By our fourth day we had both hopelessly lost track of the date or day of the week. We had come somewhat untied from time and calendars and I marveled at the feeling of liberation. My work breathed down our necks, however, and the trip took on somewhat more urgency since we had left later than we intended and it was looking like we wouldn't reach our destination until the next day. That would be a total of 4 days to get us from Beaufort, SC, to Shallotte, NC.
The waters of Winyah Bay greeted us that morning as we rounded the bend. By noon we had reached the Waccamaw River, a brown, tannin-infused ribbon of water that had us dodging logs and river detritus as we wound our way closer to the tourist-laden Myrtle Beach. By the time we reached the Waccamaw we had left behind the wretched greenheads and were surrounded on all sides by Cypresses and Cypress Knees.
This seemed like a likely place for alligators and I kept a vigilant eye out for them but never saw any black eyes peering from the surface of the water.
By now we had fallen into a fairly comfortable routine. Brian steered and I planned and took notes. I noted the time whenever we passed a statue mile and alerted him whenever we were nearing a bridge. This day was bridge-free but I did realize that there was no convenient anchorage for us that night. We either have to stop very early or very late, and we knew all too well the folly of waiting too late to anchor. The dream of a night at a marine began to emerge like a beautiful mirage in the desert. I had a list of marinas from the Salty Southeast Cruiser's Net and called a couple of them for rates. We decided on the Osprey Marina, which turned out to be a delightfully serendipitous selection.
After three hot, sweaty days on a floating oven the prospect of a shower was almost more than I could bear. We docked, beautifully so, at the marina around 5pm. It was a pretty marina, but small, tucked back into the sidewaters of the Waccamaw. There were turtles paddling around the boat and Brian found a baby turtle to play with as I hopped excitedly around the boat gathering bathing supplies. He tried to enlist me in his turtle playtime but I was too drawn by the siren song of the showers. I'm not exactly a prissy woman but I do like to be clean. I hadn't been able to so much as wash my hair in days and the best shower of my life called to me. I spent a glorious time in the shower and probably used a ridiculously exorbitant amount of water, but it made me happy.
We emerged from the showers a few hours later, squeaky clean and wearing real clothes, looking and feeling fairly human. Feeling fit to be among landlubbers, and ready for a real meal after days of Chef Boyardee and tuna and crackers, I called up a local restaurant that would pick us up at the marina. We were picked up by Kevin, who happened to be the chef at Scatori's, as he finished up some pizza delivery rounds. It turns out this was a Monday night, which is apparently a slow restaurant night in the area, so Kevin had plenty of time for cabbing transients like us to his own restaurant and back. Keven was a great guy and we had a great time learning all about his experiences living in New Jersey and Myrtle Beach, and about learning from Emeril Lagasse in Orlando. I shared with Kevin a love for food shows, though my love doesn't really extend into the kitchen so much, and we all chattered away on the drive to the restaurant. One side of Scatori's is a low-key pizzeria and the other is a slightly more formal, but by no means stuffy, sit-down dining area. We chose the formal side and were treated to delicious food the likes of which I'm not accustomed to getting in Myrtle Beach. Kevin sent us a martini glass of seafood that was scrumptious. I even liked the mussels. One of the things Kevin will do is create a dish for you on the fly if you just tell him the three main ingredients you'd like. Brian asked for one of these "Kevin specials" with seafood. My entree, chicken gorgonzola, was yummy but Brian's was a concoction of seafood delight. If you ever get the chance to go to Scatori's, whether you're staying at Osprey Marina or not, be sure you do! And also be sure to get one of the Kevin special requests. You won't be sorry. Our server - I'm sorry to say I've forgotten his name - was fantastic and super friendly too. I can't recommend this place enough.
When we got back to the boat that night I was actually thinking of it as home and without any grudgery. There was no dealing with the Beezlebubs and I was able to get a fan going and slept soundly through the night. We slept in the next morning, had a leisurely breakfast at the marina, and got a fairly late start to the day. But it was well worth it. The Osprey Marina was a wonderful facility with such friendly people. Throw Scatori's into the mix and this place was hard to beat.
