The Waccamaw river

Our stop for the night

Another view of our anchorage

Tuesday, July 22

Up the Waccamaw River today, which I always love. The water is the colour of stewed tea, and I am always hoping to see one of the alligators that live in the cypress swamps that line the edge. I still haven't managed to see one, but did see a long black snake swimming across the river. The ICW has had a fair bit of summer boaters on it (though not as much as we had thought we would see) and the Waccamaw did too. There were water skiiers, as well as the most popular fad that we've observed, dragging your kids behind the boat at high speed, while they hang on for dear life to a big purpose-made rubber tube. Having seen the snake swimming in the same river, you could not have paid me to do that in those waters, but it certainly wasn't stopping anyone else. We anchored in a little oxbow off the river for a perfect evening. The water was mirrorlike, swallowtail butterflies were out in numbers, and wildflowers bloomed among the trees. Still no alligators though.