Last Day at Barefoot Landing - We celebrate our 45th anniversary

The sunset right in front of Greg Norman's restaurant (the famous golfer)

Another perfect day dawned with temps in the 70's so we just browsed the shops in the area. I found the classic kitch, two pink flamingos lawn ornaments! We plan on using them during our Christmas sojourn up north before returning to Stuart, FL in January to continue our trip south to Key West.

After 45 years together, we're still having fun!

I made reservations at Greg Norman's Austrian Grill for our 45th anniversary dinner. The restaurant specializes in steaks and has gained a reputation in the area for fine dining. In this case it was well deserved but not inexpensive - we had a great time and talked of how time flies. For those not as far along as we are, savor your years, especially if your kids are still at home - you are living in the golden years that pass much too soon. We are past that stage but enjoy our time together going down the ICW which has its own attractions. After a few trips, you meet old friends, see new sights and the view changes most every day as you work your way south. Tonight we were surprised by a news reporter that interviewed us for the Sunday edition of their local newspaper. We look forward to her write up and the pictures taken by her photographer.

On Friday we are entering perhaps the most beautiful portion of the trip. When we leave Barefoot Landing we enter the Waccarnaw River in South Carolina. It's where the early rice plantations were founded due to the advantage of the 4 ft tides in the river. The tides were all fresh water from the river flow and allowed the rice plantations to regulate the irrigation of the rice fields by opening and shutting the tide gates to the fields depending on the tides. The area is also infested with alligators who are fresh water reptiles. They can't tolerate salt water for long (crocodiles can but they are very rare!). That's why we are relatively safe along anchorage areas adjacent to inlets. During one tour on a river boat in the spring we were told the major fear during the rice plantation era was not the alligators but rather the snakes with their deadly bites. To keep the rice vertical during the summer before harvesting in the fall, the rice fields were left flooded for several months to help support the rice stalks - and that resulted in a terrific harvest of mosquitoes! I'm glad I didn't live in those times.

On our trip through the region Friday we'll be on the lookout for alligators. We know they're in the area, we saw them on our boat ride last year at the sculptor gardens. We'll be staying at a marina for sure, we're not anxious to anchor anywhere near here.