June 8-June 10                        Beaufort, South Carolina

After a lovely scenic cruise past Hilton Head and its beautiful mansions bordering the ICW, we crossed the large Port Royal Sound to Beaufort River.  The waterway was deep and wide and navigation was the easiest we had experienced since leaving Florida.  Parris Island Marine Base was on the western side of the river.  The early Twentieth Century homes for officers were pristine models of southern charm with large verandas and windows facing the water.  The Downtown Marina of Beaufort was exactly what we had hoped it would be in location and amenities.  After a delicious lunch at Plum’s in the Waterfront Park, we took the courtesy car and went to Lowes’ for supplies. 

We were enamored with Beaufort, with its historic homes and gracious people.  We decided that it was the perfect place to spend several days before leaving on June 11 for Fort Worth and then return to in July before continuing our journey to New Bern, North Carolina.  The price was right and we contracted for a month of dockage for The Bottom Line.  Later when the evening breezes made the temperature cool and pleasant, we took a long stroll through the quiet downtown and peered into the closed stores before returning to the boat for tapas on the bridge.  The sunset was the perfect ending to a very good day.

Another day was partially spent in completing work for SGA and sewing curtains for the master stateroom.  In the afternoon, we walked to the harbor side park and arranged for a carriage ride through the downtown area.  We were fortunate to have an excellent guide with considerable historical knowledge and a plethora of amusing anecdotes.  We learned a lot about the history, architecture, and people of the area.  Beaufort has been the locale of several movies, notably “Forrest Gump” and “Prince of Tides.”  The manual for historical restoration, adopted in the 1970’s, is over two thousand pages in length and is strictly enforced, guaranteeing that Beaufort’s over three hundred historically designated homes and buildings will be maintained to their original standards.

Before leaving for home, we moved the boat to a slip that would be protected from strong winds and currents, enlisted the help of the dock master to be sure that everything would be regularly checked, and asked the marina staff to forward any packages that we shipped to the boat.  We spent considerable time cleaning the exterior and interior of The Bottom Line and when we departed early the next morning, we made sure that the lines were properly coiled on the dock.  We hated to leave for Jacksonville and the flight to DFW but it was time to go and return to reality.