Tuesday, October 30 (Still in Osprey Marina – Socastee):  We had all good intentions of getting up this morning and heading to Georgetown by way of the Waccamaw River which is supposed to be one of the prettiest parts of the waterway.  However, we got up late (due to entertaining the night before – yep – got to use those crackers), it was windy, gray and cold, we hemmed and hawed, and finally decided that it would be a very good idea to stay right where we were for another day.  It turned out to be an advantageous decision as we accomplished a lot of mundane stuff (like defrost the refrigerator) and made plans and preparations for the rest of the week.  First thing was to contact family and friends as to how they survived “Sandy,” and, thankfully, it seems everyone (including relatives in New York) came out relatively unscathed. 

            So, after breakfast (it seems we managed to wolf down all the sweet rolls the marina gave us in their “welcome” package when we pulled in yesterday) Bob sat down and planned the itinerary for next week.  We made marina reservations and planned potential anchorages.  We decided not to stop in Charleston.  We’ve been there many times, and we will have the best tide and current conditions to go through Elliott Cut if we bypass Charleston.

            All of this planning makes one very hungry and there is an Italian restaurant in the Town of Socastee that will come to the marina and pick you up.   After you have lunch, you can go grocery shopping, and then the restaurant will bring you back to your boat.  So that was our next plan. 

            It’s amazing, but we met a couple in the restaurant who used to live in Prince Georges County, Maryland, until they moved to Socastee.  I wanted to ask them how they came to move to this town (I mean it’s not like it’s one of Businessweek Magazine’s Best Towns To Live In), but I figured that was none of my business and let it go at that. 

            Socastee is a Native American name referred to as “Sawkastee” in a 1711 land grant.  I read the history of this place, and apart from finding nice people in the restaurant and grocery store, can’t for the life of me find anything terribly interesting or historic about the place that would make one want to pull up stakes and settle here.  In 1875 they had a tar kiln, and I guess it became a center for trade around this time because of the turpentine industry.  Hmmm…sure makes me want to move here…

            Once we got back to the boat, the cat was feeling adventurous and looked outside, and Bob and I played cards.  Right now, it’s getting warmer, the sun is shining - on to Georgetown tomorrow.

Lucy in her cat bed

Looking out on the entrance to Osprey Marina