Southport North Carolina – Southport Marina (Port #83) ; May 21

Hey blog followers,
Short update today.

Well, we are definitely gettin’ more northbound now.
Monday May 21st, we crossed from South Carolina into North Carolina.

It was a special day on 2 accounts; we had crossed into North Carolina, and it was Ginger Hinman’s Birthday. While underway on the ICW, we played Happy Birthday music over the Gettin’ Looped Stereo – while Jonell, Dave, and I gave our best Happy Birthday sing along.

The trip from Myrtle Beach to Southport was a short 44 miles, and we arrived about 1:30pm.
Our plan was only a 1 night stay in Southport North Carolina.

Our decisions on South Carolina & North Carolina ports were assisted by our Looper pal from Mother Ocean, Dennis Taylor. Dennis & Jan live in North Carolina, so I picked his brain on which ports to visit in both SC & NC, and how many days we should give each city, combined with the fact that we have to be back in Michigan by Labor Day for Dan’s wedding on Sept 16th.

So Southport was one of a few small cities we will see on the way from Myrtle Beach to Beaufort (Bo-Fert) North Carolina.

Southport was a cool little quiet town.
It has a population of only 3500, but is best known for hosting many television shows & movies.
The town can be seen in the Television Series;  Dawson’s Creek, Under the Dome, Revenge, and Matlock.
Movies filmed in Southport include;  I Know What You Did Last Summer, Summer Catch, Domestic Disturbance, Crimes of the Heart, Nights in Rodanthe, A Walk to Remember and Safe Haven.

After we arrived and got tied up, we went for a 4 hour walk around Southport.
We had heard about some fancy restaurants, so I put on some nice clothing for our “Taste of Southport”.

We inspected the local pubs & restaurants. We found about 5 places within walking distance and had lunch at a place called The Fishy Fish Café.

The Fishy Fish was a laid back key west type waterfront bar, with all the humorous signs. 

After lunch, we walked the town and local shops.

After the post-lunch walk, we were ready for more refreshments.
I became a new member of the exclusive American Fish Company.
For $1, you can become a member and enjoy refreshments at the private waterfront club.

After hobnobbing with the elite at the fish company, we headed back to the boat.
Along the way we passed several historical information pedestals. One of the pedestals described a building called The River Pilots Tower, a watch tower built in the 1750s, used by Southport mariners to assist transient ships through the treacherous Cape Fear River entrance.
The arriving boat would signal a cannon fire when they were ready for a pilot. A person from the pilots tower association would row a boat out to the incoming ship and take over the captains duty to bring the ship safely to port. The Pilots Tower & Association is still in use today.

After touring the town from about 1:30pm to 5:30pm, we came back to the boat for siesta time for Mikie.

We walked to dinner about 7:30pm for a late Bday dinner for Ginger at a place called Oliver’s. Two of the locals had told us that Oliver’s was one of the two “fancy” places in town. I’m not sure that “fancy” was the correct description, but it was a pretty nice place for a small town, and they had a great Lobster Bisque.
Ginger also got a free Bday dessert !

That was about it for a long half day stay in Southport.

Next Stop = 2 nights in Wrightsville Beach North Carolina (just outside of Wilmington).