night, where we got to sample all of the amazing food the town has to offer! We could have spent more time here, walking the streets of beautiful old homes with gorgeous southern charm.
The next morning, we headed out for Charleston. Both Chad and I had been here before as kids, but we were both excited to revisit the gorgeous city. We had picked out a great anchorage for the night, with good shore access for Rilee. It was beautiful, traveling through the salt water marshes, with nothing but you and nature as you traverse the inland waters, every now and then getting a glimpse of the ocean over a dune or around a creek. However, as we were about half way between any sufficient place to stop, Rilee gave us another scare. She had some sort of fainting episode, losing control of herself. A truly frightening moment for me, realizing we had hours to get to any real help for her. A phone call back home to our vet gave some comfort to me, and we did our best to make Rilee comfortable. Truth be told, if it were a true emergency for Chad or I, we could have called the Coast Guard and gotten help much sooner. However, for our dog, and for a non-emergency, we had to rely on ourselves to make the best decision and get to a safe harbor. We decided to press on towards Charleston, adding an extra 20 miles to an already scheduled long day. However, we felt there would be better resources and a vet nearby. We arrived at the marina just before dusk, and reevaluated Rilee to decide what best to do. It was Saturday night, she was not in a real emergency state, and we needed to get some real answers on what was going on with her. We found a 24 hour emergency vet just in case, but decided to wait until Monday morning and attempt to get her into a specialist vet who could help us further.
One thing I have realized on this trip is that things will work out, if you just have faith that they will. It’s hard for me to just allow that to happen sometimes, but time and time again, it happens. Chad and I were really struggling with what to do with Rilee. Without having access to a “primary” vet, bouncing between vets, it was really difficult to get a clear picture on what we should do. It sounded like she needed to see a specialist vet, but those appointments book up months in advance, and usually require some sort of referral to get in. The 24 hour emergency vet we found was also part of a specialty hospital, so we decided to take her to the emergency vet Monday morning, hoping she would have access to the specialty team. Luckily, our plan worked out, and the Charleston Veterinary Referral Center took amazing care of Rilee. Faced with some tough possible diagnoses, Rilee left with a shaved tummy, and we decided to make the most of our time together in Charleston.
In between time at the vet, Chad and I managed to do a quick tour through Charleston. However, we decided the rest of our time here would be best spent doing more dog friendly activities. So instead of heading back to town, we explored lowcountry and the Sea Islands. We visited the Charleston Tea Plantation, where the only tea is grown in America. We found a muscadine vineyard, and sampled their wines and distillery. Chad really loved the cows grazing in the vineyard, but thankfully Rilee did not see them! We toured a plantation home that really focused on the tough life the slaves had, rather than glorified the plantation owner and life they had. Although this home was not as lavish as the other homes and gardens you could tour in the area, we appreciated the story they told here. The marina we stayed at was great, and we made new friends.
Still waiting on test results from Rilee, we decided to move on. Departing the Stono River, we had timed our departure for slack tide, so we could more easily pass through Elliott Cut. It is a short, narrow cut, lined with rocks. It can have up to a 4 knot current, which for us would significantly slow us down and could be unsafe due to decreased maneuverability. Luckily we passed through easily and did not meet any other boats in the cut. Passing by downtown Charleston and Fort Sumter, the rest of our day was spent traveling through salt water marshes, while avoiding the shoaled spots in the ICW . We arrived to McClellanville, and followed the creek through the marshes back to our stop for the night. We found the “marina” or fisherman’s wharf that we tied to, squeezed in between the fishing boats. We spent some time walking the live oak lined streets, and watching the beautiful sunset. Chad made friends with the local fisherman, and got to taste the freshest Mahi Mahi he has ever had!!
Awaking early the next morning, we plan our departure with the tides. South Carolina also has many notoriously shallow spots. We use the tide to our advantage, and have no issues transiting the tricky passes. Not a long day today, but we make it to Myrtle Beach. We are greeted at the marina by a resident alligator, one of the few we have seen on this trip. Tomorrow is also a short travel day, heading just up the waterway to Little River. This stretch is only about the tides and what time high and low tide is. We transit the Rockpile, a stretch of channel line with rocks. The yacht club we stop at has a great pool, and we spent the afternoon floating around in the cool water.
Tomorrow we enter North Carolina, and we look forward to spending time with more visitors!