Winter Cruising: Thanksgiving with the Johnsons

Hope all of you had a happy Thanksgiving.

Once again we have a lot of catching up to do. My brother Clarence died on November 18. We left the boat dcoked at Barefoot Marina in Myrtle Beach, rented a car and went home for the funeral. I know he's not suffering anymore but it left a hig ole hole in my heart and in our family.

Tuesday mroning we got up early and drove back to Myrtle Beach, the first 2 hours in pouring rain. We got in early enough to fuel up, pump out and get provisions; even charted the next day's trip. We had planned to do about 50 miles but Mother Nature had other ideas...thunderstorm after midnight and gale force winds all day Wednesday. We did manage to get the Christmas lights on the boat so that we can light up next week-end when our cruising club is in the Christmas flotilla.

Thanksgiving dawned clear and COLD. We made excellent time because of the tide and current. We planned to anchor in the harbor at Georgetown but decided to take the road less traveled and went a couple of miles up the river to a small family-owned marina. When we called to ask about a slip we also asked if there was someplace we could get a turkey dinner. The lady, Lorene Johnson, said yes, at her house. It was mid-afternnon by the time we got there and they had already eaten but she insisted that we come to the house and eat. We had turkey with all the trimmings plus a homemade coconut cake (Phil's favorite dessert). Even though we were perfect strangers they invited us into their home and shared their food with us, a perfect example of biblical hospitality. We continue to be amazed at the generous, helpful people that we meet at every stop.

This morning we got up early, like 5:30 early, planning to pull out at first light. However, the river was invisible with dense fog that didn't lift until almost 8:30. Then we had a tough time getting the stern and spring lines off the dock because the tide had gone out and pulled them very tight. Finally got underway at 8:30 planning to again make 50 miles. It was slow going with the tide and current against us and Phil wasn't feeling well so we once again altered our plans. The Leland Oil Co Marina is the only one between Georgetown and the outskirts of Charlestown so that's where we pulled in around 1pm. Would you believe it, the woman taking care of the marina had been a GI nurse for 30 years. She's not usually here but her husband had to take his truck in for repair work and she was holding down the fort. After asking Phil several questions about his problem she decided that he's probably not going to konk out on me anytime soon. God willing, she's right.

For those of us who think Columbia is small, this little town halfway between Geogetown and Charleston, has 450 people, 2 restaurants, and a hardware store. We took a walking tour of the town and thoroughly enjoyed the massive, old oak trees hanging full of moss. Looks like a scene right out of "Gone With the Wind". The streets are narrow, winding and some unpaved. We missed a turn coming back and wound up in a nice young man's backyard. He was friendly, outgoing and spent a 1/2 hour talking to us before telling us how to get back to the marina...through several other backyards.

Phil felt better after our hike and took a nap. Now he's had a bowl of soup and he's ready for bed so that we can attempt another daylight departure.

Some of these small marinas advertise wi-fi but the signal is weak and the owners don't really know what to do with it. We will post again as soon as possible.