Day 27---Orlando---Orlando? how did we get to Orlando?

The office and mess hall

Part of the Cypress Swamp along the waterway between Georgetown SC and Myrtle Beach

Our new friends, Bob and Pam aboard their boat "Mint Julep" departing Georgetown bound for Myrtle Beach

Tony with proud new father, Jeff with newborn Lia Caroline in Orlando

We got on a time warp needing to get to North Myrtle Beach, SC by April 23 to attend and be part of the rendezvous sponsored by the America's Great Loop Cruisers Association (AGLCA) from April 24 thru April 27.


Since we were a bit behind in our schedule, we had to do about 60 miles per day to make Myrtle Beach by the 24th. That meant St. Augustine, Jekyll Island, Beaufort, SC, Charleston and Georgetown, SC could only be overnight stops. We were unable to take in any of the delights that each of these destinations have to offer except for their excellent marina's. Our logic told us we could easily drive to these relatively local destinations and do the tourist things later so that thought made it easier to do the "quick stops" and go on.


The scenery along the Intra Coastal is ever changing as you proceed along the route. The crowded and busy east coast of the lower end of Florida gives way to vegetation and grasslands then to swamps as you get into southern Georgia and South Carolina. Of particular beauty was the Cypress Swamp that is between Georgetown and Myrtle Beach. Each mile of it fascinated us.


We were able to see up close many of the dreams of fortunes to be made in real estate development that had gone horribly bad during the crash of that bubble. One of the sad things to be seen was the sign advertising a new waterfront neighborhood along the South Carolina part of the ride. The sign must have been erected just as the money ran out. There was not one sign that so much as a shovel full of dirt had been lifted. It said "available fall of 2007."


Our arrival for the rendezvous was on time and it was a real treat. There were so many experienced loopers, loopers like us and wanna be loopers there that we could be experts to some and were rank amateurs to others. The seminars excellent and the camaraderie was in abundance.


We put the Salt Shaker on the Looper Crawl (open house) list to show her off to those who were still determining whether to and if so, what to look for in a boat they might obtain for their use for extended cruising such as the loop. We did so because "express cruisers" such as ours is not the common boat used for these adventures. We wanted to show just how well an express cruiser can be set up for living aboard.


At the same time we were able to get a courtesy safety inspection done by staff of the local Power Squadron. Happily, we passed and were able to put the sticker next to the Florida registration sticker on the port side cockpit window.


Lastly, how did we wind up in Orlando you are curious to know. Pat's first born, Rachel and husband Jeff, delivered their first child April 28, Lia Caroline, weighing in at 7# 12 oz and measuring in at 20 inches. We rented a car and arrived at the hospital to be among the first to see this pretty new baby girl.