The waters of Winyah Bay greeted us that morning as we rounded the bend. By noon we had reached the Waccamaw River, a brown, tannin-infused ribbon of water that had us dodging logs and river detritus as we wound our way closer to the tourist-laden Myrtle Beach. By the time we reached the Waccamaw we had left behind the wretched greenheads and were surrounded on all sides by Cypresses and Cypress Knees.
This seemed like a likely place for alligators and I kept a vigilant eye out for them but never saw any black eyes peering from the surface of the water.
By now we had fallen into a fairly comfortable routine. Brian steered and I planned and took notes. I noted the time whenever we passed a statue mile and alerted him whenever we were nearing a bridge. This day was bridge-free but I did realize that there was no convenient anchorage for us that night. We either have to stop very early or very late, and we knew all too well the folly of waiting too late to anchor. The dream of a night at a marine began to emerge like a beautiful mirage in the desert. I had a list of marinas from the Salty Southeast Cruiser's Net and called a couple of them for rates. We decided on the Osprey Marina, which turned out to be a delightfully serendipitous selection.
After three hot, sweaty days on a floating oven the prospect of a shower was almost more than I could bear. We docked, beautifully so, at the marina around 5pm. It was a pretty marina, but small, tucked back into the sidewaters of the Waccamaw. There were turtles paddling around the boat and Brian found a baby turtle to play with as I hopped excitedly around the boat gathering bathing supplies. He tried to enlist me in his turtle playtime but I was too drawn by the siren song of the showers. I'm not exactly a prissy woman but I do like to be clean. I hadn't been able to so much as wash my hair in days and the best shower of my life called to me. I spent a glorious time in the shower and probably used a ridiculously exorbitant amount of water, but it made me happy.
We emerged from the showers a few hours later, squeaky clean and wearing real clothes, looking and feeling fairly human. Feeling fit to be among landlubbers, and ready for a real meal after days of Chef Boyardee and tuna and crackers, I called up a local restaurant that would pick us up at the marina. We were picked up by Kevin, who happened to be the chef at Scatori's, as he finished up some pizza delivery rounds. It turns out this was a Monday night, which is apparently a slow restaurant night in the area, so Kevin had plenty of time for cabbing transients like us to his own restaurant and back. Keven was a great guy and we had a great time learning all about his experiences living in New Jersey and Myrtle Beach, and about learning from Emeril Lagasse in Orlando. I shared with Kevin a love for food shows, though my love doesn't really extend into the kitchen so much, and we all chattered away on the drive to the restaurant. One side of Scatori's is a low-key pizzeria and the other is a slightly more formal, but by no means stuffy, sit-down dining area. We chose the formal side and were treated to delicious food the likes of which I'm not accustomed to getting in Myrtle Beach. Kevin sent us a martini glass of seafood that was scrumptious. I even liked the mussels. One of the things Kevin will do is create a dish for you on the fly if you just tell him the three main ingredients you'd like. Brian asked for one of these "Kevin specials" with seafood. My entree, chicken gorgonzola, was yummy but Brian's was a concoction of seafood delight. If you ever get the chance to go to Scatori's, whether you're staying at Osprey Marina or not, be sure you do! And also be sure to get one of the Kevin special requests. You won't be sorry. Our server - I'm sorry to say I've forgotten his name - was fantastic and super friendly too. I can't recommend this place enough.
When we got back to the boat that night I was actually thinking of it as home and without any grudgery. There was no dealing with the Beezlebubs and I was able to get a fan going and slept soundly through the night. We slept in the next morning, had a leisurely breakfast at the marina, and got a fairly late start to the day. But it was well worth it. The Osprey Marina was a wonderful facility with such friendly people. Throw Scatori's into the mix and this place was hard to beat.
