May 24, 2022 Georgetown Harbor Walk Marina, Georgetown, SC
Georgetown is another charming South Carolina town. The marina is right downtown. We tied up around 1:30 and went looking for lunch! The very first restaurant we came to, SoCo Grille, had an interesting menu. I had the best seafood gumbo and fried green tomatoes of my life! Dan liked his pulled pork sandwich too.
We had been told to not miss the Rice Museum in town, so that was our next destination. We enjoyed the tour very much. We learned about how the rice industry got started (in the early 1600’s) , how Georgetown became a port that shipped more rice than any other place in the world for a time, how the rice industry faded after 1920. The confluence of 5 rivers there made for perfect conditions to raise rice. Of course, their forays into raising the rice were made possible by the extensive use of slave labor, starting in the early 1600’s through the end of the Civil War.
Turning the cypress swamp land into rice fields required amazing effort. The land was so soft, even when it dried out, that no big equipment could be used. Horses weren’t strong enough to haul out the huge trees. Oxen were strong enough, but their slanted hooves sank down so far in the mud that they couldn’t move! Someone devised boots for the oxen so that they didn’t sink. Once the land was cleared, rice fields were created by digging dykes to control the flow of water. Young slave children were used to taste the water as it came in. When it started to taste salty, the water flow was shut until the flow reversed.
The end of the rice industry, in the 1920’s, was hastened by 10 hurricanes in only about 12 years. But the main reason the industry died out is that other areas were beginning to raise rice – the main advantage in these areas (Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, and others) was that their soil, when dried, was hard and could support heavy equipment. Georgetown’s soil remained soft. So, the other markets could be much more efficient and produce, process, and ship so much that Georgetown could not compete.
After the Rice Museum, we wandered on down the street. The establishment called Big Tuna looked interesting, so we went in. Our first thought was just to look around, take pictures of their interesting décor. The manager was so friendly, offered to show us around. Their back porch was on the water by the boardwalk that spanned most of downtown. He pointed out the alligator and about 6 turtles who were hanging out by their back porch – apparently they’re there all the time! No idea why….
Well, first, we decided to sit and have a drink in this friendly place. Next, the real “Big Tuna”, Bucky (owner) came by to say hello. Turns out he had flown jets for the Navy during the time Dan was in Viet Nam. Well, several whiskeys later, Dan and Bucky had talked Navy and got to know each other. We ended up ordering some food and enjoyed that too!
These encounters are what makes this journey we are on such a wonderful experience.
After we left Big Tuna, we strolled back to the boat on the boardwalk. I wasn’t good for anything else that night!
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