We have had a great trip South, even managed to catch up with lots of friends along the way.

Entering Norfolk there are a lot of different Navy ships and you hear them warning you away on the VHF. They are huge! After seeing these huge ships we decided we had to go to the Nauticus Museum and tour the battleship US Wisconsin which has been retired.
While in Norfolk we caught up with David & Sherl, who we originally met at Block Island, CT.

Norfolk was the start of the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway (ICW) a inland waterway system that is made up of a series of rivers and bays connected by man made canals to form a protected waterway from Norfolk to Miami: 1,089 miles.

There are a lot of different bridges along the way, some of which you have to have opened and there are restrictions on times that they open so you need to watch the clock. A lot of bridges are fixed at 65ft but of course this changes with tide and when you go under them you feel that the mast is going to hit the bottom because of how close it feels.
Some of the many bridges we passed through to get to Charleston.

Yes the barges and tugs go through the bridges too.

We went through 1 lock where we tied lines to shore cleats with images of Panamas canal. No not quite the same!

The scenery along the waterway constantly changes from raw natural beauty to being built up with golf courses and beautiful homes along the shores.

very barren with dry brush in NC

Alligator River canal, NC

the trees are beautiful, the logs not so much

Homes along the banks in the Neuse River, NC

The Live Fire Range signs at Camp Lejeune, NC

Some of the many wrecks or targets on the shores at Camp Lejeune

More home with docks for small boats start to appear

homes start getting bigger

Wrightsville Beach looked busy and a great stop

Myrtle Beach, SC area

Very large homes in Myrtle Beach

one of the many golf course around Myrtle Beach

Nice! Cable car from the parking lot to the golf course

This golf course looks pretty from the canal

Back to nature on river ways to Charleston

the wildlife are great to watch

2 bald headed eagles perched high in the tree

Catching up with Bob, Judy and Leo from Adastra in Morehead City, NC who we have seen a number of times since leaving Grenada was a surprise. They were in the same anchorage as we had planned to stay.

We made a road trip to see Jen & Richard in Annapolis for the sailing boat show. Wow what an amazing show with lots and lots of boats and yes toys for your boat. Lots of familiar faces in Annapolis.

Town of Annapolis is very cute

Boats crammed in at the sail boat show

In Southport, NC we caught up with Todd and Susan who we met in Pedasi, Panama and had a fun night out.

We have arrived in Charleston where we are catching up with Brett’s Mom & Grant.