SC: Georgetown Harborwalk

Day 327
June 2, 2016
NM Today: ~24
NM to Date: ~ 5172

We set sail for Georgetown by 8:00 a.m. and said our final farewells to McClellanville, South Carolina and the boats in this charming quiet village.

Fishing Boats at Leland Oil Co. Marina
McClellanville, SC

Sierra has her own life jacket that she brings with her when she visits the boat. This will most likely be her last time wearing this one as she is almost to the weight limit of 30 pounds.

Sierra with Devon enjoying the ride

We passed a floating bridge on the way to Georgetown as well as a ferry landing.

Warning: Floating Swing Bridge

Floating Swing Bridge

 Looks like the cars could drive right off the end of this ferry dock ...

Ferry Dock

Miss Ella Ferry

We had about 25 miles to go to get to Georgetown from McClellanville. Some places the current fought us big time; others we could move right along. We arrived in Georgetown in time for lunch which we ate on board. After a nap for Sierra we were ready to explore a bit of the town.

We decided to start our tour of town with a visit to an ice cream store. We had heard from the marina staff that there are two in town. To get there we walked down the main street and saw the Rice Museum and the Maritime Museum along the way. Clark especially took note of the fact the Maritime Museum had no entry fee, so he quickly added that to his "must see" list. It was after 4:00 by the time we actually got going on the walk into town, so the museums would close soon. We added both museums to tomorrow's agenda.

Checking the hours for the Rice Museum ...
Last tour starts at 3:30

Part of the Town Clock building is used for the
Rice Museum Exhibits

Entrance to Rice Museum on the right
(on second floor of building)

As we strolled along the main street, we came upon "Sweeties Chocolate" shop - one of the two places we were told to go for ice cream. The sign in the window said "home made ice cream". We checked the hours expecting to find they closed at 8:00 and were told that if we wanted ice cream, we had to get it now as it was 5:00 and they closed at 5:00. So.... instead of ice cream for dessert, we had ice cream appetizers.

Devon and I each got one scoop (size small). Clark got two (size medium), and Jeff got a sampler of 4 flavors (size large). Jeff claimed he wanted only three flavors but they did not have that size. He selected vanilla with sprinkles expecting Sierra to help him eat that flavor. She turned her nose up at all the ice cream and asked for candy instead. Sadly, then, Jeff had to eat all four flavors - poor thing!

With our bellies full of ice cream, we continued our walk. Georgetown has a Harborwalk, so we strolled along the waterway to see what our restaurant options were for later.

We found boats along one side and miscellaneous restaurants and a shopping plaza along the other. When we got to the shopping plaza, Clark disappeared for a few minutes. He had gone into one of the shops to get a restaurant recommendation from a "local". He came back with two suggestions - the River Room Restaurant and the Big Tuna Raw Bar.

Harborwalk in Georgetown, SC

Totem Pole?? along the Harborwalk

 As we approached the end of the Harborwalk we came to a park that provided live-band music on alternate Thursdays during the summer. We hit a lucky Thursday!

Beach Band Setting up for Later

Looking back down the Harborwalk boardwalk

As we reached the very end of the Harborwalk, we could just see a very pretty fountain that drew us closer and closer to the park where it sat in full glory. Unfortunately, for Sierra, this fountain did not allow wading. As soon as we got near it, she started taking her shoes off. She had a "melt down" when she was told she could not wade in this water.

Jeff, Devon, Sierra, and Ev at the Fountain

We pulled her away from the fountain and told her that she should come look at the cannons. At two years of age, she can be distracted (sometimes).

Jeff and Sierra going to see the Cannons

Good! Something she could climb on!

Bang!

We need ammunition!

 As we walked away from the park, I saw something I haven't seen elsewhere along this Great Loop trip.

Slithering Snake!!

Snake - closeup!

As we watched, the snake moved across the sidewalk and disappeared into the grass.

One last look back at the park as we head to the
restaurant for dinner.

 We checked the menus of the two recommended restaurants. The Big Tuna Raw Bar seemed to offer more of a lunch-type menu. We decided on the River Room which turned out to be right next to the park with the band. After enjoying our seafood dinners we found a park bench in the park and listened to the music for a while before heading back to the boat. Honestly, the music was only okay, and the bugs were far from okay. The combination of so-so music with annoying bugs drove us away. We left the park well before the band finished with more than a few mosquito bites among us.

They said they were a "Beach Band" and
played all sorts of music genres.

We enjoyed our overview tour of the town, but Georgetown has one serious flaw that prevented it from being a perfect little getaway spot for us. The smell! When the wind was in the "wrong" direction, a very strong odor was overpowering. It literally made my eyes water and Devon gag!

What's that smell??
Georgetown Paper / Pulp Mill

Fortunately we only had the smell for part of our stay in Georgetown. For some reason it was worse on the water near the boat and only bad when the wind was coming our direction. We kept the windows closed and air conditioning on for the heat and humidity which blocked the smell from entering the boat.

After a full day of boat travel, sightseeing, and good food, we enjoyed a light-pink sunset at the boat.

Pink Sunset in Georgetown, SC