Georgetown, SC

We've added photos going back to Fort Sumter, and a video of the park ranger talk at the fort. Sorry it's sideways, we always forget when we shoot video that it doesn't work in portrait mode.

Well this stretch of the ICW has been chock full of 'gators. Whereas in Georgia we saw dolphins every day, seems like now we see at least one alligator a day. We know for sure there is one prowling around the anchorage here in Georgetown. It was less than forty feet from our boat this morning. Kevin keeps telling me that there is no way the thing is going to crawl up the transom steps and sun itself on our deck, but I'm not sure I believe him. It took a little convincing to get me into the dinghy to go into town this morning -- we could see the alligator just hovering about a hundred feet away, watching us board the boat. He disappeared once Kevin started the outboard though. When we got to town, we saw signs posted all along the boardwalk asking people not to feed the alligators. "Alligators", plural. So now we know there is more than one. Great.

Georgetown is a place that seems frozen in time. The main street looks like something straight out of the 1950's -- rows of shops with old-timey awnings, red brick sidewalks, a tall clock tower, and barbershops with candy-cane poles advertising "So-and-So, Master Barber. 40 years experience". There is a paper mill that looms large over the town, and it looks like a relic of the 50's, too. It's all rusted and brown and you'd think it would spoil the view of the waterfront, but to be honest it's so ugly that it could actually be considered picturesque.

We had lunch at a little cafe on the boardwalk. In true southern fashion they had an "FGT BLT" on the menu (fried green tomato), so we had to try it. It was okay, but a little too much. I know that when I order a BLT it's not exactly "health" food, but usually I tell myself that the L&T are vegetables, at least. But in this case the fried part canceled out the tomatoes so you can't even pretend -- they might as well have just deep-fried the whole sandwich (which they practically did, as it was served on Texas Toast). Honestly, I think the bacon may have been the healthiest part.